If you’ve developed a product or service and want to test its viability but lack sufficient funding, here are a few ways to do it while on a budget.
Family and Friends
The most obvious way is to test the product or services with family and friends. It is easier to share your ideas and vision with people you know and trust. Many family members/friends are more than willing to help you get started. Have each person test the product or service and provide written feedback on their experience. Some people have a hard time writing their thoughts down on paper. In this case, you can create a feedback form with questions. Let them check yes or no and allow space to write additional notes.
There is a downside to testing products with family and friends. Often, they will not be honest with you for fear of hurting your feelings. They will overlook major issues with your products because of the nature of the relationship. For example, a parent will support a child who is terrible when it comes to playing an instrument. The parent will smile and clap and tell the child how great the performance went. But in reality, the child lacks the skillset to become a great musician. It is hard to get unbiased feedback from these groups of people. Also, even if your family and friends love your products or services, this doesn’t mean the marketplace will agree. Remember, the majority of your customers won’t be friends and family. As you get your business up and running, you will find that family and friends are less willing to support you by purchasing products/services.
Local Events
Your next option is to test your products with strangers at local events. A great example is participating as a vendor for local farmers’ markets. You’ll have the opportunity to get real-time feedback by offering samples of your products. You can speak with potential customers, pick their brains, and gather ideas for other products. Since you are not related to these people, you can count on receiving honest feedback.
The downfall to using this strategy is most festivals, farmers’ markets, and pop-up shops will require a business license, which means you will need to register the business and get the proper permits (if applicable) to operate a business in your state. This option might not be the best course of action if you haven’t decided whether or not you want to move forward with your idea.
Online Marketplaces
Another option is to test your products online through marketplaces such as Etsy, Mercari, Poshmark, Depop, or eBay. These are very inexpensive options with a low commitment. These platforms will allow you to sell products without needing a registered business license. Starting in a marketplace will give you access to a large audience and constant traffic. At the time of writing this post, Etsy brings almost four million people to its website in a month. The eBay marketplace brings in eight million a month.
Another great feature of these marketplaces is the review campaigns. They push hard to get customers to leave reviews for you. You don’t have to worry about chasing people down for a review because their follow-up emails will do it for you. Etsy will even push for the customer to add a photo and a detailed description of their experience. Long gone are the days of star-only ratings.
Social Media & Facebook Groups
Are you a member of a Facebook group or community? You can gather a few participants to assist you in a product testing survey. You will receive unbiased feedback from your community with the family-like support you’ll need to encourage you on your journey. It is inexpensive to run a test group from these subjects, and you’ll gain a lot of data for research purposes. They can help you develop a better product or service.
Are you finding the tips helpful? Click the link to support the blog and keep helpful content coming your way.
What's Trending Sage 