Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or an aspiring business owner, coming up with a successful business idea requires more than just a flash of inspiration. It takes careful research to make sure your idea is solid before you write a business plan, look for funding, or go into product development. Here are some tips to help validate your idea and assess the market for demand to make sure your next venture has the potential to thrive.
Learn from your personal experience
Little frustrations or big personal challenges can be a good starting point for a new venture. Notice if anything consistently or frequently becomes a pain point in your daily life. For instance, Neil Blumenthal lost his prescription glasses and couldn’t afford new ones. This led him to create the inexpensive, stylish eyewear company Warby Parker. Fellow entrepreneur Whitney Wolfe Herd founded the dating app Bumble (which puts women in control of first messages) after leaving an abusive relationship.
Start with personal questions and triangulate your experiences to see if others have similar problems to solve with a potential new business.
Talk to friends and family
One of the best ways to develop a new business idea is to listen to others and learn what problems they’re facing. Start with those in your immediate network before branching out to speak to strangers.
“By asking those closest to you for ideas, you'll not only get some great suggestions, but you'll also get an idea of what kind of business would be a good fit for your skills,” wrote MailChimp. “Your friends and family will also have very different perspectives than you. They have their situations they deal with every day that you may not have thought of.”
Your friends and family can also be a good test group for asking the right questions that get you the information you need. Before sending a survey, hosting a focus group, or conducting interviews, use your friends and family to figure out what problem it is you’re trying to solve.
[Read more: Looking to Test Your Business Idea? Here Are 5 Steps to Take]
Basic key word research can give you immediate feedback about the demand for your potential product or service.
Read market trend reports
Many resources are dedicated to predicting where consumer demand will shift next, and reading these trend reports can give you a good indicator if you’re onto something. Here are a few free trend reports to consult as you consider your business idea.
- TikTok’s What’s Next Report: This annual report is designed to help marketers predict consumers’ wants and needs in the forthcoming year.
- Pinterest Predicts: This report claims to be able to separate fads from long-lasting demand. “Pinterest trends last 20% longer than fads that show up elsewhere on the internet,” the platform claimed.
- Accenture Life Trends Report: This report looks at how the way people interact with technology changes from year to year.
- Qualtrics’ Global Consumer Trends Report: The survey tool takes advantage of its massive scale to ask more than 28,000 consumers across 26 countries what matters most to them.
There are also plenty of paid reports from sites like Mintel, Gartner, and Kantar.
Identify an underserved market
In addition to considering your own wants and needs, think about what could be helpful to those left out of traditional marketing and sales. For instance, Yelitsa Jean-Charles didn’t see herself in any of the dolls available for sale when she was a child. She founded Healthy Roots Dolls, a brand that helps girls love their curly hair.
Similarly, the team behind EatWell food kits in Boston founded the company in response to food deserts and food insecurity in nearby neighborhoods. EatWell mimics HelloFresh and Blue Apron, which deliver fresh ingredients with recipes. But EatWell works with a completely different market of customers who were priced out of these bigger brands.
Do key word research
Basic key word research can give you immediate feedback about the demand for your potential product or service. Tools like Google Keyword Planner and Semrush give you instant feedback on key words and search terms related to your idea.
According to Entrepreneur, "If a keyword has under 500 searches per month, you are facing an uphill battle in terms of demand. Ideally, you want between 1,000 to 2,000 searches per month. With a number like that, you can test your product without burning through cash.”
[Read more: 5 Business Ideas for Fashion Lovers]
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