Questions

We are in the process of validating our startup idea with the target users of our platform. They are mainly people in apprenticeship (technical). We want to provide them with a free service while generating revenue from company paying to access the service. Since the product is free for the apprentices, what question/strategy would you use to see if they have real intent to use the service? When the product is meant to be sold, there are strategies where you try to close a sale. But in the case of free product, how do you do or what question would you ask?

Unfortunately, you likely can't ask them that intent. I worked with Knowclick, which is a company that combines surveys with analytics of user behavior to try to derive intent. And, it's interesting that people often say and do quite different things. But for intent with a social platform, first you have to get them hooked on the value. You can ask them basic questions about value or features they would like to see. Or, employ an NPS survey mentality. Ask them how likely they are to refer the platform to others on a ranking from 0-10. In order to build the platform, you need scores of 8-10 that indicates that you have evangelists who enjoy or see so much value they are eager to tell others about. If you haven't read Platform Revolution, I'd it for a primer on challenges and strategies to building out both audiences -- including one that pays and one that doesn't-- in a timely manner.


Answered 6 years ago

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