Every business needs to understand its market before it builds its products. Startups must provide a solution that no one else is providing, to ease a pain point that is real and relevant. Ideally the solution is so meaningful that customers fall all over themselves to pay for it. In an April 2014 Inc.com article, digital product strategist Neil Cabage named this the number one criterion that every new startup must consider.
But how? This is where professional market research comes in to help you figure out if there is a real market need for your product or service. And while access to research information may not come cheap, there are other ways to get a pulse on your audience, such as conducting informal surveys and polls.
The alternative is failure. If a business doesn't have a market, or doesn't know who it will be marketing to, it will flounder trying to find an audience. If they find one in time, luck is on their side. If not, they will likely close their doors.
Answering the Need for an Efficient Collaboration Tool
Let's take the example of our own company.
When Wrike started out as a small side project of CEO Andrew Filev's, it had a built-in market already: itself. From a recent profile article on Forbes:
The great thing was, the need for a more efficient collaboration platform wasn't just specific to Wrike and its initial customers. It was, and still is, a common enough problem among fast-moving companies, so much so that customers actually raise their hands to get onboard.
Again, from the Forbes article:
If your startup identifies a market need, and can provide a solution that solves that problem, you're one step closer to success. The only thing missing is: get that product out ASAP!
Read the full Forbes article here: Andrew Filev's Wrike Wants to Bring Project Management and Collaboration to the Masses
Image credits: "Customer" by 10ch on Flickr.
