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Growth Strategies

How To Validate Start-up Ideas With Design Thinking

Innovators are concerned about building a product that will have a huge impact on the lives of people by increasing the quality of living standards, addressing a pain point or an alternative that is cost effective for its consumers. With these great thoughts comes a big question that has to be answered before launching a product or service and it is the question of “is there a market”? The addressable market size becomes a question to answer in order to ensure that when a product is manufactured, it will find users or consumers who are willing to utilize the product based on the offer that is being given. One of the techniques that most successful start-ups in the world has applied to ascertain whether a product will sell or not is called “Design Thinking” Leading Change One of the failures is the assumption that there is a market, is one that can be seen or witnessed in solutions that have been made for people. An example is the construction of an overhead bridge for pedestrians to avoid crossing the expressway. However, the humans who this provision has been made for usually ignore the bridge and use the expressway to connect to their routes, which even makes their transit riskier than the use of the overhead bridge. Why would anywhere risk their lives to cross an expressway when there is an overhead bridge beside them? Failure in the consideration of what would drive people to use the overhead bridge is what is lacking and why the preference for the use of the expressway. Would these same people use the overhead bridge if there were possible factors considered before making the designs? The answer is an absolute yes. The failure in the use of the overhead bridge is driven around the fact that the normal tendencies of human behavior were not considered before constructing the bridge. Human Centered Design Design thinking takes into consideration the natural tendencies of human behavior before designing a solution. This will ensure shared responsibility from both parties such that there is already a market with reasonable demand to capture a market share than can sustain the business when eventually presented to the users. The failure of most start-up ideas is embedded in the emotional attachment that founders have to their ideas which makes it difficult for them to be open to feedback from the prospective users. However, a fact based finding should be prioritized against emotions when creating a solution. How Design Thinking Drives Innovation There are five stages in the design thinking process 1. Empathize Being able to empathize with customers most especially when it is a challenge or pain point that makes the purchasing or usage of a product or service difficult for them gives you an opportunity to learn closely from them. Customers who have a reference point of a better offering would always voice out hence, active listening to their challenges is a great feedback for start-ups. This stage consists of interviews in getting to know what the ideal scenario is to prospective customers. 2. Define Having interviewed the prospects, it then becomes necessary to begin to define what the challenges are from all the opinions gathered from several interviews conducted with stakeholders. The age group of those facing these challenges, their income level, experience, education and location becomes parameters to pay attention to. 3. Ideate The aim of conducting interviews and surveys by visiting the field is to be able to generate a product or service that has a fit for the market. All the feedback that has been given now needs to undergo divergent or convergent processes where divergent takes the several opinions and create solutions around them while convergent thinking helps to narrow down to the best idea. These two thought processes helps to come up with what the proposed solution to be developed would be. 4. Prototype Prototyping involves making a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a minimum viable product is one that is made with the minimum resources in order to furthermore see how customers interact with the product or service in its pilot or beta phase. The feedback from the usage and engage would then help to determine whether a full product would be manufactured or not. For digital products such as web or mobile apps, tools such as Figma or Adobe XD can be used to make a prototype. 5. Test The testing stage helps to pick the ideas that work and move very fast to implement them. If there are impediments or bugs, then it has to be corrected. When the product passes the testing stage, a complete product category can now be created and ready to make entry into the market. The first two stages in the process of design thinking helps to look out for evidence by carrying out Primary Market Research (PMR) to ascertain by means of qualitative and quantitative analysis the fact there are evidences to either support whether a challenge really exists or not for a solution to be created. Founders should learn to embrace what the primary market research presents in order to avoid losing big as a result of the assumptions of what they either expect the market to be or their emotional connection to the product. Read Also: Ten Marketing Tips for Startups

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What You Should Know about VAT

Gone are the days when small and medium-sized scale business owners will say forget Value Added Tax (VAT). It is for big companies. If you continue to operate your business with that mindset, both the amount for VAT and penalties will keep piling up.  VAT is a tax that is added to the price of goods or services. It is charged at a rate of 7.5 percent. The current battle by some State governments to collect VAT in their various states instead of the Federal Government is a great concern for every business owner. Every business owner is by law a tax agent to the Government. It means that officially your business is meant to file VAT to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on or before the 21st of every month. Who pays VAT? VAT is paid by users of the paid goods and services. Every business that makes sales of products or services either at a stretch or cumulatively the sum of twenty-five million nairas (N25,000,000) or more in a year is liable to pay VAT. Considering this new development, the governments will employ all kinds of law enforcement, including touts, to collect more VAT. This will put more pressure on business owners and their cashflows. This law enforcement when they visit you as VAT defaulter, you will have to settle them, and still pay the VAT you owe including the penalty. What a loss! Put your house (business) in order by doing the following; 1. Separate your personal finance from business finance by simply placing yourself as a business owner on salary. If your business cannot pay salary then wages. 2. Stop using your company account to assist people who have relations overseas just because there is a promise of extra cash. You cannot prove is not for business afterward. Then you will be forced to pay VAT out of it. 3. Start keeping proper records of all your business transactions. 4.  If in the last three (3) or six (6) months you have not made sales or purchases worth six a million (N6,000,000), do not charge Value Added Tax anymore to your customers this year. The reason is that you may not be making up to twenty-five million Naira (N25,000,000). 5.  Even though you do not charge Value Added Tax you are supposed to be filing VAT to either FIRS or State Board of Internal Revenue depending on the state of residence. Presently, Rivers and Lagos states are the leading states in Value Added Tax collection. Hello entrepreneur, you cannot afford as a business owner in this present economy in Nigeria not to file Value Added Tax. The need and demand for money by the government at all levels have never been like this. This will push the government to take measures you may consider “not business-friendly”.   Read Also: Here’s Whats New on Tax Identification Number

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How to be Investment Ready

Research has shown that in Nigeria, 80% of businesses fail within the first 5 years, and out of the 20% that make it past 5 years, just 25% of them make it to the 10-year mark.  Being an entrepreneur in Nigeria myself, I can list out many different factors that affect the success of a business but one of the most important ones in our climate is access to funds. Having little capital is difficult to build scalable and sustainable businesses.  But another challenge could be not having the right network to help scale your business. Both these reasons are why entrepreneurs seek investors. Investors provide the expertise, network, and investment to help grow sustainable businesses and help scale these businesses.  Seeking investors, however, is very challenging and overwhelming for many. You have to first off know the type of investor you are looking for (for example, a banker, angel investor, crowd funder, venture capitalist), the profile of the investors you are seeking, and what these investors are looking for. With this understanding out of the way, you can then work on ensuring your business is investment-ready before you approach them.  In this article, I will share with you some tips on how to be investment-ready Solid Financial Analysis: you have to show your investors that you understand your numbers. Understand your past performance, your current performance, and your future projected performance (at least for the next 3 years). Show that your assumption is justified and your projected performance model is flexible and dynamic enough to account for changes in your assumptions. You should also create a solid revenue model that shows investors the path your business will take to make money. Market Strategy: no investor wants to invest in a company that is targetting a very small group of people who do not have strong purchasing power. You will need to show your investors that you have researched the market size of your business and you have a clear go-to-market strategy. You also need to show them that you have created some kind of traction within the market. Exit Strategy: as you have seen within the start-up world, people do not start a business without an end goal in mind. You need to identify your end goal; is it a merger or an acquisition or an IPO. Identify your end goal and be able to justify why you want this goal.  Strong Team: investors are less likely to invest in a one-man business (nor a sole proprietorship). Ensure you have people that believe in your vision and are inspired to join your team in the role of a co-founder or partner. Be careful when picking your co-founders or partners, ensure they have the same values, goals, and vision as you for the business.  Clear Ask: you have to know and be very clear on what you are asking the investors for, it could be one or more things but be clear. Is it money, access to their suppliers, distributors, network, and so on? Be able to clearly tell investors what the valuation of your company is. The tricky part about valuations is that there are different ways to calculate your business’s valuation, choose the best way, and be able to justify it.  Once all these 5 pointers are clearly defined and understood, you can now create an investment teaser deck, which is a deck (presentation) you send to investors explaining to them the above and why they need to invest in your business. You need to also have supporting documents and evidence. And most importantly you need to be proactive and prepared.    Read Also: Growing the economy: Attracting investment to Nigeria through franchising  

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Creating a Sustainable Competitive Advantage

To win in the marketplace on a sustainable basis, you have to choose a game plan (from among the many options) by matching the external opportunities with your distinctive internal competencies. One must, however, not take ‘’exploiting distinctive competencies’’ as an end in itself – it is only a means to an end. ‘’The real essence of business is to find and keep customers.’’ Wal-Mart’s Sources of Competitive Advantage A behemoth like Wal-Mart derives its competitive advantage from various sources. First, its low cost and efficient operations. It does a lot of little things extremely well and they all add up to a tremendous cost advantage. Second, its market position. Its small-town rural strategy has evolved into a network of stores with a relatively large number of ‘’local monopolies.’’ Third, its culture and human resources management. It’s empowered and committed associated ‘’live to work for the glory of Wal-Mart.’’ Fourth, its founder – Sam Walton – is Wal-Mart’s biggest enthusiast and cheerleader. He provided value by having a vision, setting the strategy, and creating the culture that drove the entire strategy. Questions for Your Business: How are you obtaining your returns? Lowest costs through scale advantages? Lowest costs through scope and replication advantages? Premium prices due to unmatchable service? Premium prices due to proprietary product features? Do you own intellectual property – patents, trade secrets, trademarks – which competitors cannot likely replicate? Can you deploy superior processes, capabilities, or resources that competitors cannot likely duplicate? In the final analysis, it’s not enough to identify an advantage over your competitors. The advantage needs to be sustainable and dynamic, for you to have a consistent edge in the marketplace.

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Common Mistakes to avoid as a Startup

Entrepreneurs invest both financially and emotionally in their businesses whether overseeing a team of Two (2) or One Hundred (100).  They are self-motivated and enjoy a challenge at meeting the specific needs of their customers. These businesses, often founded on the basic concepts of innovation, organization, and vision are not without risks, which could be internally, and externally generated ranging from financing to market fluctuations, and competition. These risks notwithstanding, the entrepreneurs can still operate effectively in a risk-filled environment, when they are armed with the right information. This article highlights the common mistakes entrepreneurs often make in their businesses, with a view to equipping these business owners with the information vital for business sustainability. These are the ten common mistakes you often make as an entrepreneur: Choosing the Wrong Business Structure – Registering a business entity is the first step you take before starting a business. However, many entrepreneurs fail to do this, or sometimes when they do, they register the wrong entity. It is important to have the right structure in place. No Founders’ Agreement – Many entrepreneurs end up having issues with their co-founders because the terms of the relationship were not clearly defined. It is advisable to enter into a Founders’ Agreement clearly stating the terms, and vesting shares to the co-founders at a later time to protect the interest of your company. No Intellectual Property Protection – Many entrepreneurs fail to protect their ideas and inventions. They get carried away with the excitement of having created something novel and do away with registering at the applicable registry. It is important to register your intellectual property. No Business Plan – It is said that many entrepreneurs are sometimes not businessmen. They have innovative ideas but do not think of how to turn those ideas into scalable businesses. A business without a proper business plan has failed from the beginning. Thus, it is important to have a business plan highlighting all the business goals and the timeframe within which they should be fulfilled. In addition, it is important to have a business plan as this is the first thing an investor will look at to consider if the business is worth his investment. Neglecting Regulatory Compliance – Many entrepreneurs ignore strict compliance to the regulatory framework and this gets them into trouble. It is important to ensure that your taxes are properly filed; the required licenses (if any) are acquired, and the conditions required by law for a particular industry you operate in are met. No Employment Contracts – Entrepreneurs when starting a business fail to enter into employment contracts with their new hires. It is important to have a contract highlighting issues on salary, Intellectual Property ownership, and assignment, non-competition, vesting arrangement, stock options, and so on. Have an experienced lawyer prepare a standard employee contract for your company. Getting in Bed With the Wrong Investors – Many entrepreneurs raise funds desperately and do not carry out their due diligence on the investors. When you raise funds desperately, you tend to overlook some issues or give equity in your company away without properly considering the implications it would have on the company later on. It is advisable to raise funds only when you need it to simply build upon what you have. Not Having Standard Contracts – It is important to get all your standard legal documentation in place such as your Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), terms and conditions, etc. Not Keeping Accounting Records – The majority of entrepreneurs fail to do this. It is important to keep records of every penny that goes in and out of the business. This will not only give your business integrity in the eyes of your investors but will also help you monitor how well your company is doing. Not Having Experienced Lawyers – Entrepreneurs have a mindset that it is only when they desperately need a lawyer that they get one. It is important to get a lawyer (not just any lawyer but one experienced with startups, the ecosystem, and your industry) to guide you from inception through the scaling. Sustaining a business takes hard work and dedication embedded in a bespoke business model that has the potential to stand out in the marketplace. However, the very purpose of these businesses which is profit-making can be defeated in situations where the employers are not proactive enough to overcome some avoidable mistakes. Read Also: Ten Marketing Tips for Startups

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Tools to Increase Your Teams Productivity

Organizations that are result-oriented are usually obsessed with getting the needed work done within the expected time frame as they also expect to get value for the efforts in maintaining their staff strength. There are many metrics used to measure productivity in order to ensure the team always puts the expected concerted efforts with the aim of reaching a target goal, however measuring the team’s productivity has unique advantages such as giving their peak at any given time to assigned tasks and avoiding waste of time on unnecessary tasks. There are consequences if an organization fails to track the productivity of its staff as this would lead to complacency and there would not be much room for improvement since the state of individual and corporate productivity is unknown. Some technological tools to help your team be more productive include: Time Tracking e.g. Timesheets Different technologies have been developed to keep track of time which can then be used to calculate the total utilization of staff. Although the total number of hours spent does not necessarily imply the greatest productivity. Tools such as the digital log-in with fingerprints have helped to make progress, but on the other hand, are timesheets which is a website or an app that can be installed on a mobile device. A person can clock in and clock out and as well as go on break. It is very helpful because the moment a person logs in, it informs the admin of the particular time a login is made by sending an automated email. Pictures of the staff logging in can also be taken while logging in not just to track time automatically but the authenticity of the location, clothes worn, and facial expressions. Metrics of all logins are then summarized daily, weekly, and on a monthly basis. To do Lists e.g Trello Lack of organization on what tasks should be prioritized could lead to randomness in carrying out a job function, however, with a to-do list, weekly tasks can easily be scheduled by each individual. The task of every staff member can also be seen by everyone and not just the admin. When a task has been completed, it can be moved to a new tab called “done or completed”.  The overall weekly task can now be broken into daily priorities of what should be achieved. A team member can easily be motivated to work on their task as the progress made by others can be seen. Team Collaboration e.g Slack, Bitrix24 While emails are important for work-based communication, there have been ethical issues around whether team members should keep their official email active on their mobile devices or not when work is completed for the day. Although most email services have features to support the receipt of official mails on mobile devices, it does not significantly support team collaboration especially on other office activities such as quick reminders, memos, an emergency meeting, or informal schedules. Tools for team collaboration can easily be installed and messages in the form of text, images, or documents can be sent directly to a person’s inbox or shared on a general or private channel as created by the admin and other users. The encryption in the use of these platforms is also necessary in order to keep the confidentiality of every conversation. Brainstorming e.g Stormboard The user experience (UX) in the use of tools to support or replicate a physical experience is a fantastic approach most especially when a team has to brainstorm on a variety of ideas. Brainstorming has to do with coming up with new ideas by different team members and making a vote on which should be accepted on the note. Brainstorming tools make this happen by supporting the expressing of every individual’s opinion which can be seen by all and making a vote on which of the ideas to accept or implement. Calendars e.g Google Calendar, Calendly One way to keep track of what the future holds is to record every single thing. Executives are usually involved in a plethora of activities and although the brain can keep millions of information, it is best to always have the good old diary for keeping important meetings. Online diaries in the form of calendars can now help professionals become productive as they can get reminders of upcoming meetings or events without having to forget what matters There are many tools to help maximize productivity and I hope the ones reviewed here would help add value to respective job roles.  

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Leveraging the Success of a Franchise Brand

Building a business has never been easy and often requires years of dedication and hard work. For a successful business owner, being a boss can be exciting but stressful at the same time. It’s a time filled with the freedom to make your own choices; create the life you want. However, it can also be scary to make the leap from employee to employer. But the big question is, do you want to start your dream business from scratch, or leverage the success of a franchise brand? Now, you might be wondering; what is a Franchise Business? A franchise is a business opportunity that allows the franchisee to start a business by legally using someone else’s (the franchisor’s) expertise, ideas, and processes, in return for a combination of a flat fee, plus fees based on profits or sales. According to research, there are over 41.5 million enterprises in Nigeria. An estimated 80% of these new businesses, however, fail within the first five years, due to common and familiar challenges. However, it is proven that only 15% of franchised businesses fail, compared to the 80% failure rate among other independent businesses. Further, several countries, both developed and emerging, have embraced the franchise concept as a method of creating job opportunities. According to the International Franchise Association (IFA) report, franchises create an economic output of $1.6 trillion and account for 5.8% of the U.S. GDP.  Elsewhere, in a comparable economy like South Africa, franchises generate over 12% of the country’s GDP. Amazing!  isn’t it? Interestingly, unlike starting your own business from scratch, buying into a successful franchise business comes with exciting benefits which include the following: Training and Support: Unlike independent businesses, franchise business owners enjoy the freedom of being their own bosses while leveraging the support and training provided by the franchisor. The franchisor provides you and your team with initial training programs which cover areas such as product knowledge, operating procedures, merchandising, advertising, etc., as well as ongoing supports to ensure you succeed. Little wonder Tom Scarda, founder of The Franchise Academy had said “A franchise is a business with training wheels”. Brand Recognition. Franchising helps lend a competitive edge to your business as opposed to start-ups. Leveraging the success and recognition of a franchise business significantly reduces the stress of building your customer fan base from zero, which in turn, increases your chances of success. As a new business, one of the biggest struggles is finding customers. However, investing in a successful franchise brand solves that problem. You are starting on a well-established model Unlike starting from scratch and experimenting with different strategies and methods, Franchising provides you with already tested and trusted operational methods and procedures. Hence, you wouldn’t have to re-invent the wheel. Access to market research One of the franchisor’s main responsibilities is to develop marketing research and standards for promoting the franchise brand; improving the products and services and ensuring that the franchise business remains relevant, sustainable, competitive, and profitable. Business Relationship As a franchisee, you are a business partner and an ambassador of the franchise brand. Hence, you enjoy and have access to network with other franchisees in the franchise business, amongst others. Reduced cost of marketing By leveraging an already successful franchise business, you would not need to spend so much on marketing and advertisement as compared to an independent business owner. High Purchasing power Having operated the business for a long time, the franchisor has a list of approved vendors who are trusted with product and service quality. Hence, the franchisees not only have access to quality products and services but also affordability. Are you excited? Take the next step, call your franchise plug; call FBDS Nigeria today.

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Thriving Through Disruptions – Tips for Startups

In a constantly changing and evolving business environment, business owners, entrepreneurs, and business managers are always seeking innovative ways to manage threats that could potentially ruin their business.  Growing a business entails creating solutions to everyday problems such as constantly identifying your target market in order to increase your revenues, sourcing suitable talents as employees, ensuring efficient business operations, and surpassing client’s expectations with minimal resources. There are however the not-so-everyday challenges that businesses must respond to; these sometimes come in form of disruptions and they have the potential to suddenly change the way a business has been operating. Disruptions can generate positive results especially if a business is built to respond and not only react to sudden changes. Disruptions could come in the form of infrastructural changes which can impact the physical location of a business, the shutdown of a supply chain, entry of a competing business in the market, regulatory changes, etc. In recent years, startups and even established businesses have had to grapple with disruptions from the covid-19 pandemic, change in government policies, regulations or laws, and technological innovations. Irrespective of the model of disruption, businesses should be built to anticipate, respond and thrive through the uncertainties that disruptions bring. In Nigeria, disruptions caused by changes in government policies and regulations have been the bane of many Startups. Notable examples include the ban on motorcycle and tricycle operations by the Lagos State Government, CBN restriction on the use and trade of cryptocurrency, the restriction placed on Fintech companies by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission, prohibiting these companies from offering foreign securities (listed on other countries stock exchange) via their digital/online platforms. We cannot forget the most recent regulatory disruption – the suspension of the use of the Twitter app in Nigeria which has not only disrupted the marketing strategies of many startups but also thrown spanner in the works of alternative customer service channels used by many businesses in Nigeria. Disruption has the potential to cripple business operations but businesses can be proactive to ensure that they remain adaptable to take on any challenge posed by such disruptions. Some tips for adaptability are: Business Diversification- Having a single product line in a volatile business environment may not be advisable. To survive, Startups can begin to diversify their businesses by offering new products/services to their target market. It is also important to diversify different segments of your key operations. This for instance could be by having multiple supply chains, different communication channels for customers, and different marketing strategies for different customer segments. Business Model Reinvention: Businesses must ensure that their business models are flexible and innovative to enable them to enter into new markets. Reinventing the business could mean connecting with your customers and clients using technology in order to expand your reach or packaging your products differently using different brands. Explore possibilities of partnership: Businesses can explore the opportunities of collaborating with existing businesses using integrations. You can collaborate with your suppliers, retailers, or other businesses, thus creating complementary products/services. This collaboration can also lead to the creation of a diversified product/service for a different market. Constantly analyze the business environment: In order to predict disruptions and act in time, businesses need to analyze both internal and external operational risks which can hamper their operations. Businesses must simulate possible disruptions, and create make-shift solutions which can ensure that the negative effect of disruptions is better managed. Businesses can also have a business disruption and continuity plan. Seek professional Advice – Businesses can engage professionals who will help them identify the inefficiencies in the different segments of their business. Professional advisors can also help businesses put in place mechanisms that can make a business better suited to adapt to disruption. For instance, for regulatory disruptions, a legal professional can engage the regulator so that the regulator is better able to appreciate the non-traditional business models in that industry. Disruptions to your contractual transactions and relationships (e.g non –performance of contractual obligations due to the pandemic) can equally be managed when armed with sound legal advice. Businesses must come to terms with the fact this is a disruptive age and any business which will be sustainable must be built to adapt to change and respond quickly to challenges using innovative techniques.

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How to Determine Your KPI

“KPI influence management behavior as well as business culture”– Pearl Zhu KPI (Key Performance Indicators) are the quantifiable outcomes that are used to measure performance. They are used to gauge and determine achievements in comparison to others. It allows you to determine your performance vis a vis your objectives and goals or peers.  Your KPI can be financial-focused (eg revenue), customer-focused (eg customer satisfaction or retention), and/or process-focused (eg operational efficiency). When determining your KPI, the first thing to ensure is that your KPIs are SMART; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Specific. Your KPIs also need to be evaluated and reevaluated consistently to ensure SMARTness. Another element to consider is to ensure your KPIs provide clear information about your progress. They must be able to track and measure efficiency, quality, and thoroughness in addition to performance over time. They must help you make informed decisions – KPIs have to be actionable and lead to overall company goals.  The first step in determining KPIs is to define your goal, then you will need to define actions that will help you achieve your goals and finally ways to measure the success of these actions. Here are some questions to ask to help you determine your KPIs What is your desired goal? Why is this goal important? What do you need to do to get to the goal? How are the actions going to be measured? How would you know you have achieved your goal? How often will you need to review your progress on your actions? Some examples of measures include revenue growth, revenue per client, profit margin, client retention rate, customer satisfaction score, customer effort score, net promoter’s score, and so on.  As mentioned, KPIs must be actionable, they must lead to informed decisions. When presenting your KPIs to stakeholders ensure you show your business objectives, your past performance, your current performance, your future targets, and rooms for adjustment.  Contact Versa Research your trusted data, research & consulting partner!

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How to define a Product-Market Fit

An antenatal app provides low-income pregnant women in hard-to-reach areas with medical information. What is wrong with this product? A product without a market fit is one where the majority of people are not buying (or using) the product and/or among those who buy (or use) they do not get the value out of the product. A product without a market fit is one where the biggest driver of growth, word of mouth, is not spreading and so the product is not growing in terms of usage and revenue.  What exactly is product-market fit? Product-Market Fit is when there is alignment between the value proposition of your product, your personas (users), and the channel through which you are delivering your product. Back to the example at the top, the most obvious problem with the product is the channel of delivery. Low-income women in hard-to-reach areas most likely do not have access to mobile devices that can host apps.  When you have either one of the 3 factors; personas, value proposition, and channel unaligned, you will experience a poor product-market fit. In some instances, you might experience success, which is extremely deceiving as it is short-lived. As so many Venture Capitalists, demand start-ups show evidence of product-market fit before they invest in the startup.  To show there is a product-market fit you will need to conduct consumer, market, and product research; here are the steps you need to take  Determine the personas: your persona is your target audience; the group of people you want to sell your product or service to. Learn more about target audiences in our previous post:  https://msmehub.org/staging/6671/tips-how-to-defi…ur-target-market/ Identify the needs of your target audience: conduct a need assessment to understand your target audience’s needs. Learn more about target audiences in our previous post:  https://msmehub.org/staging/6671/tips-need-assessment/ Define your value proposition: your value proposition is selected from a list of possible value hypotheses which are key assumptions that you believe underlie why a person is willing to pay or use your product. When listing your value hypothesis, think of value as a combination of features your product provides, the benefits to the users, and whether or not these are worth it. It helps to speak to people (through interviews or focus group discussions) when listing out your value hypothesis.  Determine your distribution plan: understand what distribution channels you have available that will be able to get your products to your target audience seamlessly. Develop & Test a minimum viable product: your minimum viable product is a test of the premise of your business idea. It is when you use limited resources to create a prototype of your product and distribute it through your channel to your target audience. When people interact with your minimum viable product it provides data that helps you validate whether there is a need for your product and how to optimize the product and channel of distribution.  Once steps 1-5 have been completed, you can be confident that you have accurately tested your product-market fit.  Contact Versa Research your trusted data, research & consulting partner!    References https://leanstartup.co/a-playbook-for-achieving-product-market-fit/ https://mailchimp.com/resources/product-market-fit/

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