Harry: Checklist Business ideas

vrijdag, mei 20, 2011

Checklist Business ideas

Any strategic thinking about a business case provoces questions. Here's a complete list...

This set of questions will help you through the process of testing and validating your idea while building an effective Go-to-Market strategy for a B-to-B venture.

Product or Service Value Proposition:

• What pain does your product/service address?

• What is the profile of your ideal target customer (company)?

• What is the profile of your ideal target user (within the target company)?

• What is your technology?

• What is the application of this technology?

• What are some compelling use cases?

• What is your differentiated, must-have value proposition to this customer?

• Which market? Which segment? Why?

• How big is the market? Is it big enough? How do you expand, if not? Should you expand, or should you focus within a niche?

• What is the usage model of the product?

• How does the user currently solve the problem in question?

• Who is the buyer?

• How strong is the pain? Does the buyer care to solve the user’s pain?

• How do you prove your value? Pilot? Free trial for a month? Three months?

• How long does it take to prove value?

• Who is the competition, and how do you differentiate from them?

• What are the various classes of products in immediate and related categories?

• What, of those, compete directly with you?

• Which ones are likely to move into your space?

• How do your product features compare with the competition’s? Can you compete on the basis of functionality?

• How does your product pricing compare with the competition’s? Can you compete on the basis of price?

• How do customers and prospects view your offering, vis-à-vis competition? Do they see you as 1/10 the functionality? 1/5 the functionality? 300% the functionality?

• What value does the customer see?

• What are customers willing to pay for your solution? 1/10 the key competitor’s price? Same price? 200% the price?

• What price can you charge based on perceived value?

• What is the ROI for the customer? How long will it take to realize the ROI?

• Can you offer both better performance and lower price?

• Whom do you need to partner with to offer a full solution?

• How do you position win-win deals for partners?

• Can you turn some of the competition to partners/channel/OEM relationships, so not to go head-to-head?