Welcome back!

We’re on Week 3 of the incredible journey through the world of product validation, and this week, we’re tackling the next part of the journey - what to do after you’ve done your prep work.

You have an MVP, you’ve conducted market research, and now you want to get the masses to adopt it. Yes, it is easier said than done, but if it can be said then it can be done!

If you missed last week’s article on market research, catch up here.

Let’s get to it! 🔥🤝

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Tools + Productivity

Strategy

A “tweaker” is someone who is obsessed with making minor adjustments. They are constantly “tweaking” their product for incremental changes because they know that once they’ve built the foundation for their product, it’s the little tweaks that help it take off. 🚀

By the time you’re done reading this week’s product validation playbook and implementing its lessons, my hope is that you will be the #1 tweaker in the game.

Let’s begin:
So, you've got a product. You're convinced it's the next big thing and you’ve done your homework on why it should be (if you don’t know how to do your homework, check out last week’s article on conducting market research).

But guess what? It’s launch day, and you’re about to find out if your hypothesis is true - if people really want what you’ve built.

You might be thinking to yourself, “This is it! This is the day that I become a millionaire!” 💸💸💸

News flash: it’s probably not.

For most people, it takes tons of iterations before you figure out how to make a product that others really want, and until the day that everyone is begging you to give them more, it won’t be perfect.

So, even though it’s important to stay confident in your product and be its #1 fan, it’s even more important to stay flexible and get really good at tweaking.

Below we’ve compiled some of the most effective methods for tweaking your product.

Prototype Testing:
There are a number of different techniques to validate your product and they all revolve around getting feedback and making small adjustments.

One way of doing this is with prototypes. 🤖🤖🤖

With prototypes, you create a sample or a mock-up of your product and test it with potential customers. Whether it's a physical prototype or a digital simulation, seeing and experiencing your product firsthand can provide valuable insights.

It’s important to pay attention to how users interact with it, what they like or dislike, and any usability issues they encounter. Use this feedback to iterate on your design and make necessary adjustments.

If you’re selling an online course, you can test different designs and user experience flows and have your team engage with them. If you’re launching an agency, try breaking down your services into a few different variations (our article on packaging does a great job of explaining how to segment your services with different varieties).

Pilot Programs:
Next, we have pilot programs. ✈️✈️✈️

Launching a pilot program helps gauge interest and gather feedback in a real-world setting. Partner with a select group of customers or businesses to test your product in a controlled environment. Monitor key metrics such as usage patterns, satisfaction levels, and conversion rates to assess its performance. Use the findings to refine your offering and fine-tune your marketing strategy before scaling up.

The key here is to decide on a few metrics that matter to you and finding ways of getting actionable feedback on how those metrics perform.

A/B Testing:
If you haven’t heard of A/B testing before, it’s the process of launching two versions of a product - a control and a variable - to your audience. 🅰️ / 🅱️

Instagram does a kind of A/B testing every time they launch a new change to their UI. Rather than overhauling everyone’s experience on the app, they will launch a few different versions in a variety of demographics to see if the test version has better feedback/engagement than the control version (the incumbent UI).

A/B testing has recently come into vogue because of its ability to isolate how a given tweak performs without overhauling the product design for all of their users. This is especially useful if the control version is already performing well.

In your case, implement this by experimenting with different variations of your product or marketing materials to see what resonates best with your audience.

Conduct A/B tests on elements such as pricing, packaging, messaging, and features to identify the most effective combinations. Analyze the results to understand which variations drive the highest engagement, conversion, or retention rates.

This data-driven approach allows you to optimize your product and marketing efforts for maximum impact.

Early Adopter Feedback:
This one’s pretty simple: target early adopters – the innovators and trendsetters who are willing to try new things – and solicit their feedback.

These enthusiasts can provide valuable insights into what works and what doesn't, helping you iterate quickly and improve your product before reaching the mainstream market. Engage with them through online communities, beta programs, or exclusive events to foster a sense of ownership and loyalty.

Embrace change

The better you get at implementing these product validation techniques, the more informed your tweaks will be and the more effective you will be at delivering your product.

Over time, your user base will grow because your product will gradually get better with each modification. Adopting the “tweaker” mentality will help you remember that change is good, so when things are going well, you won’t be afraid of taking a risk and trying to make them even better.

Looking Ahead
This month we’re getting deep in the weeds on product validation. Your task for this week: think about how you can implement today’s lessons to validate your newest product launch or even when rolling out a new version of an existing product. Next week we’ll be back in your inbox to discuss how to make adjustments once you’ve collected feedback.

Best of luck! 🔧🔧🔧

Week 1: Testing an Idea
Week 2: Market Research and Customer Insight
Week 3: Testing and Validation Techniques (this week)
Week 4: Analyzing what you learned to make informed decisions

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