A trend I am starting to see among young internet entrepreneurs as well as more established startups is a lack of understanding how customers use the internet to research and buy. This information is more basic than understanding your target customers, it is common consumer processes.
There are many reports written on how consumers use the internet to buy products and services. Its not new information, but hardly any of us (us = startups and entrepreneurs) use that knowledge to our benefit. I recently sat in a meeting with a colleague to help weed issues in his startup marketing plan. Before the meeting, someone was mentioning the new purchases they had made on the internet. The amount of research this individual conducted was what you would expect from a twenty-something that is internet savvy. This startup didn’t build a product under the assumption that their customers would do the same product research. They did not do it on purpose, they just didn’t put themselves in the consumers shoes.
What blew me away was the lack of understanding about how their product would be researched. The assumption that buyers will believe the messaging on the site and not research it further is both arrogant and false. Of course someone will buy the product, some people will buy anything. The larger question is will the product convert the larger market? These type of small mistakes can make or break a startup.
I understand that it is hard to have a clear view of your product when you put everything into it. One of the best ways to get a good outside view is to get a review (unpublished) from a blogger in your industry. Ask them to be critical and find issues with your site and product. If you can satisfy a critical blogger, you can meet the standards of the everyday customer. Product development is a continual process, but if you don’t understand the scrutiny that your customers will put on the product, you are making the development that much harder.
