This Month’s LEAP Recap: How To Do Customer Discovery
Introduction
This month’s LEAP roundtable focused on a core aspect of business growth: identifying and validating your target audience. Shannon shared insights on defining target audiences and markets, creating hypotheses, and conducting customer discovery interviews. This session was valuable for entrepreneurs looking to refine their approach to reaching the right consumers and ensuring their solutions resonate with those who need them most.
What is a Target Audience? - A refresher
Your target audience is the specific group of people your product or service is designed to reach. Unlike the broader target market, which may include a wide range of potential consumers, your target audience consists of those most likely to buy from you. If someone is not willing to spend money on your solution, they’re not truly part of your target audience.
You can also dig deeper into the LEAP we did that focused entirely on Identifying your Target Audience.
Key Concepts in Target Audience Identification
Target Market vs. Target Audience
The target market encompasses everyone who might have an interest in your brand, while the target audience is a more defined, reachable segment within this market.
Target audience groups are identified by demographic, geographic, and psychographic characteristics, as well as specific behaviors related to the problem your product or service addresses.
Characteristics of an Effective Target Audience
Specificity: It’s crucial to be clear and focused; a target audience cannot be “everyone.”
Behavior-Based: The unifying characteristic among your target audience is their behavior in relation to the problem you’re solving.
Dynamic: The needs of your audience can evolve, and it’s essential to adapt to these changes over time.
Validated, Not Assumed: Target audience definitions begin as hypotheses and must be tested.
Validating Your Target Audience & Assumptions
Begin by “getting out of the building” and engaging directly with your target audience through interviews and observations.
Use both qualitative and quantitative methods to confirm that your assumptions about your target audience: they are who you think they are, they have the pain points your product addresses, and they are willing to pay for your solution.
How to Do Customer Discovery
Step 1: Develop a hypothesis about your audience’s problem and your solution.
Step 2: Identify the assumptions behind your hypothesis. For example, does your target market recognize the problem, and are they willing to pay for the solution?
Step 3: Identify the riskiest assumption and validate it through customer discovery.
Step 4: Conduct interviews with open ended questions. Ask questions that encourage your audience to discuss their pain points and ideal solutions from their perspective.
Step 5: Evaluate and refine your hypothesis based on the insights gathered.
Step 6: Keep doing this. Make sure you’re adapting and understanding your target audience as you (and they) move forward.
Takeaways
Defining and validating a target audience is essential to creating a sustainable business model. Shannon highlighted the need for specificity, engagement, and adaptability when identifying your audience. Customer discovery is an ongoing process, and the insights gained will guide product development, marketing, and long-term growth.
You can catch the full recording of the LEAP roundtable here:
Join Us Next Month!
On December 9th at 1 PM ET, we’ll continue our 5-Part Series on Marketing for Solopreneurs.
Our next session will focus on Creating an Elevator Pitch, offering actionable tips to communicate your value succinctly and powerfully. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your brand’s message and connect with potential clients.
RSVP now to secure your spot.
