Working on an idea? Would you like to move faster? Are you feeling apprehensive about moving forward?
Get Evidence. Make Decisions. Move Forward.
The most common reason given for new ventures to failure is that the creators have misunderstood what their audiences really need and want. Analysts including Neilson (the global market research & data analytics company) quote success rates for new ventures as being between 10 and 30 per cent. So it is understandable if you feel apprehensive!
In 7 steps, The Really Good Idea Test™ will help you find out if your idea is worth pursuing by getting you to the heart of how people feel, think and are going to behave. In as little as a few weeks, you can build up evidence to help you decide where to invest your effort, time and money.
The Really Good Idea Test™ is the culmination of my 25 years’ experience working with new propositions and products, features and services across a very broad range of sectors and environments.
Working in start-ups, small and medium organisations, corporates and the third sector, I have managed product portfolios up to £350m, developed brand new revenue lines up to £millions and saved £millions by stopping work on propositions that are just not flying. I have been name checked for my work in the national press.
Over the past 15 years I have helped hundreds of people with their ideas, carrying out tests for them as well as coaching them to do it themselves through interactive workshops and one on one surgeries. Through all these interactions, I have developed and refined hands-on practical approaches, tools, techniques and tips to help them to address common challenges and steer clear of common pitfalls. By discovering first-hand how their audiences feel, think and are going to behave, they have been able to gather much-needed evidence to make decisions on how to move forward.
Ideas have come from a massive range of sectors including Energy, Fashion, Health, Retail, Digital Media, Food, Mass Media, Automotive, Sport, Education, Finance, Hospitality, Gaming, Technology and Mobile Applications, Music and Travel. Ideas big to small, there is a common desire to avoid wasting effort, time and money. Here are of some of the brands who have put their ideas to the test over the years. They include organisations, brand new initiatives, startups in various schemes, students and postgrads at universities.
This test works for big new business ideas as well as smaller activities like marketing campaigns and new product features. Here are some examples:
Successful marketing campaign: Large mobile operator was able to take a market leadership position in that product category despite being number 3 in overall market share.
- Established licensing deals, spin-outs and industry partnerships: Physics PhDs tested out hypotheses on how to commercialise their research
- Saved £hundreds of thousands: A service company had the confidence to withdraw a product that was costing them more than it was making them
- Find better target audiences: A startup discovered that they were designing their new messaging app for the wrong market segment
- Stopped investing resources: A music startup found that there were already other services meeting their market’s needs and desires so they moved on to their next idea
- Unexpected new revenues: By testing out some potential new features for an online community, an unexpected feature emerged which went on to generate £thousands per month
- Book contract & increase in workshop sales: Ongoing testing of practical approaches, tools, templates, techniques and tips has resulted in The Really Good Idea Test™
Product Doctor is a member of the Market Research Society and abides by the MRS Code of Conduct.