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Have an exciting idea for a business? Here are step-by-step instructions for using LinkedIn to set up interviews with prospective customers, get feedback, and discover if your idea is viable.
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MARKET RESEARCHFOR STARTUPS:
How to do Customer Validation
Judy Schramm, CEO ProResource, Inc.
November 26, 2013
Eric Ries, AuthorThe Lean Startup
“Every entrepreneur
thinks they’ve invented
teleportation.”
“Not everyone has.”
How do you find out if your idea is really great?
Talk to 30-50 customers!
(or 30-50 people who know lots of customers)
“World’s largest professional network”
259 million members
Where do you find them?
Search tricks:title: marketing“cloud computing” NOT “open source”“financial adviser” OR “financial advisor”(cloud OR saas) AND (“health care” OR medical)
Join up to 50 groups – the more groups you join,
the more people you canconnect with
Follow the TrailPeople know people like themselves
How to Introduce Yourself with a Connect Request Restrictions:
• 300 characters• No email, phone or URL• Need to be in the same group or have their email
Include: Why them What you have to offer (why you are contacting them) What you want from them
How to Introduce Yourself with a Message Must be in the same group
Need a subject line Can include an email, URL and phone Keep it short
You don’t have to be connected!
How to Introduce Yourself with anOpenLink Message orInMail No cost for OpenLink Limited # of InMails/month Extra InMails cost ~$10 Unaccepted InMails are returned and credited
Why Connect Requests are Better
Average connect acceptance rate
25-60%
Once connected, you have a way to stay in touch
The more people you are connected with,the more you can connect to
But… accepting a connect request ≠ YesYou need a follow-up message with the ask.
When Messages are Better
When you need more than 300 characters to tell your story
When you want to include a call to action with a URL, email or phone
When you have a really compelling subject line
When you have received too many “I Don’t Know” responses –this can happen to very active users of LinkedIn.
LinkedIn may require that you enter the recipient’s email before you can connect with them.
Average response rate5%
How many people to contact?
1000If you want 50 conversations…
Run Experiments – Make it a Game
Message#1
Message#2
Message#3
Message#4
Message#5
Target#1
Target#2
Target#3
Try differentbenefits
Use different words
Test different job titles, company size, keywords
You need at least 50 per cell Tag them so you know who was in each group (and you don’t contact anyone twice) Track results!
Have Someone Else Do the Work! You design the experiments. Have an intern or assistant do the searches and send out messages.
When You Talk to People Ask for 10 minutes
• Take 2-3 minutes to explain your idea
• “Can you tell me why it wouldn’t work?”
If they say:• “That’s a good idea.” ≠
GOOD• “I know someone who
might be interested.” = GOOD
Ask if you can stay in touch as you progress
Before You Start
• It’s worth upgrading to Premium ($24.95/month)
• Update your profile (see checklist)– Photo– Summary– Current job?– Endorsements
• Expand your connections (LIONs), OpenLink
Contact
Judy SchrammProResource, [email protected]
www.MarketingIdeasYouCanCopy.com
www.linkedin.com/in/judyschramm
@proresource
We design LinkedIn lead generation programs
for B2B tech firms.
