The 4-step process I am adopting to be a problem-solver is as follows:
Figuring out where the users are finding your product and the conversion of traffic from those channels are crucial metrics. For Geeks and Experts, initially, everything relied on my sales, word-of-mouth networking, and referrals from a handful of users.
Later, I started to automate content solutions using tools like Buffer to reduce my hands-on marketing focus from social media to niche communities such as Indie Hackers, Reddit, Slack, Twitter, and more. I noticed higher conversions when I knew where the traffic came from.
My $0.02: Install Google Analytics and Google Search Console as early on as possible. This is the most straightforward way to look at site traffic and page conversions. For instance, if you discover you are getting higher traffic from Twitter, but more traffic is converting into sign-ups from LinkedIn, you can reallocate your efforts accordingly.
That’s when I began to actively spend time doing at least 2–3 customer interviews per week. It was 2–3 hours of deep dives into my potential customer’s pain points, current solutions, and feedback on the MVP.
In the early stages, if you don’t know where to get feedback, send 100 DMs to potential users on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or whatever your preferred method is. People are more than willing to help you even async.
You must put yourself out there, ask questions, do competitive research, and identify what resonates with your potential customers.
My $0.02:
A/B testing isn’t only about changing a few lines on your landing page or adjusting the copy in your communications. Test different hypotheses, and test different methods of testing those hypotheses. While you are testing who will be your evangelists, test the channels on how to reach them.
Is it via newsletters, content marketing, collaborations, strategic partnerships, giveaways, or engaging with other communities? Does social proof help in building trust, or do you need to build more credibility?
My $0.02: Test everything from landing page copy to marketing channels and distribution. If you are running a cross-promotion with some adjacent newsletters, see which audiences are converting. In the same way, if you are testing potential customers, install trackers like MailTrack.io and see which subject lines are opening and which users are more interested in the offer.
“Impact” is an estimation of the optimization of effort, “confidence” is an estimation of the thoroughness of your hypothesis, and “ease or effort” is an estimation of the amount of time that will be required to ship it.
For instance, let’s take using social proof to build users’ trust. This would get a 4-point score on Impact, a 3-point score on Confidence, and a 4-point score on Ease. So, adding the testimonial feature on our website was a yes.
My $0.02: Doubt is removed by action. Develop a cadence to routinely implement tools. For instance, we found it difficult to build trust for users to schedule bookings without building trust. There were ways to explore this problem, including sharing testimonials on social media, building case studies, relying on users for word-of-mouth, implementing a user referral program, or adding reviews on our homepage. We utilized the ICE method and figured that the best option was a tool like Famewall, which is quick, easy and does the job at a low cost.
- Analyze Data
Figuring out where the users are finding your product and the conversion of traffic from those channels are crucial metrics. For Geeks and Experts, initially, everything relied on my sales, word-of-mouth networking, and referrals from a handful of users.
Later, I started to automate content solutions using tools like Buffer to reduce my hands-on marketing focus from social media to niche communities such as Indie Hackers, Reddit, Slack, Twitter, and more. I noticed higher conversions when I knew where the traffic came from.
My $0.02: Install Google Analytics and Google Search Console as early on as possible. This is the most straightforward way to look at site traffic and page conversions. For instance, if you discover you are getting higher traffic from Twitter, but more traffic is converting into sign-ups from LinkedIn, you can reallocate your efforts accordingly.
- Get Feedback
That’s when I began to actively spend time doing at least 2–3 customer interviews per week. It was 2–3 hours of deep dives into my potential customer’s pain points, current solutions, and feedback on the MVP.
In the early stages, if you don’t know where to get feedback, send 100 DMs to potential users on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or whatever your preferred method is. People are more than willing to help you even async.
You must put yourself out there, ask questions, do competitive research, and identify what resonates with your potential customers.
My $0.02:
- Utilize every opportunity to get feedback from users.
- Before a user gets to sign up, introduce them to the product, offer a personal demo, and get feedback.
- After a user signs up, ask them what made them sign up and what they’re looking for. If they’ve used the product, send a follow-up email immediately asking for feedback on their experience.
- A/B Test Processes
A/B testing isn’t only about changing a few lines on your landing page or adjusting the copy in your communications. Test different hypotheses, and test different methods of testing those hypotheses. While you are testing who will be your evangelists, test the channels on how to reach them.
Is it via newsletters, content marketing, collaborations, strategic partnerships, giveaways, or engaging with other communities? Does social proof help in building trust, or do you need to build more credibility?
My $0.02: Test everything from landing page copy to marketing channels and distribution. If you are running a cross-promotion with some adjacent newsletters, see which audiences are converting. In the same way, if you are testing potential customers, install trackers like MailTrack.io and see which subject lines are opening and which users are more interested in the offer.
- Implement Solutions
“Impact” is an estimation of the optimization of effort, “confidence” is an estimation of the thoroughness of your hypothesis, and “ease or effort” is an estimation of the amount of time that will be required to ship it.
For instance, let’s take using social proof to build users’ trust. This would get a 4-point score on Impact, a 3-point score on Confidence, and a 4-point score on Ease. So, adding the testimonial feature on our website was a yes.
My $0.02: Doubt is removed by action. Develop a cadence to routinely implement tools. For instance, we found it difficult to build trust for users to schedule bookings without building trust. There were ways to explore this problem, including sharing testimonials on social media, building case studies, relying on users for word-of-mouth, implementing a user referral program, or adding reviews on our homepage. We utilized the ICE method and figured that the best option was a tool like Famewall, which is quick, easy and does the job at a low cost.