Market Research & Customer Discovery — Quick Protocol

Purpose

This playbook helps you discover whether real customers have a problem they’ll pay to solve—and capture the language, urgency, and willingness to pay—before you build. Use the three‑stage, low‑cost protocol to reduce risk, save time, and design offers people actually want.

Quick overview

1. Desk scan (1–4 days): map competitors, pricing, positioning, and existing solutions with a short checklist and research prompts.
2. 10 rapid customer interviews (1–2 weeks): structured conversations using a tested script, with immediate note templates and simple scoring.
3. Low‑cost validation tests (1–4 weeks): run one or two small experiments (landing page/signup, pricing probe, or pre‑sales) with clear success metrics to decide whether to build.

Before you begin — core decisions

• Define the candidate problem or idea in one sentence (write it down).
• Decide your minimum validation: e.g., real pre‑orders, paid pilot, or a minimum number of qualified signups.
• Choose a short timeline (2–6 weeks) and a small budget. Momentum matters more than perfection.

Stage 1 — Desk scan (quick market reconnaissance)

Goal: understand current alternatives, common claims, pricing ranges, and how people describe solutions.

Checklist

• Identify 8–12 competitors, substitutes, or DIY approaches.
• Capture their positioning headline, primary benefit, pricing model, and target customer.
• Collect 10–20 customer quotes from reviews, forums, social posts, or product descriptions that mention pain or desired outcomes.
• Note where customers complain or ask for features—these are opportunity signals.

Research prompts

• How do competitors name the problem? How do customers name it?
• Who pays for solutions like this today and how much?
• Are there seasonal spikes, regulatory drivers, or workflow constraints that create urgency?

Stage 2 — 10 rapid customer interviews

Goal: hear real language, test assumptions, and detect willingness to pay. Aim for 8–12 interviews; 10 is a practical target.

Recruiting & screening

• Recruit from your network, LinkedIn, communities, customer lists, forums, or local channels. Offer a small incentive if helpful.
• Use a 3‑question screener: role, problem experience (yes/no), and brief qualification (budget or decision authority).
• Prefer people who have faced the problem recently and are in a position to buy.

Interview logistics

• Set 30–45 minutes per interview. Record with permission and keep notes in a simple template.
• Use a conversational tone—this is discovery, not a sales pitch.

Script (lean, adaptable)

1. Opening: 1–2 minutes. Introduce yourself, purpose (learn, not sell), and ask permission to record.
2. Context: "Tell me about your role and a recent day where this came up."
3. Concrete incident: "Describe a specific recent time this problem cost you time/money/stress." Probe for facts and consequences.
4. Current solutions: "What did you do instead? How well did it work?" (Capture alternatives and workarounds.)
5. Frequency & impact: "How often does this happen and what happens if it's not solved?" (Scale from minor annoyance to critical.)
6. Priority & willingness to pay: "How important is solving this compared to other priorities? Would you pay for a reliable fix? If so, how much and what would 'worth it' look like?" Use ranges rather than exact figures if needed.
7. Decision process: "Who else is involved in deciding to buy, and what would you need to see to decide?"
8. Close: ask if they’d try or buy an early version and whether you can follow up.

Note template (one row per interview)

• Interview ID / Date / Role
• Problem description (customer language)
• Recent example (short quote)
• Current workaround / competitor
• Frequency & impact
• Willingness to pay (none / hypothetical / would consider / ready to pay)
• Decision stakeholders
• Confidence & recommended next step

Simple analysis method

1. After each interview, update the template and highlight 1–3 meaningful quotes.
2. After all interviews, cluster notes into themes (pain drivers, common words, feature requests, pricing signals).
3. Score candidate customers by urgency × willingness to pay × fit to prioritize pilots.

Stage 3 — Low‑cost validation tests

Goal: run one small experiment that forces a near‑real buying decision (or strong commitment) so you can decide whether to build.

Experiment options

• Landing page + email capture: Clear value proposition, pricing hint, and an invitation to join a pilot. Promote to warm audiences or small ads. Metric: qualified signup rate and conversion from click to signup.
• Pricing probe / paid pilot: Offer a limited paid pilot or refundable deposit. Metric: number of paid commitments in target window.
• Concierge MVP: Manually deliver the solution to a small number of customers to learn the real cost and willingness to pay. Metric: retention after first delivery and willingness to pay continued fees.
• Pre‑sales or waitlist with down payment: Ask for a refundable small payment to join early access. This is the strongest signal of willingness to pay.

Suggested success signals (examples — adapt to your context)

• For a landing page: 5–10% of targeted visitors sign up as qualified leads (higher if you target warm lists).
• For pre‑sales: at least 3–5 paid commitments from qualified customers within your test window.
• For concierge MVP: customers agree to pay after a hands‑on trial and provide feedback on price and product.

Running the experiment

1. Create a simple landing page (Carrd, Webflow, or basic site) with one CTA.
2. Connect to payments or signup form (Stripe, Gumroad, Typeform) and an email list.
3. Drive traffic via email to existing contacts, targeted LinkedIn outreach, community posts, or a small ad test.
4. Measure: visitors, signups, paid conversions, and follow‑up willingness to pilot.

Decision guide — what to do with results

• If multiple interviewees expressed urgent pain and you get real paid commitments in the experiment → move to build a narrow MVP targeted at those customers.
• If you hear interest but low urgency and no paid commitments → iterate on positioning, pricing, or target customer and run another focused test.
• If interviews show alternative solutions satisfy needs and experiments fail to attract signups → consider pivoting or shelving the idea.

Practical resources & tools

• Notes & surveys: Google Sheets / Typeform / Airtable
• Landing pages: Carrd, Webflow, Unbounce
• Payments/pre‑sales: Stripe, Gumroad, Paddle
• Scheduling interviews: Calendly, Google Calendar
• Recruiting channels: LinkedIn, niche forums, Slack communities, existing email lists

Templates included

• Desk scan checklist and research prompts
• 10‑interview script and one‑row note template
• Interview analysis clustering approach and scoring sheet
• Landing page copy checklist and experiment metric tracker

Use these templates as starting points—customize language, screening, and success thresholds to your market and risk tolerance.

Next steps (two‑week sprint example)

1. Days 1–2: Desk scan and candidate problem statement.
2. Days 3–10: Schedule and run 8–12 interviews; fill the one‑row note for each.
3. Days 11–14: Run a landing page or pricing probe and measure results. Decide whether to build a narrow MVP.

Why this matters

Doing systematic, low‑cost discovery prevents the common mistake of building features people don’t value. This protocol prioritizes concrete evidence of willingness to pay and clear customer language—so your first product choices align with real demand.