Gathering Requirements

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Learn how customer and business requirements come together to create an amazing, sustainable relationship with your clients.

 

Research Customer Needs

customer-requirements-300x192Every market segment has a different set of requirements that you must fulfill in order to reach them, engage them, sell to them, and support them.  Entrepreneurs tend to guess or assume what their audience needs and get it wrong half the time.  Even professional product managers get it wrong 25-30% of the time.  The solution isn’t difficult to do, it just needs to be done.  We will help you avoid the common pitfalls of assumptive thinking so you can tackle your work with the confidence of knowing that it will return the highest reward.

Most people tend to skip over the simple due diligence of verifying the needs of the target audience. It isn’t rocket science, yet most companies of every size exhibit this weakness.  Think about that number for a second (the “pros” get it wrong 25-30% of the time) …

– What if 30% of your product or service wasn’t even used?
– What if 30% of your sales & marketing expenses were wasted?
– What if 30% of your website was built to do things no one cared about?
– What if 30% of your labor expenses were spent doing things that bring no value to your customers?

Why do the pros get it wrong?  The answer is simple …they simply don’t do the work.  They think they know their audience well enough to make those decisions.  Or even worse, they use excuses like “this is too inventive for them to understand right now.”  The truth is, there are ways to test any idea for its merits and its requirements.  Don’t fall into this trap of assumptive thinking.  We can show you how to challenge and verify your thinking, so you can make corrections that will help you leap in front of your competitors, reduce your developments & operational costs, and make the most of your resources.  And beyond those self-serving benefits lies the real big win …if you build your company, end-to-end, around what your audience really wants, you will have the happiest and most loyal customers.  They will love you for it!  This is a step you cannot afford to skip.  We can help you do this with minimal effort that will pay for itself 10x or more in only a few months.

Analyze Your Business Needs
business-definition-300x192Defining your “product” is the process of identifying & documenting all the requirements necessary to create your minimum viable product.  The market requirements identify what you are trying to accomplish for your future customers.  The next step is to identify the business requirements that are needed to accomplish your market goals.  Once both are known, you are ready to turn them into actionable requirements.  Skipping this step is like going on a road trip with no map and a random list of supplies.

We will provide you with guidance and techniques to get your requirements in order.  These requirements will guide the rest of your business and help keep it aligned with common goals and focused to avoid unnecessary work.  Examples include:

– Development (creating your solution)
– Choosing your back office tools (CRM, accounting, support, etc.)
– Creation of your content (website, collateral, docs, blogs, etc.)
– Distribution (how you reach your future customers)
– Partnerships (partners fill the gaps)
– Advertising  (how you attract customers)
– Sales process (how you engage customers)

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