How do you get started with user research? Is this something you can wait to do after you launch your business or should this be done before? Any tools you’d recommend for it?
Topic summary
The discussion centers on when and how to conduct user research for a new business.
Timing & Approach:
- User research can be valuable both before and after launch, depending on business type and customer accessibility.
- Conducting 10-15 minute interviews with 10 customers can yield significant insights.
Recommended Methods:
- Direct customer interviews (existing or potential users)
- Field research at relevant locations (e.g., local markets for food products)
- Analyzing online reviews of similar/competitor products
- Using AI tools like ChatGPT to summarize and analyze customer review data
Key Insight:
The approach emphasizes finding people actively seeking what you offer and understanding their needs through multiple research channels. The discussion remains open with no specific tools formally recommended beyond ChatGPT for review analysis.
Hey @TSM_CO sometimes starting is the most fun part.
Depends what type of business you are in and the ease of access you have to your customers. But user interviews can be hugely beneficial. If you can manage to talk to 10 customers for 10-15m each, you would find out a lot about your customers.
You can also talk to potential customers before. I am not sure what business you are in, but lets say you sell some food product. Hanging out at local food market and doing some field research could go a long way. Finding people that are looking for what you have to offer. Also looking at review of products similar to yours online is a gold mine.
And now with chatgpt and etc you could use those tools to summarize all those reviews and get a feel for whats going on out there.