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How do you find the market's/people's needs without talking to them? (let's say for example within the field of programming)

anon9601

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I don't have that kind of access to people for several reasons (long story).

So let's say a guy with a PC and an internet connection. How does he find the needs of the market so he can make a successful product, or to at least find an idea?

Can't go around to people or companies to ask around what their needs are, can't talk to them at all. So how do I find my idea then, how do I do the research that would lead me to an idea?
 
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Empires

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You talk to people.. on the internet. Don't go around just asking people for their problems. Just listen to what they complain about.

Search for forums of various industries that you are interested in. Join them. Interact with them without trying to spam or sell them anything. Just learn about the industry and listen for their problems.

Not talking to people is the worst possible way to find needs and launch a company.
 

sanadly

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You talk to people.. on the internet. Don't go around just asking people for their problems. Just listen to what they complain about.

Search for forums of various industries that you are interested in. Join them. Interact with them without trying to spam or sell them anything. Just learn about the industry and listen for their problems.

Not talking to people is the worst possible way to find needs and launch a company.
And how to pitch them my services if I found a need?
 

idacat411

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go on Reddit look for Professional forums in your areas of interest, a some of them have a "Rant" flair that allows you to filter threads.
 
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Empires

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And how to pitch them my services if I found a need?
Depends on the need.

But a generic answer would be create a 1 page website that talks about the need and ask people to opt in to a form in exchange for X (something they would value or even just to be notified when the product/service is created) so you can see if there is any interest before you create anything.
 

poseidn

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create a landing page with a fake checkout box - drive traffic to it from FB or Google, if they buy = idea validated
 

NMdad

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You absolutely need to talk with people--online forums and chats will only give limited info. The gold is in the actual conversations, typically little nuggets that people drop--especially where there's strong emotion around something.

Also, targeting a specific industry niche is preferable to thinking of a general problem/solution, since you can tailor the solution to the specific needs of the niche.
 
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Mike Stoian

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Go to reddit. There's bound to be a bunch of subreddits for people that would be interested in your product.

Just go and ask them :
- if they've ever had the specific problem you think you have a solution for
- If they've ever found a solution to that problem. What they use. If there's anything out there that can help them and you. Assuming you also have that problem
- If your idea would be useful to them.

That's pretty much what I did. My solution was also fixing one of my own problems so I was one of it's customers which makes it easier.

Things to keep in mind on reddit:
- do not make it sound like you're selling them something
- do not insult them in any way, even if they insult you back. It's just going downhill from there.
- develop thick skin. Reddit folks are usually pretty angry at anyone and everyone. They will troll you and make fun of you for any apparently random reason. Don't engage with it. Just get whatever value you can from their responses and ignore the trolls.
 

sparechange

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Buy a magic geenie ball, rub it 2 times and ask the geenie that will pop out from the ball.
 

Raoul Duke

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Buy a magic geenie ball, rub it 2 times and ask the geenie that will pop out from the ball.


For visual reference:

6G9ZOdq.gif
 
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sparechange

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Tiago

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Why would you not want to talk to people. You're shooting yourself in the foot here. Businesses are built through relationships.

Relationships and BY FAR the best investments you can make.
 

sanadly

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I agree, but isn't hard to make relationships this Time?

If I want to make new relationships, where can I make them?
 
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sknowles

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create a landing page with a fake checkout box - drive traffic to it from FB or Google, if they buy = idea validated
Hey, are there any resources you can direct me to for this? I'm unsure how to legally and properly create a fake one to test for interest. I know it's basic lol.
 

poseidn

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Hey, are there any resources you can direct me to for this? I'm unsure how to legally and properly create a fake one to test for interest. I know it's basic lol.
if you're testing a service -> use elementor
if you're testing a physical product -> use shopify
if you're testing something else use clickfunnels or something similar

once you've chosen which one fits for you

use google to find the rest

I.e you're selling a VA outsourcing service: create LP with elementor -> use ads to drive traffic -> good metrics to look for would be appointments booked per $100 ad spend (0.X up to whatever it could be at)

If you're selling candles -> shopify LP -> drive traffic -> how many purchase conversions (refund money after they buy or redirect them to out of stock and collect their email with a shopify plugin and then email them and ask if they would get on a call with you to give you some advice/market research, offer to send them a starbucks $10 giftcard)

Ideally spend $1k at a minimum to test if an idea is valid. don't have to be profitable, but you atleast get some bites.

Or you can skip all that and and just get on calls with people and find out if they want what you sell by trying to close them and keep changing it until you have something that people will buy
 

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