Idea Extraction Targets

[Baker]

Ive been researching idea extraction (finding problems to solve) and it seems everyone is saying to target businesses and business owners. Is this better than directly targeting consumers and asking what their problems are? Should I be asking business owners as well as consumers? I was planning on going door knocking, walking around busy city areas etc asking consumers about their problems as well as focusing on specific consumers such as parents. Would contacting business owners be better or should I focus on both?

 

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[Empires]

There are many other ways to spot or find problems to solve. You named two above. Ideas can be found by reading rants or articles online(reddit, blogs, twitter, etc), through consumers or business owners, or you could also think of ways to improve already existing products or softwares that already solve problems. You just figure out a way to solve them better. Just keep an open mind and train yourself to spot needs and you will start seeing ideas

 

[Supa]

If you would knock on my door to ask me about my problems, do you think I would tell it to a stranger? Why not looking for problems on places where people love to complain, like social media for example?

While you made that thread, you could easily do it for yourself and just type in "I hate" on twitter. If you're business will be B2C or B2B is up to you, no one knows what's best for you, except for you.

 

[TonyStark]

Depends on what type of problem you want to solve. Let's say I'm motivated to provide the best limo service in town. Then I'd go around contacting limo companies about their problems, people that take taxis and uber, club owners, wedding shops, prom & tux rental shops. You have to be specific in the problems you're targeting. Don't just solve problems, but find problems you're motivated to solve.

 

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[Maxjohan]

Or you can go the other route. Finding markets with money. No need to do re-search and idea extract then. The best tool which I use a lot to find markets is http://www.spyfu.com

It's priceless if you plan to start a Internet business. Because you can see click estimates and how much money is spent per click and per month overall. You can also see the click through rate. Say it is at 2% which is quite common. Say clicks on broad keywords are $5,000 a month. Then you can estimate that the market as a whole is worth around $5,000 times 50. 2%x50 = 100%.

So people are fighting for around $250,000 worth of traffic which isn't pay per click. But I forgot you need to deduct the 2% that are clicking on ads too. So it will be slightly less.

I personally believe problem solving by interviewing RANDOM people is over-rated. You need to at least focus on something to get somewhere.

Like that Limo analogy the poster above me made. First find a profitable market. Then find a problem in the market. Unless you are comfortable getting into any kind of business(with any kind of stupid solution lol) that is.

 

[Vigilante]

Ive been researching idea extraction (finding problems to solve) and it seems everyone is saying to target businesses and business owners. Is this better than directly targeting consumers and asking what their problems are? Should I be asking business owners as well as consumers? I was planning on going door knocking, walking around busy city areas etc asking consumers about their problems as well as focusing on specific consumers such as parents. Would contacting business owners be better or should I focus on both?

This problem would be best served up to people that are selling dreamers courses on "idea extraction."

 

[Delmania]

Ive been researching idea extraction (finding problems to solve) and it seems everyone is saying to target businesses and business owners. Is this better than directly targeting consumers and asking what their problems are? Should I be asking business owners as well as consumers? I was planning on going door knocking, walking around busy city areas etc asking consumers about their problems as well as focusing on specific consumers such as parents. Would contacting business owners be better or should I focus on both?

Dane Maxwell strikes again! Remember, if someone is selling you something on how to make a business, guess what their business is? If you listen to his story about how he made his first business, you need to keep in mind the fact that he had an existing relationship with the customer, that should key you into the best strategy for idea extraction, which is immersion.

Find forums and other gatherings with business owners, and engage them in conversations. Your focus isn't "tell me your problems", but "tell me about business". And then listen. It make take some time, but the more you learn about the operations of a business, the more you can identify those issues that people face. They'll either tell you directly, hint at it, or you'll notice. Find a very small problem, and then offer a solution. The key is to gain their trust.

 

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[Delmania]

Also, "idea extraction targets" is the wrong mindset. You are trying to find people you can provide value to. The former is an emphasis on you, the latter is an emphasis on them.