Is there a way to quantify and assess an unmet "need" in a market?

[Sully1994]

When you find yourself discovering a perceived unmet businesss need, I have to wonder, how do you measure that need? In other words, is there a way to find out how significant that need is, and if it is worth building a business around?

For instance, let's say I have a potato chip business, and a seemingly common complaint from people is that often times the chip bags are filled with mostly air. What is the best way to go about researching and getting a rough idea of how many people actually care about air filled chip bags, so I can warrant whether " all chips, no air", is a worthy unique selling proposition?

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

For instance, let's say I have a potato chip business, and a seemingly common complaint from people is that often times the chip bags are filled with mostly air. What is the best way to go about researching and getting a rough idea of how many people actually care about air filled chip bags, so I can warrant whether " all chips, no air", is a worthy unique selling proposition?

This is not necessarily a "need" but a value attribute that can enhance your product offering. I would not consider it a USP as USP's have to be strong enough to exclusively move buying decisions to their favor. In other words, I highly doubt someone will pick your chips (with no air) over the better tasting chips (with air.)

A solid USP, for example, would be ice cream called LOADED -- the hook is it doesn't skimp on its ingredient flavors. The cookie dough flavor is loaded with cookie dough -- the chocolate chip flavor is loaded with chocolate chips. I HATE ice cream manufacturers who market a particular flavor, and yet the ingredient is sparsely placed in the product (so you get vanilla ice cream with a few sprinkles of chocolate chips.) This is more like a USP -- a unique hook on the ice cream packaging would be the value attribute.

 

[Sully1994]

This is not necessarily a "need" but a value attribute that can enhance your product offering. I would not consider it a USP as USP's have to be strong enough to exclusively move buying decisions to their favor. In other words, I highly doubt someone will pick your chips (with no air) over the better tasting chips (with air.)

A solid USP, for example, would be ice cream called LOADED -- the hook is it doesn't skimp on its ingredient flavors. The cookie dough flavor is loaded with cookie dough -- the chocolate chip flavor is loaded with chocolate chips. I HATE ice cream manufacturers who market a particular flavor, and yet the ingredient is sparsely placed in the product (so you get vanilla ice cream with a few sprinkles of chocolate chips.) This is more like a USP -- a unique hook on the ice cream packaging would be the value attribute.

Thanks for the response and clarification MJ - I don't have a business idea yet, and am in the process of doing research. When I do finally land on something, ( and i'll have to make sure that it's actually an unmet need and not a value attribute), do you have any tips on figuring out how big that need actually is? Numbers to run, websites and databases that would be good for research, etc. Thanks!

 

[GuestUser155]

Thanks for the response and clarification MJ - I don't have a business idea yet, and am in the process of doing research. When I do finally land on something, ( and i'll have to make sure that it's actually an unmet need and not a value attribute), do you have any tips on figuring out how big that need actually is? Numbers to run, websites and databases that would be good for research, etc. Thanks!

I've found that you're going to have estimate it in your head. "How many people do I believe this will affect?" Then, mull it over with some die-hard cynics to see if you missed anything.

Also, I wouldn't give too much credence to numbers in this pursuit. When you start mixing mathematics with the real world, you're likely to come out with something bias-ridden.

And finally, don't stress the core idea. You should make the process as quick as possible. Find a legitimate need, do back-of-the-envelope math, decide if you want to get in.

Now, I couldn't help myself:

Ben and Jerry's was founded on MJ's flavour premise. One of the founders had sinus issues so he could barely taste anything. They worked with "if he thought it tasted great, so would everyone else" (not including all of the community outreach).

And the air (nitrogen) in potato-chip bags acts as a cushion so all of the chips don't get crushed.

The more you know.

 

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[Scot]

Start here https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/5-seconds-to-validate-your-idea.70083/

As for getting feedback, talk to people. Ask friends, ask friends if friend's. If it's about a specific niche, go to where those people hang out. You can join FB groups and Internet forums to find out what pain points are or what they'd like to see.

If it's product based, go to a trade show.

 

[Nmm540]

When you find yourself discovering a perceived unmet businesss need, I have to wonder, how do you measure that need? In other words, is there a way to find out how significant that need is, and if it is worth building a business around?

For instance, let's say I have a potato chip business, and a seemingly common complaint from people is that often times the chip bags are filled with mostly air. What is the best way to go about researching and getting a rough idea of how many people actually care about air filled chip bags, so I can warrant whether " all chips, no air", is a worthy unique selling proposition?

I would recommend a book called "Will It Fly" by Pat Flynn (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997082305/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20) He talks about going to certain forums, blogs, social media groups, and websites that relate to your subject and asking questions/reading about whats related to what you wanna do. It helped me to clarify on my idea i had. Good luck

 

[miked_d]

This is the 2nd time I am posting this today.

@Andy Black wrote a post about testing with an Adwords campaign. Look at step 8.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-is-a-market-for-your-products-services.70893

 

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[Summer Adams]

I've started a creative business first, so social media has been a goldmine to me. I like seeing which posts get more likes than others & what kind of material people in engage in too. It's a great way to "test" the market.