A lot is written about how to pitch your startup to investors, very little however is said about how to properly pitch to the end-users. This is important however as it is ultimately the end-users who will make or break your company. You may find yourself pitching to end-users in sales meetings, at conferences, on product days or even one on one. Here are some steps to follow to appeal better to end-users.
Find the right test audience
You need to find a test audience that will give you complete and honest feedback about your product. Unfortunately, this rules out friends or family and almost anyone you know directly. Your test users need to be actual members of your target audience. You need high-quality feedback and you need to act on any repeated feedback that arises.
Focus on the reason people buy; the why
It is unlikely that your end-users care anywhere near as much about the tech as you do. It is important then, that when you pitch you are not overwhelming them with tech speak. Focus instead on the “why” and less on the “how”. Tell them about the problem they face and the issues it causes before explaining to them your solution and why they need it.
Close the loop on feedback
Once you have paying customers you need to regularly seek their feedback and where appropriate act on that feedback. Your product should be in a state of continual improvement where your end-users provide feedback, which then gets considered and implemented in future updates.
Avoid confirmation bias
It can be tempting to focus on metrics that make a situation look positive even if it isn’t. It can also be tempting to use the metrics which are positive in light of anecdotal evidence that may be negative. Always question and challenge if your metrics are telling an accurate picture of the situation or not. Your metrics need to demonstrate that your product is being used exactly as intended so quite often Daily Active Users won’t be specific enough.
Pitching and ultimately winning over users is a process especially if your product is still in the early stages of development. What is important is to engage your users, listen to their feedback and respond to it as appropriate.
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