User research - the guerrilla approach
You have a project, either for your own firm or for a client, and you’d like to talk to some prospective customers (hopefully this happens all the time:-) How do you find good people to talk to? It’s not always the easiest thing to do. Sometimes you’ll want to use a research/recruiting firm, but there are many cases where it’s better to dig in and do it yourself. Here are some reasons for bootstrapping:
1. It can be cheaper. Research firms can charge upwards of $150 per person just for the recruit, plus incentive.
2. Higher confidence prospects. Sometimes even the best screeners result in bad recruits. Rather than spend the time clarifying your needs with the recruiter, get on the phone and do it yourself. You can probably identify a good or bad candidate within the first 5 minutes.
3. You’re the one building a relationship with the customer. It comes across more genuine when prospects are talking with the actual person who is looking for help. Plus, you have the opportunity to start what could be an ongoing relationship. For example, you’re likely going to want to invite people to preview your application - why not get some early potential beta customers?
To give you an example, we tackled just such a challenge with one of our clients, a brand new startup looking to launch a new social platform targeting a specific, but widely demonstrated online behavior. In one week’s time, we identified, recruited and completed 25 interviews with great people. Here’s what we did:
1. Described the type of people we wanted to talk to, then identified several sites where such users might already be.
2. Went to those sites to track down contact information. With the Web 2.0 evolution, tons of people have email addresses and phone numbers listed. When they didn’t, many sites provide submission forms to contact members. In addition, tons of people have other online profiles, either through their own web sites or pages on MySpace and LinkedIn.
3. Sent emails or submitted forms to upwards of 100 people, promising a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate for a 30 minute interview. We kept the emails personable but professional and honest. We referenced the evidence of their online behavior that we appreciated and explained why we wanted to talk to them.
4. Followed up with each person who responded, conducted the interviews, and promptly sent them their gift certificates when done.
Not only did we get great information to help our client build a better application, but most of the people we interviewed wanted to be invited into the Alpha program.