getting product feedback pre-product // shireen yates, 6sensorlabs [firstmark's hardwired nyc]
TRANSCRIPT
trust your food
6SensorLabs background
- Founded in 2013 at MIT
- 15 full-time ppl (90% engineers)
- Based in San Francisco
- First product is Nima, a portable gluten sensor (DTC)
How Nima works
How to get product feedback before you build a product
Market research and prototyping techniques to test:
- Your market
- Price points
- The ecosystem in which your product lives
- Product features
Used quick ways to unpack our assumptions
1. People are stressed about avoiding certain foods and find it challenging when eating socially.
2. Millions with food allergies and sensitivities want to test their food when eating out.
3. People are willing to pay to test their food.
4. People would want to test multiple foods each week.
market
Survey to quantify pain points and address assumptions
1. Frequency of eating out? 2. Frequency of getting sick from food when eating out? 3. What would you test? 4. Frequency of testing? 5. Willingness to pay per test? 6. Most important features?
market
Tool tips: - Google form - Facebook ads, audience
targeting
Evaluate responses
1. 4x/week 2. 1 out of 3 times 3. 80% said yes 4. 3x/week 5. $0 - $2,000 a test
6. Most important: - portability - sensitivity - accuracy - speed - price
market
Test prices
1. Create a product promotion landing page
2. Test multiple price points 3. Evaluate conversions
price
Tool tips: - unbounce.com for
multivariate testing
- Tested 25 variations: - 5 sensor prices - 5 disposable prices - Evaluated conversions
Test prices price
Product impact: demand curve to understand price elasticity
Tool tips: - Follow-up with a conjoint
analysis to further test your price points
Understand the ecosystem where your product lives
- Took 10 GF consumers out to eat
- Asked open-ended questions
- Gave them a proto and asked them what they would test
say do
think feel
ecosystem
Product impact: stress and mistrust drives frequency of use
Demographic:--!"Associate"art"director"at"a"media"company"(creates"commercials,"promo"videos)"!"Early"20s,"recently"moved"to"SF,"goes"out"o=en"with"friends,"""
DO-! When"she"was"first"diagnosed,"got"one"slot"of"the"toaster,"a"
dedicated"pan,"etc."but"it"wasn’t"enough."SFll"got"sick"unFl"they"really"separated"her"stuff"
! Got"“hook"worm"therapy”"in"England"–"supposed"to"help"with"allergies"
! Used"to"feel"the"onset"of"gluten"very"soon"a=er"eaFng,"now"takes"a"lot"longer"
! Checks"a"lot"of"yelp"reviews"before"choosing"where"to"eat"--
Libby-C-! 22"! Goes"out"with"
friends"o=en"
SAY-! “I"know"I’ll"get"sick"at"least"once"a"month”"–"knows"she’ll"get"
gluten"bombed"regularly"! “I"feel"like"I"have"to"apologize"before"I"order”"–"feels"bad"about"
asking"a"bunch"of"quesFons"about"cross"contaminaFon"! “feel"embarrassed”"–"about"asking"quesFons"when"she"gets"her"
food"! When"asked"about"if"there"was"one"thing"with"gluten"that"tested"
posiFve"!"“If"there’s"something"on"my"plate"with"gluten,"I’m"not"eaFng"any"of"it”"or"if"she"ate"it,"“I"wouldn’t"enjoy"it”"(it"would"stress"her"out)"
"THINK--
! Doesn’t"like"always"having"to"be"the"person"who"decides"where"to"eat."Wants"her"friends"to"do"it"too."“Doesn’t"want"to"be"that"annoying"person”"who"always"decides"
! Afraid"of"brunches"–"a"lot"of"cross"contaminaFon."Suggests"picnics"+"mimosas"instead"
FEEL""! Feels"a"lack"of"freedom"now."Worried"about"where"she"can"go"
out"to"eat"! Trusts"pasta"–"“they"would"have"to"be"preVy"dumb"to"cook"it"in"
the"same"pot”"! When"she"gets"glutened,"gets"“serious"brain"fog”"like"she’s"
“really"stoned”."Then"gets"stomach"issues,"has"to"run"to"the"bathroom,"etc."
"
GF-Profile:-! Diagnosed"celiac"in"high"school"! “know"I’ll"get"sick"once"a"month”"! “Serious"brain"fog”,"stomach"issues,"
etc."! Former"Celiac"blog"columnist"
"
Product-! Wants"the"product"to"be"very"discreet,"unless"we"push"it"the"exact"opposite"direcFon"and"make"it"very"out"there"and"flashy"! Wants"the"product"to"be"small"enough"to"fit"in"her"clutch."Would"prefer"manual"shake"if"that"enabled"it"to"be"easily"transportable"! SoluFon:"Seeing"the"soluFon"makes"it"feel"very"medical."Worried"about"geZng"the"liquid"on"her"food"and"if"it’s"dangerous"! Spoon:"The"spoon"would"be"easier"to"use"than"not"having"one,"but"it"makes"it"feel"like"a"fecal"sample"! The"big"benefit"of"our"product"for"her"would"be"using"it"at"new"locaFons,"restaurants"without"GF"menus,"etc."–"“it"would"open"so"many"
new"doors”"! When"asked"how"long"she"would"wait,"she"said"a"minute,"and"then"specified"that"she"just"picked"a"number"randomly"that"was"a"short"
amount"of"Fme."The"important"thing"was"to"not"make"her"friends"wait"for"her"when"eaFng"
User Profile:
Prototype context your product will live in
- Asked 10 GF consumers to the office - Set up a “dining room” - Circle on a menu what they would
want to test
ecosystem
Product impact: need to design for solids and liquids
Test product forms with clay and foam features
- I carried a clay model around for one month
- Tested foam models with users
Product impact: narrowed to two shapes that people loved
Build looks-like models features
- With the ID firm, we built two look-like models based on the feedback from foam models
Product impact: the triangular product delivered the best user experience
Tool tips: - Work with a great ID firm
that understands your vision
Test different parts of the functions
food grinding
food sampling
features
Test non-functional protos with users
- Sent to 10 people around the U.S.
- various demographics - various ages - asked to carry around for
two weeks
features in context
Product impact: Nima brings a sense of security
features in contextTest value propositions with users
The testing never stops
Summary
1. First understand if it’s needed before it’s doable.
2. Prototype your product but also the context in which your product lives.