marketing, beta-testing, user-engagement, user-acquisitionI am the CEO and CMO of a startup in the app industry. We are currently in development and it’s going very well. Our MVP (Minimum Valuable Product) is scheduled to be launch in mid December. We would like to create a Beta test in order to collect valuable usage data and find bugs and missing features (Basically have a general feedback on how good our app is). My question is since we want as many people to be part of the beta test as possible. When should I start (as the CMO) seeking for beta tester?
A- Should I wait and start at the launch?
B- Should I start prior to the launch and build somewhat of anticipation? (Just like must games nowadays do)(Note here that our app is not a game)
I now this may seems a stupid question to some but I was wondering what could be the best practice. Should I wait to have a somewhat finished product before starting to sell it to potential user or should I get people interest in order to make the launch more successful?
Please note that it is my first startup and I still have a lot to learn.
Thank you in advance!
I am the CEO and CMO of a startup in the app industry. We are currently in development and it’s going very well. (…) When should I start (as the CMO) seeking for beta tester?
If development is underway without early adopters, you’ve done a dubious job. Customer Development 101 teaches that you look for clients before you bother developing anything.
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is now.” (Chinese proverb)
Stop procrastinating, start building a list asap, and get the alpha in front of users. As things stand you’re not even sure your app will solve a problem your clients will pay for to fix. For all you know you may have wasted months of developer time on something the market simply does not want.
(Along the same idea, be wary of your definition of MVP. Yours is simply MP: Minimum Product. The key bit in MVP is Viable, and the only sure way to know if you have the V in MVP is to be talking to users and selling before building.)
I’ve been involved in a number of early adopter programs for developers with Microsoft, sometimes on products that were more than two years from potential release, so to hear someone say they are less than five months from release and they still don’t have anyone outside their company (i.e., adopters) is a bit concerning. That being said, all is not lost.
Talking with potential customers via social media is all fine and well, but that that’s shaky in the sense that at the time you were doing so, this was still more of a conceptual project than a tangible one. People say many things – the reality is different when they have an actual product in hand. Their perception of your product, its usefulness, and their willingness to pay for it changes the moment they go from thinking about it to actually using it.
Early adopter programs have a long tail, frankly because they have to. It takes a substantial amount of time to find, vet, and select your early adopters (you aren’t just going to bring anyone into this, are you?). Then you have to distribute the product to them and give them plenty of time to try it out and formulate their feedback. Then you have to go back and make adjustments based on whatever issues or feature enhancements they give you.
Given where you are now, there’s not much time to engage in any substantial early adopter program unless you’re willing to push back your launch date to account for any unforeseen issues or major changes that need to be made.
My suggestion would be to go back to those people who were the most engaged and provided the best feedback during your social media testing and ask them if they’d be willing to try out your product now on an expedited basis. You’ll need to define a timeline with them, because time is of the essence for you, obviously. You need enough time to adjust based on their input.
It’s also a good idea to come up with some kind of compensation plan for those testers who give you timely, useful feedback as a reward for their efforts, even if it’s just recognition to the world of their contribution to your product/service.
I hope this helps.
Good luck!
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