How to get early adopters from user testing or user interviews

Based on research done by Bulbshare, over 90% of surveyed consumers believe that brands that collaborate with them are more authentic, trustworthy, and would make them feel more involved with that brand. This confirms that the process of user testing or user interviews is not just a research activity, but rather an opportunity for you to establish a lasting relationship. If you are a startup, it is an opportunity for you to gain an early adopter or user of your product. Here are a few suggestions that you can try to increase your chances of converting them into an actual customer or user.

 

Offer an exclusive promotion or discount

Afterall, the user who is participating in the user test/interview is spending much more time to learn about your product than someone who may have visited your website or interacted with one of your marketing or sales campaigns. Plus, you've got them right in front of you without having to wait for them to book a time, or even get interested in your product. This is a big opportunity for you to offer them exclusive access to your product, and keep them involved. 

 

Create an "interested" community

Regardless of whether the user is actually going to buy your product, there is no harm in asking them if they would want to stay in the know. For those who have agreed to, put them on a mailing list, invite them to your Slack group, or pull them into a Lightster community. This way when you launch a new product or feature, they can stay updated and be one of the first opportunities you've got to try them. Plus, you now have a community that you can tap into for continuous discovery and feedback - so that you can co-create your product together with them.

 

Identify the key decision makers

You may not be the salesperson on your team, and the person you speak to also may not be the key person who will make the decision to buy your product. However, there is still no harm in gathering this information as part of your user test or user interviews, as it may help you discover their sphere of influence. This sphere of influence may actually impact their perspective or usage of your product, and make or break their decision to choose your product.

 

Ask what it would take for them to choose your product

The user that you're speaking to might be using a competitor of yours, or may be solving the problem that your product solves using an alternate way. Regardless of what they're doing, you should use the opportunity to pop the question of what it would take for them to choose your product. This could help you identify missing features, improvements that needs to be made to existing features, or even pricing structure. Once you have addressed the things they raise, there would be another opportunity for you to re-engage them in a conversation. 

 

These are just some ways that you can turn a user test or user interview session into a relationship-building activity. User testing or user interviews can be a very warm way for someone to get to know your product and company. However, be sure to split the time you have with the user wisely, and make sure you get the insights you need from the user test or user interview first, before getting into the questions related to getting them to sign-up.