Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
MBA-holding executives, I was amazed to find them annoyed at the idea of “targeting”
or finding their niche users and marketing specifically to them. They balked at the idea of
not marketing to “everyone,” without realizing that:a) “everyone” might not be interested
and b) the target user is more motivated to actually use your product than a generic
“everyman” (or “everywoman”) out there.
Learning about your users is best accomplished by studying either your own product (in
its early stages) or other products or web sites already in existence. If you're building an
app that's going to track commuter transit arrival and departure times and delays,
perhaps look around at whom competing apps or services are targeting. There is a good
chance you'll be targeting the same group, and so putting some time and effort into
considering that group's needs and desires in a product is time well spent.
Let's talk through an example of this, with the fictional transit application I mentioned
earlier. Identifying an audience can be difficult, and you may need to consider more than
one group of people. One group that seems logical to consider is busy commuters or
business travelers. If I want to target this group, I might ask and answer a few questions,
such as:
What features in my app or web site will be attractive to busy people?
What features, nuances, or procedures in my app will slow down a
fast-moving person?
What features can my app have that would actually be useful to
someone who uses public transportation?
How can I easily signal to my busy user that something important is
going on (i.e., a late arriving bus or train)?
How will my application be used? Will it be used to plan a trip, or at
the last minute to reroute? Or both?
The list can go on from there, but you get the picture. By developing a hypothetical
“user” and putting yourself in his or her shoes, you can better understand what you
need to do to make his or her life easier. Make it easier, and you'll gain a user or
customer! Then simply rerun the same research on your next demographic, perhaps this
time “leisure travelers” or “tourists.”
Not all of this research has to take place in your head; resources exist to tap into what
your potential users are saying. Perhaps take a look at the reviews of your potential
competitors, and see what people are loving and hating about those apps. You can also
check out user groups and forums, and even conduct simple Twitter searches to get a
handle on the “issues” in a given area.
As I mentioned a few paragraphs back, you might also already be in a position to have
this information at hand. If you've developed a web site or application in the past, you
might have used a product such as Google Analytics ( http://google.com/analytics ) or
Flurry Analytics ( http://www.flurry.com ). Th ese products can track who uses your
application and give you invaluable information that you can later use to define your
“user.”
 
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