It seems so simple, and yet so few startups really take the time to do it well. The most basic and fundamental step for any new company, or an old company introducing a new product for that matter, to take is to intimately understand the pain of their customers. Too often early stage companies and product initiatives get caught up in the uniqueness and sophistication of their technology. Developing unique technology with a sustainable competitive advantage is very important, but it is secondary to developing technology that your customers critically need and will pay for. Take a moment and see how you answer the following questions:

• Do I understand my customer problems intimately and what costs they incur because of those problems?
• Do I understand why they haven’t solved those problems to date, i.e. would the cost of solving it simply be too high?
• What is the profile of customers who have this pain? Is the profile applicable to a large enough market to support my financial plan?
• Have I actually validated my pricing assumptions beyond my first customers? Customers where you have a close relationship, or a very unique problem may skew your perception of what a valid price may be.
• Do I understand how my product may change operational work flows and may impact existing employees jobs?
• Can I develop an ROI (even if it is conceptual) for my product?

If you have answered yes to these questions then you are ahead of the game. I really like what Steven Gary Blank has to say about this topic in his book “Four Steps to the Epiphany”. What this boils down to is that you MUST spend time with your ideal customers beyond your close contacts. It is critical that you interact regularly to validate customer pain, test your product concept and refine your product plan accordingly.