Digging For Market Problems Worth Solving With Open-Ended Questions

Episode 62: Digging for Market Problems Worth Solving, With Open-Ended Questions

Example Open-Ended Questions You Can Start With

The easiest way to come up with an open-ended question – one that can’t be answered with “Yes” or “No” – is to remember the “5 W’s and an H”: Who, What, When, Where, Why & How. If you start your question with one of those words, it’s pretty likely to be open-ended. For example, here are some questions you can ask to get people talking about their problems:

  • What is the most annoying thing you have to do every day?
  • How often do you have to stop the machine for an error?
  • When is your busiest time in a project?

Continuation Questions

The continuation questions are for keeping people talking. (One isn’t even a question, more a request):

  • What happens next?
  • Tell me more.
  • How does that make you feel?
  • What would happen if you didn’t have to do that?
  • What would happen if you didn’t fix that?

The Five Questions To Ask About Any Product Idea

Once you’ve found a real problem, you have to determine if it’s worth solving. These are questions you have to ask yourself – and have good answers for – before even starting to build a solution.

  • Who is this product for?
  • Why do they want it? What problem does it solve for them?
  • How are they solving this problem today?
  • What’s wrong with their current solution?
  • Why is your product a better solution for them?

I covered these five questions in more detail in my podcast episode entitled, unsurprisingly, The Five Questions To Ask About Any New Product Idea.

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Recommended Links and Books

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