Simply put, castdev, CustDev is an algorithm or program of action that aims to:

• to put forward a hypothesis about what problems and needs customers have;
• conduct research of the target audience and its needs on a small scale;
• Based on the data obtained, either create a new minimum viable version of the product (MVP) or refine the existing product and bring it to the market for feedback.

All this provides experience, allows businesses to learn what can work and what cannot. Thus, the company can quickly make the necessary marketing or product changes. CustDev helps:

• understand what is really necessary and useful for customers;
• avoid the risk of developing a product that will not be needed by potential customers;
• Save time and resources.

What tasks does CustDev solve in business and when is it useful

The main advantage of conducting a CustDev study is that its results allow business leaders to focus not on their personal assumptions, but on the real needs of the target audience. You can immediately create practical products that are needed in the market.

To summarize, we can identify several main tasks that a good castdev allows you to solve:

In what situations can CustDev be used?

In theory, there is an opportunity to «castdev» or test the viability of a future product in any business area. In this case, the most effective method will be in two situations:

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1. Launch of a new business, a specific product or service. Most often, CustDev is conducted by startups or just young companies that create a completely new offer or try to conquer a market that has not yet been occupied.

When you want to make a product with a small budget, there is no room for error. Therefore, it is important to understand exactly what the market needs and how to create a sought-after finished product the first time. Castdev helps:

• understand how to act;
• collect more information;
• Minimize startup risks.

2. Complete change or modernization of an existing product. If a product is already on the market, but does not achieve the desired results or there are problems with its sale, the CustDev method can help identify the reasons for the decline in demand and correct the situation.

How to conduct CustDev research: main stages

Customer Development is primarily research. Based on its results, a strategy for further actions and a new product of the company are developed.

The process of conducting Customer Development research itself is quite complex, it must be performed in a certain sequence. The first castdev study should be conducted under the guidance of an experienced marketer in order to fully understand the algorithm of actions, as well as get the desired result.

CustDev includes several key stages, each of which plays an important role in creating a sought-after product or service. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

Stage 1: Creating a hypothesis

First of all, it is important to make a hypothesis or assumption about what the needs of the audience are, what pains potential consumers have:

• what the audience lacks in general;
• which products are not available in the selected market.

It is important to conduct castdev responsibly. At this stage, you should assemble a team that will put forward ideas based on your own experience, market data, and competitive analysis. New hypotheses must be clearly formulated, measurable and testable. There can be several assumptions.

Step 2: Target audience segment selection
In the second stage, you will be able to narrow down the circle of your consumers and clearly define the target audience for which the research will be directed. In other words, you need to assess the situation and draw up a portrait of the target audience.

Customer segmentation allows you to focus on a specific group of people who have common characteristics and needs:

age;
floor;
hobby;
profession;
habits;
geographical location.
You can also divide the target audience into segments by belonging to a group. Example: These can be people who have a driver's license.

Step 3: Compilation of a list of issues
The next step is to prepare for research: surveys and interviews. The most important part in this case is compiling a list of questions for such an interview. The quality of the information received, and therefore the results of the project study, will depend on their accuracy. Questions should be open-ended and aimed at identifying customer problems and needs.

The main purpose of conducting an interview is to obtain unique information, data that is difficult to come up with on your own. For example, you expected that people care about one feature of the product, but in fact, almost every person surveyed relies on completely different characteristics.

Research will help you adapt the product and completely redesign the experience of using it to meet the needs of your target audience. You can choose any format, for example, an in-depth interview. The most important thing is that as a result of the interview, you can get the necessary information, the honest opinion of a group of people.

The number and specificity of the questions depends solely on the hypothesis put forward, the type of interview and the target audience. The subject of the survey can be both your existing solution and a potential product analogue of a competitor.

For example, consider some questions for castdev. They can be included in user interviews:

How do you currently cover the need for a product? How satisfied are you and ready to use the current solution? What problems do you face during operation?
What do you like and dislike about the product right now?
Which features would be most useful to you? What is missing? What are the mistakes?

Step 4: Search for respondents
At this stage, you need to find and attract respondents from the selected segment. Usually, acquisition occurs with the help of your website, as well as:

social media or blog;
specialized forums;
Email;
friends and acquaintances;
opinion leaders.
To conduct, for example, an in-depth interview, you need 20-60 respondents. However, the figure may vary depending on the specifics and direction of the business, as well as the budget. At least 10 people need to be invited for an interview.

Step 5: Conducting an interview
This is a key stage of CustDev research, which must be approached responsibly. Interviews are conducted in a trusting atmosphere so that respondents can frankly share their opinions and experiences.

CustDev interviews can be conducted in person, over the phone, or via video call over the internet. It is important to ask questions clearly, write down the respondents' answers during the interview for later analysis.

Most often, within the framework of CustDev research, the following types of personal interviews are used:

decision interview;
problem interview.

Stage 6: Results and MVP Creation
After the interview, it is necessary to analyze the data obtained and determine which problems and needs are most relevant to customers. Based on this data, you will form conclusions and adjust initial hypotheses.

Once all the necessary information is obtained, you can start creating an MVP — a minimum viable version of the product.

This is a product that will include only the most necessary functionality to solve the identified problems. With an MVP, you can quickly enter the market, get feedback from users, and continue to improve the value of the product based on real feedback.
How to use the results of the study
At the stage of familiarization with this tool, some managers do not fully understand what to do with the results of CustDev research.

First, present the results of the survey, testimonials or interview with the client in the form of a table or in a graphical version. Usually, the tabular version is clearer, more convenient and is used more often. It is quite simple to draw it up:

In the first line, write a general question and combine it into several columns;
then under the line in the first column — the name of the respondent;
in the following columns, arrange the most important data within the survey (age, profession, etc.);
the last column is the answer to the question;
In a separate column, there should be notes from the interviewer - here you can find everything that is important for your situation: how the respondent behaved, what kind of insider information he shared.

In general, all this is necessary to group the answers by topic in one place and draw certain conclusions from them: whether your hypothesis was confirmed or not.

For example, a skincare company thinks that a new green shampoo with the smell of freshly cut grass is a breakthrough product that everyone will love. This is the manufacturer's hypothesis.

In fact, it may turn out that such a non-standard smell and color of shampoo frightens consumers. They are used to simpler flavors.

However, another situation may arise. Everyone, on the contrary, will be delighted with the innovation, there will be interest. To understand which of these two options is true, you need to ask consumers about it: conduct interviews, quantitative surveys, group all the answers, and perform data analysis.

Let's consider the indicators and the direction of the answers itself, which will indicate that the hypothesis is confirmed:

Most of the respondents say that they just lacked such a prototype product on the market. It solves their problem, and they are ready to pay for such a product.
Respondents describe in detail their current problem that the product can successfully solve and demonstrate their willingness to switch to a new product.
Customers are ready to leave their contacts to receive information about the launch of the product or to participate in subsequent tests.
Some respondents express a willingness to abandon current solutions in favor of a new product, even despite the potential costs or inconveniences of the switch.

Difficulties and nuances in the framework of the CustDev study
Companies that are trying to organize castdev for the first time may face doubts and difficulties. Some people think that the Customer Development methodology does not justify itself, since it takes time and resources to implement the study.

Let's consider the main objections and doubts that may arise when using the CustDev concept.

1. Difficulty interpreting data
Analyzing the collected data and materials can be complex and time-consuming. The team does not always have specialists who can perform high-quality processing of information from respondents and transform it into recommendations for improving the product. Without this, the tool will be useless.

To simplify the process of collecting and interpreting data, you can use special programs to process and visualize the results. In particular, services based on neural networks that can simplify the task have begun to appear en masse today.

2. The danger that the idea of the product may be stolen
If you start talking about a product before its full launch, there is a good chance that someone will be able to copy the technology or take away a unique idea for their business before the full launch of the product.

Most often, such a risk is far-fetched. The fact is that within the framework of castdev, all the functions, details, and ideas of the product are not disclosed. Usually, interviewers only gather information about customer problems in order to refine the idea.

3. Research will scare away the target audience
Modernizing your USP with an interview or survey, on the contrary, will only increase the loyalty of product users. There are rarely situations when customers learn about the product and talk only about the negative aspects. More often than not, potential buyers understand that the current product or service is a prototype that will be upgraded after their feedback.

4. Underestimating the importance of a continuous process
Some companies believe that CustDev is only about testing an idea in a one-time format. However, in order to get the maximum effect, it is important to understand that castdev research is an ongoing process.

Constant interaction with customers and regular updates and refinements of product features help companies to:

more accurately meet the needs of the target audience;
respond quickly to market changes;
To keep a stable level of sales every month.
This is especially useful for startups and new companies.
Let's summarize
In today's world, where success depends on the ability to adapt quickly and be flexible, CustDev is becoming an integral part of any business development strategy. Customer Development is a method that allows you not only to create products and services that resonate with your target audience, but even to form deeper and more trusting relationships with customers.

It is important to remember that Customer Development is a complex process that requires certain skills on the part of marketers and analysts. The success of your product sales will depend on the correctly formulated hypothesis, on correctly composed questions for interviews with potential consumers and analysis of the information received. And therefore business as a whole.

In the process of researching and interacting with customers, you not only test your hypotheses, but also open up new opportunities for growth and innovation.