http://www.cindyalvarez.com/testing/wait-until-…

On a separate note, something we're grappling with when it comes to this whole targeting question is on the UI design front: making an educated guess as to male/female split and age range in terms of our first UI look. (obviously it will iterate)

Let me know what you think about the post. I think you'll find it agrees with your opinion that you need to think about (and weigh) who is answering the question and what acquisition tactics might be.

Perhaps my impression is merely because of the need to prioritize the message. It *is* more important to first get people “out of the building”, or to shake bad habits of spending money to scale before proof points are really there (whether from entrepeneur ambition or VC pressure).

I'm going to read the post you link to. I do think demographics are an important thing to think about for consumers – age, location, income level, etc – but certainly don't believe that it is the only way you should be trying to understand customer commonalities.

1st step of Customer Development is testing your core C-P-S assumptions, customer-problem-solution. When one defines “customer,” one is guessing what the target is. So one “discovers” the target, in that, as you say, by “testing the assumption.”

I've written several times on the subject of segmentation, since I think it's one of the least understood marketing principles. (E.g., segmentation != demographics.) The segmentation exercise I outline here is perhaps overkill, but may be useful in your thinking.

For usability testing something like your home page, anyone outside the building qualifies. Discovering customers requires being more selective while keeping your eyes and ears open. I started my <a href=”http://www.boxcloud.com”first product with graphic designers in mind but ended up services small business owners that struggled with FTP.

The goal is to understand not just what product elements really resonate, but with *whom* and, as Jason Cohen stressed, who is willing to pay? It's about being ruthless with yourself in terms of testing assumptions and keeping an open mind.

In the case of Aprizi, which is a consumer play, I have my suspicions as to the primary makeup of my customer base, but I've been talking to lots of folks. As I get customer feedback, I am keeping note of what I'm hearing across different categories such as gender, age, location (urban, suburban, country), and personality/interests. I'm looking for commonalities that help us focus. With that stage done, I have some educated guesses based on what people *say*. The next stage is to really watch what they *do* when the alpha is up!

What do you think?