User Research & Validation Plan
Key Assumptions to Validate
| Assumption | Risk | Method | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local businesses experience significant customer retention challenges due to inability to offer competitive loyalty programs | High | Interviews, observation | 80%+ confirm retention as top-3 challenge |
| Current loyalty solutions (punch cards, Square) are inadequate for driving cross-business engagement | High | Competitive analysis + interviews | 70%+ express frustration with fragmentation |
| Consumers actively choose chains over local businesses due to superior rewards programs | Medium | Consumer surveys, interviews | 60%+ admit chain preference due to rewards |
| Local business associations are actively seeking coalition solutions to support members | Medium | Association interviews | 50%+ express active interest in coalition model |
| Businesses are willing to pay $29-59/month for coalition loyalty participation | High | Pricing interviews, competitive analysis | 40%+ willing at target price point |
| Businesses will adopt a QR/phone-based system without dedicated hardware | High | Prototype testing, interviews | 85%+ comfortable with mobile-only approach |
| Consumers will download and actively use a local coalition app | Critical | Landing page test, prototype testing | 5%+ signup rate, 30%+ weekly active |
| 40%+ of redemptions will occur at different businesses than where points were earned | Critical | Concierge MVP, simulation | 40%+ cross-business redemption rate |
| Businesses will accept 5% redemption fees as fair value exchange | Medium | Pricing interviews, value testing | 65%+ view fee as reasonable |
| Local business associations will pay $199/month for coalition management | Medium | Association interviews, pre-orders | 30%+ willing to commit pre-launch |
| Customer acquisition cost will be <$50 per business | High | Ad tests, channel experiments | Proven CAC <$50 in test campaigns |
| Business churn will be <10% monthly after 3 months | Medium | Retention interviews, competitive analysis | Churn <10% based on comparable SMB SaaS |
Customer Discovery Interview Guide
Interview Framework (60-90 minutes)
Part 1: Background & Context (10 min)
- Tell me about your business and your role day-to-day
- How long have you been operating?
- What are your biggest challenges with customer retention right now?
Part 2: Problem Exploration (20 min)
- Walk me through the last time you lost a regular customer to a chain
- How often do customers mention wanting better rewards?
- What's your current approach to customer loyalty?
- How much time/money do you spend on retention activities?
- What frustrates you most about current loyalty solutions?
Part 3: Current Solutions (15 min)
- What tools do you currently use for customer retention?
- What do you like/dislike about punch cards or digital solutions?
- Have you considered joining forces with neighboring businesses?
- What would make you switch to a new loyalty solution?
Part 4: Solution Exploration (15 min)
- If there was a shared loyalty program across your neighborhood...
- What would be most valuable about that?
- What concerns would you have about implementation?
- How much would you expect to pay monthly for this?
- What would you need to see to commit to trying it?
Part 5: Wrap-up (10 min)
- On a scale of 1-10, how painful is customer retention for you?
- Would you be interested in being a pilot business?
- Who else in your neighborhood should I talk to?
Interview Logistics:
Target: 25 interviews (15 businesses, 7 consumers, 3 associations) | Incentive: $50 gift card | Recruitment: Local business networks, chambers of commerce, Reddit local communities
8-Week Validation Plan
1
Week 1-2: Problem Validation
- Conduct 15 customer discovery interviews
- Deploy screening survey (target 200+ responses)
- Analyze transcripts for pain point patterns
- Document validated vs. invalidated assumptions
2
Week 3-4: Solution Validation
- Create landing page with 3 headline variants
- Run A/B test with $500 ad spend
- Launch waitlist (target 100+ signups)
- Follow up with survey respondents for deeper feedback
3
Week 5-6: Willingness to Pay
- Conduct 10 pricing interviews with businesses
- Run Van Westendorp pricing survey
- Test fake door with pricing tiers
- Attempt 5-10 pre-orders at target price
4
Week 7-8: Prototype Validation
- Build Wizard of Oz MVP (manual processing)
- Deliver to 15 early users (10 businesses, 5 consumers)
- Collect NPS and qualitative feedback
- Iterate on core value proposition
Go/No-Go Decision Criteria
| Metric | Target | Actual | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business problem validation | 80%+ confirm retention pain | ☐ | |
| Landing page signup rate | >5% (50+ emails) | ☐ | |
| Price acceptance | 40%+ at $29-59/month | ☐ | |
| Pre-orders | 10+ paying businesses | ☐ | |
| Prototype NPS | >40 | ☐ |
Research Synthesis Template
After validation, document: (1) Top 3 validated pain points with user quotes, (2) Most compelling features vs. ignored features, (3) Optimal price point by segment, (4) Go-to-market insights including where users discover solutions and key buying objections.