LocalPerks - Local Loyalty Coalition

Model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4
Status: Completed
Cost: $2.36
Tokens: 235,067
Started: 2026-01-05 21:23

User Research & Validation Plan

Key Assumptions to Validate

Problem Assumptions

Assumption Risk Method Target Evidence
Local business owners feel unable to compete with chain loyalty programs High Business owner interviews 75%+ express this frustration
Consumers choose chains over local partly due to rewards High Consumer surveys + interviews 60%+ cite rewards as factor
Individual punch cards are forgotten/lost frequently Med Consumer behavior analysis 70%+ have unused punch cards
Local businesses lack resources for individual loyalty programs High Business cost analysis 80%+ can't justify $200+/mo

Solution Assumptions

Assumption Risk Method Target Evidence
Businesses will join coalitions for customer acquisition High Pre-orders, pilot signups 20+ businesses per neighborhood
Consumers will download another app for local rewards High Landing page, app store tests 10%+ signup rate from traffic
Cross-business redemption creates network value High Prototype testing 40%+ cross-business redemptions
QR code scanning is acceptable UX for point-of-sale Med Prototype user testing 80%+ successful transactions

Business Assumptions

Assumption Risk Method Target Evidence
Businesses will pay $29-59/month for coalition access High Pricing interviews, pre-orders 10+ paying customers
Customer acquisition cost <$50 per business Med Sales channel testing Proven CAC in test campaigns
Business associations will pay coalition licensing fees Med Association interviews 3+ associations commit

Customer Discovery Interview Guide

Business Owner Interview (60 min)

Part 1: Background (10 min)

  • Tell me about your business and how long you've been operating
  • What are your biggest challenges in customer retention?
  • How do you currently reward loyal customers?

Part 2: Competition Pain (15 min)

  • How do you compete with chains like Starbucks or Target?
  • Do customers ever mention loyalty programs?
  • Have you considered building your own rewards program?
  • What stopped you? Cost, complexity, or other factors?

Part 3: Solution Exploration (20 min)

  • If you could share a loyalty program with neighboring businesses...
  • What would make that valuable vs. concerning?
  • How much would you pay for customer acquisition?
  • What would you need to see to trust the system?

Part 4: Implementation (15 min)

  • How tech-savvy is your staff?
  • What POS system do you use?
  • How do you handle promotions today?
  • Who makes purchasing decisions for your business?

Consumer Interview (45 min)

Part 1: Shopping Habits (10 min)

  • Walk me through your typical coffee/lunch routine
  • How do you decide where to go?
  • What loyalty programs do you actively use?

Part 2: Local vs. Chain (15 min)

  • Tell me about the last time you chose Starbucks over a local cafe
  • What factors influenced that decision?
  • How important are rewards in your choice?
  • Do you have punch cards? How many? Do you use them?

Part 3: Solution Interest (15 min)

  • Imagine earning points at the coffee shop and spending them at the bookstore...
  • How appealing is that on a 1-10 scale?
  • What would make you download another app?
  • How would you want to earn/redeem points?

Part 4: Behavior Prediction (5 min)

  • Would this change where you shop?
  • What's the minimum reward that motivates you?
  • How often do you shop in the same neighborhood?

Interview Logistics & Recruitment

Target Numbers:

  • 15 business owners
  • 20 consumers
  • 5 business association leaders

Recruitment Channels:

  • Local business Facebook groups
  • Chamber of Commerce contacts
  • Nextdoor neighborhood posts
  • Coffee shop bulletin boards

Incentives:

  • Business owners: Free year of service
  • Consumers: $25 local gift card
  • Associations: Free coalition setup

Validation Experiments

🎯 Landing Page Test

Goal: Validate demand before building

Headlines to A/B Test:

  • "Local Rewards That Actually Add Up"
  • "Earn at Coffee, Redeem at Books - One Local Loyalty Program"
  • "Beat Starbucks Rewards with Your Neighborhood Coalition"

Success Metrics:

Visitors: >1,500
Signup rate: >8%
Time on page: >45s
Email quality: <10% bounce

Budget: $800 Google/Facebook ads over 2 weeks

🧪 Wizard of Oz MVP

Goal: Test full experience manually

Process:

  1. Partner with 5-8 businesses in one neighborhood
  2. Create simple QR codes for each business
  3. Manual points tracking via Google Sheets
  4. Text/email updates to customers
  5. Handle redemptions personally

Target Metrics:

50+ customers
30% cross-redemption
Weekly usage: 60%
NPS: >40

Timeline: 4 weeks setup + 4 weeks testing

📋 Survey Design

Business Owner Survey (10 questions)

  • Business type and customer volume
  • Current loyalty/marketing spend
  • Competition challenges (scale 1-10)
  • Interest in coalition model
  • Price sensitivity testing
  • Technology comfort level

Consumer Survey (12 questions)

  • Shopping frequency and habits
  • Loyalty program usage
  • Local vs. chain preferences
  • App download willingness
  • Reward expectations
  • Neighborhood shopping patterns

Distribution Strategy:

Google Ads: $300
Facebook targeting: $200
Local groups: Organic
Target: 500+ responses

8-Week Validation Timeline

1-2

Problem Validation

Customer discovery interviews, survey launch

3-4

Solution Validation

Landing page A/B test, concept validation

5-6

Pricing Validation

Willingness to pay, pre-order attempts

7-8

Experience Validation

Wizard of Oz MVP, user experience testing

Weekly Tasks Breakdown

Week 1: Recruit 8 business interviews, launch consumer survey

Week 2: Complete interviews, analyze patterns, design landing page

Week 3: Launch landing page A/B test, run ads

Week 4: Analyze landing page data, conduct pricing interviews

Week 5: Van Westendorp pricing survey, pre-order attempts

Week 6: Recruit pilot businesses, design Wizard of Oz

Week 7: Launch manual MVP with 5-8 businesses

Week 8: Collect usage data, NPS survey, synthesis

Resource Requirements

Total Budget: $2,000
Ads & Landing Page: $800
Interview Incentives: $1,000
Tools & Software: $200
Time Commitment: 60-80 hours

Go/No-Go Decision Framework

Success Metric Target Weight Actual Pass?
Business owners confirm loyalty competition pain 75%+ Critical TBD ☐
Landing page signup conversion rate 8%+ Critical TBD ☐
Businesses willing to pay $29+/month 60%+ Critical TBD ☐
Pilot businesses recruited per neighborhood 8+ High TBD ☐
Cross-business redemption rate in pilot 30%+ Critical TBD ☐
Pilot customer Net Promoter Score 40+ High TBD ☐

Decision Criteria: Pass ALL Critical metrics + 75% of High metrics to proceed with full development.

Research Synthesis Template

📊 Quantitative Findings

Problem Validation:

  • % businesses feeling loyalty competition pressure
  • Average monthly marketing spend
  • Customer retention rates
  • Punch card usage statistics

Solution Interest:

  • Coalition concept appeal scores
  • Price sensitivity analysis
  • Feature priority rankings
  • Implementation timeline preferences

Market Dynamics:

  • Customer acquisition costs
  • Competitive spend analysis
  • Technology adoption readiness

💬 Qualitative Insights

Pain Point Quotes:

  • Most impactful business owner quotes
  • Consumer frustration examples
  • Competitive pressure stories
  • Current solution limitations

Solution Reactions:

  • Initial enthusiasm indicators
  • Concerns and objections raised
  • Feature requests and suggestions
  • Implementation preferences

Unexpected Discoveries:

  • Assumptions that proved wrong
  • New opportunities identified
  • Market dynamics not anticipated

🎯 Next Steps Based on Results

Strong Validation (80%+ metrics)

Proceed to MVP development with current feature set and pricing model

Mixed Results (60-80%)

Iterate on value proposition, adjust pricing, or refine target market

Weak Validation (<60%)

Pivot to different problem/solution or explore adjacent opportunities