Use these 6 probing questions to get better feedback on your app idea.

Other founders are way too loose with their idea. It’s not really that thought out — just kind of a list of some features and this might have one other app they love that they would like to reference.

IMO, the right headspace to be in when you’re building out your app idea is in the middle… Not too stubborn and not too loose.

You don’t want to be so dead set on your idea that you close yourself off to feedback… but you also don’t want to be so open to ideas that you take on anything that gets thrown out to you.

To help you find this “Goldilocks” zone of the perfect place to be, I’ve put together 6 questions you should ask others as you’re getting their feedback on your idea.
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Before you ask for feedback: Your idea pitch.

One important thing to remember before you start asking for feedback is that you want to have  an impactful, and concise pitch ready for your app idea…

Think through how you would describe your idea in 60 seconds or so…

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“You know how people struggle with XYZ?”

Have you ever seen this app that does ____?”

My app idea solves _____ problem just like _____ app does, but instead of using videos from a teacher, my app sorts a message board from other ____.

I plan on launching this feature first, and then moving into _____ down the line.”

What do you think?”

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Asking for feedback: Probing questions.

When you first describe your idea, you might get a “Oh that’s interesting…” as the other person is processing what you just said.

Now here’s the best way to get them to tell you what they really think: Ask probing questions.

Here are 6 questions to get you started:

Have you seen any other apps doing something similar?

Ask them specifically if they know of or use another app doing something similar to your idea! This is really great information so you can start researching other companies you might not have seen before. 

What do you like about the idea?

This is an easy question to get them talking about what parts they think are cool… When they describe what they like about your idea back to you, they are basically telling you what features stand out the most to them…

So when you start marketing your idea, if you lead with THOSE features it will catch attention much more quickly.

What am I not seeing?

Get their insight… Depending on who you ask, they might have be able to help you identify big roadblocks that you haven’t thought of…

What features would you start with?

This question helps you narrow in on the ESSENCE of your app idea… Maybe your solves 7-10 problems, but there are 1-2 features you could start with that would help you get initial users and traction.

Who’s a good customer for this?

As you are thinking through you idea, you might have 1 or 2 use cases in mind… “I want stay at home parents to be able to learn _____ without having to leave their house…”

But as you start getting feedback, you can start connecting the dots on how your PLATFORM could serve other markets.

Maybe you describe your idea to a developer and they say something like,

“Yeah that would TOTALLY work for stay at home parents… but you know who else would use this like crazy and pay for it?! I once worked on a project with _____ and they would have paid out the nose for something like this…”

Who would pay for something like this?

This is an addon to the last question, but very valuable. It’s good to start getting insight on not only who would USE your app, but who would PAY for your app.

A great example is anything serving an individual employee in a company — they might use your idea every single day, but their boss would have to approve the cost of your subscription.

Asking this early in the process will help you start thinking about how to get in front of the people with buying power.
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Conclusion

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on your idea… it doesn’t mean your’re weak minded, or your idea isn’t strong enough on it’s own — in fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Also, remember to talk to as many people as possible! Don’t settle for feedback from 2-3 of your close friends… ask random people, professionals, people in your target customer group, and more.

The more you ask, the more insight you’ll gain.

Want to run your idea past myself and our team of pros?

I host an “Office Hours” session every Thursday on Clubhouse where you can ask us anything related to your app idea…

If you want to get some professional insight into your idea, how to build it, and what steps to take, you should come to one of our sessions.

You can register here.