Get All Access for $5/mo

Be Your Own Customer Before You Launch a Product The many advantages of building and growing a business based on fulfilling your own needs.

By Imran Tariq Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Prasit photo | Getty Images

Do you really know your customers?

Researching and talking with people to create customer profiles can only tell you so much. Think of it this way: in my late twenties, I can only learn so much about people 65-years-old and older. Sure, I might understand them well on paper, but I don't know what it feels like to be in this demographic.

So, if I were to create a product for older people, I'd have to work very hard to understand what my customers really need and want, as I couldn't intuit it or draw from my personal experience.

Something magical happens when you create a business for a customer base you intrinsically understand — you! Treating yourself as your first customer can save you marketing costs, make sure you start with a solid product offering and much more.

Serve yourself first

In doing my research for this article, I reached out to many entrepreneurs who were their own first customers. In an email conversation with Julie Haught, founder of No Flap Ear Wrap, one thing she said really stuck with me: "I had no intention of creating a business at first."

Haught explained, "I simply needed a way to protect Archer, my muscular, 65-pound rescue dog, from escaping the bandaging and e-collar he needed to wear for 10 days after ear surgery. When I took him to the vet to have his stitches removed, he was wearing the prototype to the No Flap Ear Wrap. My vet was so impressed that she told me I should put the product on the market."

Haught's words resonated with me because they exemplify how important it is to be your own customer first. Thinking about her dog's needs and her desire to help let her create a useful solution for their situation. She didn't try to make a business product, she just did what was right for her sanity and her healing dog's health.

Creating a solution to a problem without worrying about how you're going to sell and market it can allow you to create something that's worth a big share of the market.

Related: 6 Steps to a Successful Product Launch

Reach out to friends second

If you are your company's first customer, chances are you have friends or family with similar interests who might be customers of your product or service as well. Serving yourself first likely means you will have quick access to other potential customers who can evaluate your business and give you feedback. In other words, your friends can be your focus groups.

When I first heard that friends could be used as focus groups and other tools to collect research, I was skeptical. After all, a group of strangers or participants who don't know others in the group seems like it'd provide more reliable data.

Thanks to a study published in TQR, I started to change my mind.

The study suggests that "friendship groups" can provide valuable data. A friendship group is composed of a single participant who hosts a group of friends in his or her home. The friends invited are chosen because they fit the target population that's the researcher would like to make inferences about.

In short, a group of your friends can serve as a useful tool that gives you insight into the perceptions, feelings and feedback that your wider customer base might experience. Being able to reliably use friends for a focus group that's representative of your population is incredible. The time, resources and energy you can save by not needing to find random participants and host them is invaluable.

Related: 8 Steps for the Perfect Product Launch

Don't forget yourself

After your company is up and running, it's easy to forget your beginnings. Don't lose perspective as you grow and scale. This doesn't mean you can't pivot, expand or redefine your customer base, but you can't forget what helped you get started in the first place.

A wonderful example of this comes from Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky, the creators of Airbnb. During college, the duo rented out air mattresses to monetize unused parts of their living spaces. Today, Airbnb is so much more.

The company is wildly successful around the globe and it's about to go public. Although the platform now offers much more than air mattress rentals, it hasn't forgotten its humble beginnings. To this day, Airbnb allows users to monetize their unused living space. It also continues to give customers a way to travel with their budgets in mind.

Another way to think about this is to follow a server's career trajectory. When he or she goes out to eat, it's likely that they will be a good tipper because they understand how hard the job can be and how much a good tip can make a server's day.

However, as the server progresses through his or her career and moves up the ladder, they might lose touch with what it feels like to be a server. If they start to manage, they will likely be looking at more emails, attending more meetings and focusing more on the business.

When the manager goes out to eat, he or she might know that tipping is important. However, it's easy to forget what it really feels like or how important it is to be tipped well. As your business scales and grows, never forget what it felt like to be your first customer. If you can stay in touch with customer experience, you will continue to provide valuable solutions.

Keep going

Being your own customer is a huge business advantage. Although it's hard to achieve, if you can build a company around one of your real needs, chances are others will want your products or services, too.

Related: Will Your Product Launch Be a Success? 4 Signs It Won't Be.

Imran Tariq

CEO Of Webmetrix Group

Imran Tariq is the co-founder and CEO of Webmetrix Group, a digital marketing and reputation-management company. He is an author and voice on CNN and CNBC. Tariq also works with seven-figure companies and helps them drive traffic to become market leaders.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Starting a Business

Nearly 50% of America's Workforce Has a Secondary Source of Income or Side Hustle. Here Are 7 Steps You Should Take to Create Lasting Value for Yours.

Today's entrepreneurs have the opportunity to generate long-lasting supplementary income if they take these steps.

Business News

I Tried Buying a Car on Amazon. Here Are the Pros and Cons.

Amazon Autos just launched, and users can buy a new car online. Here's how it works and what needs to improve.

Business News

Barbara Corcoran Says the Best Entrepreneurs Are Good at This One Thing

Real estate entrepreneur and investor Barbara Corcoran says a few key traits prove effective when starting a business. Here's her top pick.

Franchise

Discover the Low-Risk, High Reward of Owning this Property Restoration Franchise

PuroClean offers multiple revenue streams with services related to water, fire, smoke, mold and biohazard damage.

Business News

'I've Got All the Time in the World': AI Grandma Thwarts Scammers By Answering Their Calls

The AI persona called Daisy keeps scammers on the line for 40 minutes at a time with stories of her family and passion for knitting.

Franchise

McDonald's Announces the Return of the Snack Wrap in 2025 — Here's What to Expect From Its Comeback

The decision comes after years of persistent customer demand for the portable snack, which debuted nearly two decades ago.