I can’t take credit for this one. That should go to Mark Kilens and Nick Bennett, Co-Founders of TACK.
Yesterday, while we were recording a soon-to-be-released podcast episode, Mark mentioned the value of an MVA.
That is, a Minimally Viable Audience. Traditionally, software development and businesses have started with a Minimally Viable Product. That is all changing. With the rise of communities, social networking, influencers, and partnerships, building an audience is just as important as a product.
For Mark and Nick, this is at the core of People-First GTM:
“People-first GTM is business strategy that uses storytelling, relationships, and partnerships to create, capture, and convert demand into revenue. It’s designed to put people at the center of every interaction and experience.”
And I think they’re on to something. Before even building a product, it’s critical to find the audience for which you are building it. That is your MVA. From this, you’ll learn more about their pain points, their willingness to buy, and potentially the size of the market. This will make building your MVP that much more efficient. It will be a more collaborative effort and a more collaborative company. And most importantly, a more valuable business.
Here are three ways we (unintentionally) built an MVA at The Juice:
- Communities: Where do your people hang out? Go hang out with them. That doesn’t mean selling them. Participate in the conversation—give more than you get. You’ll learn, make a few friends, and likely find a few prospects along the way. For us, that meant communities like Superpath, ClubPF, RevGenius, and Pavilion.
- Interviews: We talked to 100 marketers in 100 days before building anything. We wanted to validate their pain point and validate our vision. Without a formal beta program, some people in this audience helped inform and opted into our beta program!
- Customers: I think treating your first customers as a community is critical, both figuratively and literally. Help them learn from each other, and be sure you listen to them. The first 100 customers are a critical audience.
This process never stops. Audience building and community building are valuable no matter the stage of your business or your product. If you’re lucky (and smart) enough, you can very intentionally build an audience ahead of product.
A loyal audience is incredibly valuable. It can become your MVP—most valuable product.
Until next week,
Jonathan
Audience Worthy Content:
🧃GTM Rollout Essentials Best Practices for Deploying Your GTM Plan
From: Fullcast
Rollout is a crucial, but often overlooked phase of GTM Planning. You need to get this right to achieve your corporate goals. Otherwise you'll be cleaning up the chaos.
Luckily you don't need to wing it! We've collected all of our GTM plan rollout best practices in this convenient handbook to ensure that your launch is a great success.
🧃The Future of Work with Jason Lemkin and Wade Foster
From: ActiveCampaign
In the first episode of Angles and Insights Podcast, host Casey talks with Jason Lemkin (SaaStr) and Wade Foster (Zapier) to debate the SaaS landscape.
🧃Practical Steps to Improve Content Operations featuring Angus Edwardson
From: The Juice
"Content isn't just king. It's the whole kingdom when you're talking about digital transformation."
These are the words from content expert Angus Edwardson, Co-founder at GatherContent by Bynder.
In this episode of The Content Cocktail Hour, Host Jonathan Gandolf and Angus discuss the evolution of content operations, particularly focusing on the impact that content strategy has had on digital transformation, the role it plays in business at the strategic C-suite level.
