Ask HN: Should you use a fake landing page to validate your idea?
Hello Abetlen.<p>I sort of work in marketing, long story, not the place.<p>I read the other comments, so my response:<p>1. I see no point in messing around and not acknowledging it for what it is. It is fake. Although I prefer to describe it as deception. No point beating around the bush. If you are going to do it, at least call it for what it is. Unless of course you state the product isn’t ready.<p>2. Where I stand is a bit more complicated, and that is not me weaseling my way out of it. The following is also what I say to startups I work with.<p>3. This attempt at market demand validation has a number of factors that will greatly influence if validation will occur or not. The user Rococode touched on some of the points in his reply. The person he is referring to in his example built a large e-commerce business. He was exploring a new product.  This guy either built or had personnel to build him a top notch webstore that gave a sizable impression of a fully functioning website. I assume, based on having a successful e-commerce business that this guy knew the recommended best practices when it comes to a webstore: reviews in the right place, high quality images, trust signals, security signals, etc, etc, the works.<p>This guy then brought a variety of ads. Again based on the successful e-commerce business I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume he knew which keywords to use, the various factors involved in targeting the right potential buyer (segmentation, buyer intent, etc), had compelling ad copy, decent landing page (and the things needed to make a good landing page), etc, etc.<p>So, going to the start of this point, market demand validation has a number of factors that will greatly influence if validation will occur or not. And so you have to ask yourself, do you have that skill-set to get those various micro-validations to occur in order for the big main validation to occur?<p>4. When it comes to idea validation, what does that mean to you, to me it’s too vague. What are the elements of your idea? What exactly are you validating?  In order for what I assume is an attempt at market demand validation where there is a button on a website that suggests (in this case) a monetary transaction will take place. It is fair to say you need a decent understanding of the problem, the contributing factors, the root causes, the pain points, motivations, objections and reservations, the solution, the benefits from the solution, the goal and the end-goal.<p>Now take into account the aforementioned things in point 3, decent landing page, right channel, right segment, right targeting, right keywords (if using ads), etc. How many things, how many micro-validations need to occur in order for the required validation to occur?<p>5. That example in point 4, is B2C or B2 Small B where the buyer and user are the same. Now take into account if it is a B2 Mid B or B2Enterprise. If the sales approach is to be a bottom up sales approach, and a PQL funnel, which is where you target the end-user bypassing management, because the end-users have the discretion to use their own products, then let’s group that as a B2C or B2 Small B approach as well for arguments sake.<p>But if this a traditional B2 Mid B or B2Enterprise, then you could be targeting internal champions who may or may not have a small fund of their own. If not, then you have the most complicated, time consuming sales model, multiple stakeholders, etc, etc. So, what exactly is going to be validated here? Market demand? The ones holding the purse strings, very unlikely indeed that you will even be targeting, as for knowing what to say to them? I’ll be polite and say next to no chance.<p>6. Far too many startups, and far too many people who have experience in these things (and a s<i></i>t load that don’t) keep proposing these shortcuts to validate, when they have either not taken into account, or chosen not to state, the many other things involved in what they think is a controlled experiment. What type of experiment has so many unknowns in it like this?<p>7. I am in favour of shortcuts, but I like to know what I am cutting out.<p>8. If what you are proposing is no different from what is already on the market, ie there is nothing unique about your proposition (segment, product, price, positioning, etc, etc, then what’s the point in wasting time? The markets validated.<p>9. As for your other questions, Any resources one can share that worked better for you? Case by case really. If you want to chat further let me know.<p>Cheers, Ace.