Ideal users: Where and how to find them

Who are we essentially finding?

You are finding people who

• Have a problem that you are trying to solve
• Are aware of the existence of the problem
• Have already tried to solve the problem and are unhappy with the current solution to the problem; so they are still actively looking for a solution 
• Have a budget to get the problem solved

But the harder part is – they don’t wear tags or introduce saying they are “early adopters”.

There is no agency or website that can supply you with early adopters.

So, how do we identify them?

We can look for some other “tags” which they wear!

The secret to the tag to be used lies in “finding a solution”.

Where do they seek a solution to their problem?

You need to find places where they hang out in search of a solution.

To find your early adopters, first ask yourself, what are the behaviors of someone who is actively seeking a solution to this problem right now? These actions make up your solution-seeking behaviors list.

This list of solution-seeking behaviors is a great start, but…

It’s critical you talk to the people who demonstrate these behaviors to see what problem they are actually trying to solve. 

First, identify those externally observable behaviors

If you turn a solution-seeking behavior into a behavior that you can identify, you’ve probably found an early adopter.

A list of externally observable behaviors helps you answer the question: where do you find your early adopters? The answer is written within each of these behaviors.

Once you write down the externally observable behaviors—things that you as an outsider can see—you know where to find your early adopters.

Summing up

You find early adopters in the places that they are trying to solve their problems and to find them, look for solution-seeking observable behavior.