Affordable UX Testing: 5 Tools for Bootstrapped Startups

I love working with Bootstrapped Startups. Partially it’s because I am (a very small) one myself. But it’s also because I’m a huge believer in building your idea without having to give control to other people before you’ve even started. Stakes are high for any startup, and if you’re bootstrapped the stakes may seem even higher — especially if you’re running off your own personal credit, a HELOC, or living in a cardboard box eating cold ramen. You need to make sure you get things right the first time, which means you really, truly, need to put your ideas and prototypes in front of users before you launch. But UX Design and User Testing cost big bucks and take up a lot of time, right? Only if you want them to. Affordable User Experience testing is easy and can be done while you’re out grabbing another cup of coffee. A little testing up front leads to a more successful launch and a more loyal customer base. So are you ready? Let’s to give it a try.

The basic idea behind User Experience Testing is simple: find your potential users and have them try out your product while you watch. The place, format, and structure are determined by what kind of information you are looking for. That means there’s no rule saying you need to spend a lot of time recruiting testers or setting up an elaborate testing lab. The five affordable User Experience testing techniques below will let you validate your idea, make sure your MVP hits the mark with your potential customers, and lets you decide which features to add or remove with data from actual users.

Ok, with that it’s time for the good stuff:

5 Affordable User Experience Testing Strategies for Bootstrapped Startups

1. Coffee Shop Drop-In: This is where you go find your users in their natural habitat. It may be a coffee shop, or it might be somewhere else — a certain part of town during lunch, a conference — but the idea is that you go to a public place where the people you want to engage with are. Bring a stack of gift cards for the coffee shop you’re in (or one that’s nearby) and offer those in exchange for five minutes of your potential test subject’s time. If you’re even slightly introverted this tactic probably makes you break out into a cold sweat, but it can be extremely effective and even fun. Just don’t take rejection personally and move on right away if you get a no. If you really can’t stand the thought of approaching strangers, try the virtual version: identify the online forums, Facebook or LinkedIn groups, Slack Channels, etc. where your potential customers spend time and make the same request. Just remember that much of the value is in actually watching someone use your product, so arrange to do the test in person if at all possible or plan on using a web conferencing tool that lets you see your user’s screen and talk with them throughout the test.
2. Hallway Test: If you work at a company that is large enough that you have coworkers who match the profile of your potential users and don’t have preconceptions or prior knowledge of what you’re testing, you can catch people in the hallway or drop by their desks for quick test. This is tricky because you’re likely to run into a cheerleader effect (or perhaps the opposite, unnecessarily brutal honesty) but for a quick sanity check on a design it doesn’t get any easier and it’s by far the most affordable User Experience testing technique there is.
3. Mom Test: The pitch “So easy Your Mom can use it!” is long overdue for retirement, so let’s call this the Family & Friends Test instead. If you are developing a B2C product and your friends and family are plausible users, they can be a valuable resource. Don’t ask them whether they’d use your product (of course they’ll say yes, thinking they’re being supportive) but ask things like “is the purpose of this app/website/feature clear?” or evaluate the usability of specific tasks. Beware, though getting this type of test to happen is easy, you may not be able to get responses that are 100% honest despite your best efforts. Never rely on this type of test all by itself.
4. Buyer Test: Is the type of person who will use your product the same person who will put up the money to buy it? In a B2B environment the answer is probably no. With this type of test, you are typically trying to find out if your user understands the value of the product, and not necessarily the usability (though superior usability should be part of your value proposition). You’ll find yourself testing your positioning and messaging as much as if not more than your product itself with this type of test, but if that person is the gatekeeper between you and your users you need to win then over as well.
5. Automated Online Services: If you want to skip recruitment entirely, there are online services that let you upload a mockup or share a link to a demo site with a set number of people who will perform the test you define. Some of them allow you to request a specific demographic, others are more wide open. Most do cost money, though the most basic ones offer limited testing for free or a trial period. A few options are Five Second Test, CrazyEgg, UserTesting, and ErliBird, but don’t take that as an exhaustive list as new services appear often.

So now that you know how to run user experience testing without spending a lot of time and money, go out and try it! These affordable User Experience testing tools make it easy to test early and often. Start by validating your idea: if you build it, will people come? Then incorporate testing into every iteration of your MVP. Don’t put it off and end up heading down the wrong road only to find out when it’s too late.

Anyone can use these techniques, but if you’d like to discuss setting up a comprehensive testing strategy or need to test more complex user interactions and analyze their results, dbdc can help. Contact us for an initial consultation to find out how we can improve the performance and profitability of your project.

Free Tip Sheet: Four Rules for Successful User Tests

Make sure you’re prepared for successful user research with this FREE tip sheet. The four tips will make sure you get the data you need and that you’ll be able to use it to turn the UX of your product, service, or website into an unbeatable advantage. Download your free tip sheet here!

Originally published on the Denver Business Design Consulting website.