Even the best idea is only as good as its presentation. The process of writing your idea summary will help you crystallise your idea.
5 steps to formulate your idea summary
1. What is it called? Give your product or service idea a name. What’s your product or service in a nutshell?
2. Who is my customer? Name your target customer. Even if you think your idea has broad appeal, you want to be specific versus using something like “consumers” or “enterprises.” It’s always better to start with a narrow target customer base and then widen later.
3. What is the key value? Note that the value is usually different from a feature or a benefit.
Think about it from the customer's perspective.
4. What is the benefit? Name the unique benefit your product or service enables. What does your product or service have to offer that’s novel and useful?
5. Who is my competitor? Name the most likely market alternatives that are similar to your idea. What does the competition offer in this space? Consider that customers’ ad-hoc solutions or non-consumption are common alternatives.
The basic structure
My idea is…
“A {product/service description} for {target customer} that {key value} enabling {primary benefits} unlike {existing alternatives}.”
This is an example of a good idea summary:
My idea is…
“A portable music player for audiophile music lovers that plays music files from lossless formats enabling improved quality unlike iPods and other compressed file players.”
When you write your summary, be specific, clear, and concise. Avoid industry jargon and marketing buzzwords; instead; use a language you’d use when speaking to your target customers.
You should also consider adding illustrations and pictures with the description to make your idea more tangible.
The exercise may seem daunting, but the best way to start is to jump in. Rather than thinking for a while trying to create a perfect idea summary, write down one complete bad summary fast. Then start over, refining a little bit with each draft until you have something that works.
Your idea hasn't got much traction so far?
Then check out our tips on how to elevate your idea to the next level.
- Have an appealing headline. Keep your idea title catchy and short to draw
attention and evoke interest. - Make it understandable. Make your idea understandable by the people who
will read your idea. Try to avoid using too much jargon. Try to describe your idea
in a way that your wife, husband, kids or parents would understand it. - Make it easy to the eye. Make your idea easy to read by structuring your
description with short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs and make
use of bullet points and ordered lists. - Visualise your idea. Use images or videos that draw attention, convey a
strong message and help you to better describe your idea. As we like to say:
"show, don't tell"
Pro Tip: Use google image search or free stock image websites like unsplash.com
or pexels.com to find great visuals. - Write a compelling idea summary. A strong summary of your idea will
provide the reader with a quick overview of the most important aspects of your idea.
This will both increase your chance of people reading your idea and engaging with it.
Find out how to write a compelling idea summary here. - Proactively ask for feedback. Ask your colleagues or friends for feedback.
Constructive feedback will elevate your idea to the next level! - Go through your idea one more time before publishing. Did you explain
your idea elaborately? Is the grammar correct? Is something missing? - Share and talk about your idea. to stand out of the many other
ideas and get more traction, share and discuss your idea with your colleagues,
both online and offline. And don't forget to keep on asking for feedback! - Don't be shy to ask your colleagues for help. Invite them to work with
you on your idea! Remember, most great ideas are created in a team effort.
We hope this article has been useful for you.
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