Use the following template to provide the idea authors some guidance on how to formulate a good and compelling idea summary.
Even the best idea is only as good as its presentation. The process of writing your idea summary will help you crystallise your idea.
These 5 steps help you to formulate your idea summary:
Name your product or service idea. What’s your product or service in a nutshell?
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.
Name the key value. Note that the value is usually different from a feature or a benefit. Think about it from the customer's perspective.
Name the unique benefit your product or service enables. What does your product or service have to offer that’s novel and useful?
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.
This is the basic structure:
My idea is…
“A {product/service description} for {target customer} that {key value} enabling {primary benefits} unlike {existing alternatives}.”
And this is an example for 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 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 really fast. Then start over, refining a little bit with each draft until you have something that works.