My previous post ended up being pretty lengthy so I’ll continue on with looking at the Geek Free Guide here in part 2…
Choosing the right market – Geek Free Guide
1. What overall market are you in?
The market that I plan to target with this new website is people who are researching online with the intention to buy gadgets and tech products i.e. laptops, ebook readers, mp3 players etc
2. Have you chosen a sub-market to target (ie based on demographics, geography, interests etc)
Yes, I have chosen a sub-market. There are lots of gadget review sites out there for “techies” – but I want to bring something new to people who aren’t all that technically minded and just want to be able to read a Plain English review of a product to find out whether it meets their needs, rather than being blinded by Geek Speak! So my segment is those people who need to buy gadgets but whose eyes glaze over when you start talking about RAM, solid state hard drives and terabytes.
3. Is there a particularly under-served segment of this market you could address?
I think this is an under-served segment. As I say the big tech blogs are aimed at the Geeks but there aren’t many sites aimed at the “man on the street”. I’ve carried out some research and the closest competitor in the UK is Which? who offer access to their product reviews for a subscription fee. The other sites are either Geek sites or are they are Xfactor or Info Product Killer style review sites that just scrape information from Amazon and encourage people to buy through an affiliate link.
4. How strongly do you care about this market?
Is this the kind of thing I think about in my free time? Yes. I’m a big gadget lover and I’d much rather spend my spare cash on the latest bit of technology than drinking it away in the pub 
I’m looking forward to building this site because it means I get to spend even more time reading about the latest technologies.
5. Are you good at helping people solve problems in this market?
I think so. My “real job” is all about taking technical jargon and converting it into Plain English to help the layperson understand what they need to do. Friends and family come to me for recommendations of which products they should buy when they want to invest in technology.
6. Is there evidence that people are searching for solutions?
Yes, if they weren’t I wouldn’t be wading through those thin affiliate sites on Google.
USP and Differentiation – Geek Free Guide
1. What would be your honest answer if a customer asked you: “Why should I spend time on your site instead of one of the others when they’re all on the same topic?”
“You are right, there are many websites to choose from if you want to find out more about gadgets. But the majority of them are written for people who are fluent in Geek Speak. Here at the Geek Free Guide we help you choose the gadget or electrical product that is right for you, and we do that without blinding you with technical jargon. So if talk of gigabytes and terabytes make your eyes glaze over then you should head straight to the Geek Free Guide when shopping for gadgets!”