This week we’re going over a checklist of what not to do/say/think when starting a new business or creating a new product.
I’m calling it The "I’m Doing Everything Wrong" Checklist.
This checklist was inspired by a 10 minute conversation a close friend (and world class marketing consultant) had with a friend-of-a-friend – and could provide an "ah-ha!" breakthough moment in your business if you’re feeling stuck.
Red Flag #1: "My customers don’t know they want this yet"
Most people romanticize the idea of creating a new business.
Specifically, they assume they need to come up with an ultra-original idea. Something no one has ever thought of before. An idea so clever, everyone who hears it can’t help but tilt their head back and cackle with laughter as its sly genius really hits them.
So when someone like me (or my marketing consultant friend) ask them, "So what problem are you solving for your customers?"
…they often give a long-winded explanation about all the people whose lives their product is going to transform that ends with, "But they actually don’t know they want this yet."
ERRRRRRR— (pretend that’s a record scratch noise)
Unless you’re a one in a million good luck story (and in all fairness they do exist), saying that one single line is an indicator you are destined to fail miserably.
Why?
Because 99.9% of successful products are filling a demand that customers already actively have.
To take that a level higher – 99.9% of successful products are filling an active demand that their customers have already proven they’re ready and willing to pay for.
That usually comes in the form of other similar products they’re already pulling out their credit cards to buy.
If your target market isn’t already buying products like yours…
You’re in trouble.
Trying to educate a market about why they need your product in the first place is a failed mission.
Instead you should be educating them about why your solution is the best solution (for their specific problem) in a sea of competitors.
That’s what truly great copy does.
So hopefully you now know that if the words "my customers don’t know they want this yet" ever slip out of your mouth – it’s time to step back and re-evaluate your idea. Find a group of people who are already looking for a solution to a specific problem – and then give them a simple solution that solves that problem for good. Don’t try to get clever. It’ll backfire, I promise.
This brings us to the second check on The "I’m Doing Everything Wrong" Checklist – which I’ll be covering tomorrow. And it’s a good one I hear way too often.
Talk tomorrow!
— Derek