Market For The People, Not The Product
You’ve just come up with best idea out there. Something you know for sure the people will love! The way you market it is where the true challenge lies. Knowing what your customers want to buy instead of what you want to sell them can eventually save you a substantial amount of money. Thinking critically about your business idea before introducing it to the general public is essential to get maximum revenue.
When confronting the market, embrace the fact that the market will ultimately dictate your success. Keep in mind of how many competitors are out there helps you stay on your toes with your product. Determine if the market is new and rising or static and settled. If the market is too saturated with companies selling a similar product you need to create a niche where you can be a number one provider. In most categories the top three companies usually get about 80% of revenue, you want to be one of those three companies.
Although new customers are important, there is a lot of marketing that has to go into it and it can become very expensive. Going after repeat business and customer loyalty allows you to change your objective from, “Getting new customers” to “How can I sell to each of my customers, and keep them?” Having this mindset is like having an insurance policy in place. It is far less expensive to sell to repeat customer than to a new one. Recurrent customers are more inclined to spread the word about your business. That is free marketing, something everyone in the business game wants and needs.
There are many ways to test if your product works before moving to the next step. Create a simple web page and more basic promotions to test the customer involvement or put your retail products into stores on consignment. If you spend time studying your product and seeing the way people act towards it, it can help you to improve it for when you are ready to truly begin. The response from buyers will tell you what the market wants and needs from your product.
Being right about an idea is not nearly enough in a growing economy. As a business owner, you need to find ways to grow a loyal and satisfied customer base. A fair amount of personal wealth in a commercial, profitable enterprise is far more rewarding. Being able to provide the world with something that will outlast any new and trendy product is far more rewarding. Do your research on your products and ideas, put them to the test, and find the right market that will keep your business running long term. It’s always better to have a solid business plan than to simply have the right idea.
