Find Potential Customers first before you even decide what exact need to work on.
Sounds a little strange and absurd? Not really. I will explain.
Traditional Path : Identify Need, Design Solution, Make a prototype, Market (costly paid advertising), Receive feedback and modify product/alter marketing message/pivot to a another more hot need in the same niche...
Find Customers First Strategy:
1)Create Content to have followers or build communities (whatsapp, forum, facebook group) first through value creation. You target a group of people for instance small business owners/gamers/ladies interested in skin care.
2)Then run the need/solution/product test through interacting with your followers.
This approach definitely takes longer time because you build followers and communities first. But it is going to build much strong foundation for future success because your "testing cost" is a lot lower. No more paid advertising which often leads to nowhere. And you are pretty sure that if the response is bad, the fault lies with the need not really being a real need (that people pay for), or your product value/cost/skewing proposition is not really strong enough compared to the existing options in the market. And the in the traditional approach when you have bad sales at the start you are like a blind man walking in a dark forest at night burning cash to have some light to find a direction before the flame goes off. Problem with Google ads? Maybe try another paid advertising method? Maybe my product is good but high ticket sales item takes longer to build trust, grow and have referral at the start, and hence I shouldn't give up? More investment to improve the solution?
And when you have potential customers first there is always an easier option of working with existing good products as affiliate partners or buying out good business that have poor marketing. It doesn't mean that they will necessarily sell but you are running much faster and lower cost to test prototype, ideas, marketing message and pivoting around slightly different needs in the same niche, once you had followers/communities set up. You are finding your way out of the forest in broad day light now.
Anyone trying with this strategy now?
Sounds a little strange and absurd? Not really. I will explain.
Traditional Path : Identify Need, Design Solution, Make a prototype, Market (costly paid advertising), Receive feedback and modify product/alter marketing message/pivot to a another more hot need in the same niche...
Find Customers First Strategy:
1)Create Content to have followers or build communities (whatsapp, forum, facebook group) first through value creation. You target a group of people for instance small business owners/gamers/ladies interested in skin care.
2)Then run the need/solution/product test through interacting with your followers.
This approach definitely takes longer time because you build followers and communities first. But it is going to build much strong foundation for future success because your "testing cost" is a lot lower. No more paid advertising which often leads to nowhere. And you are pretty sure that if the response is bad, the fault lies with the need not really being a real need (that people pay for), or your product value/cost/skewing proposition is not really strong enough compared to the existing options in the market. And the in the traditional approach when you have bad sales at the start you are like a blind man walking in a dark forest at night burning cash to have some light to find a direction before the flame goes off. Problem with Google ads? Maybe try another paid advertising method? Maybe my product is good but high ticket sales item takes longer to build trust, grow and have referral at the start, and hence I shouldn't give up? More investment to improve the solution?
And when you have potential customers first there is always an easier option of working with existing good products as affiliate partners or buying out good business that have poor marketing. It doesn't mean that they will necessarily sell but you are running much faster and lower cost to test prototype, ideas, marketing message and pivoting around slightly different needs in the same niche, once you had followers/communities set up. You are finding your way out of the forest in broad day light now.
Anyone trying with this strategy now?
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