I feel bad not being part of my potential target audience

[RisingStars]

Fastlaners,

I've finished reading Unscripted a couple weeks ago and one key mindset is that giving real value is more important than "doing what you love". There was one example in the book of a friend of MJ who owns a dog product company although he never owned a dog. He gives value by helping dog owners solving their problems e.g. he creates a product for a specific problem his target audience is facing.

In my case I currently sell two products which are bought by a few different audiences but my biggest customer base are people who own aquariums.
I love solving problems, improving solutions and selling but I have no relation with my target audience. I somehow have a limiting belief (or whatever) that prevends me from helping this audience by creating products for their needs because I've never owned an Aquarium.
Of cause I could educate myself on the internet about this hobby or even buy a fish tank but I feel like a faker pretending I love this hobby when in realty I love being an entrepreneur, solving problems and finding needs to fill.

Did any of you face the same mental blocks that it isn't "right" to serve a scene that you are not part of?
How do you react to customers asking you how many dogs you own - if you are selling dog products - or just want to chat with you about their beloved passion?

Would be really thankful for your help since this question keeps me from moving forward.

 

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[MTF]

Do you personally really care if the owner of a business you're buying from is passionate about the products he or she is selling? When choosing from where you want to buy something, do you look at the value they offer to you or compare who's more passionate about what they sell?

Your customers aren't any different. I'm pretty sure that no matter how passionate they are, they'd buy their aquariums from the guy who offers them the best price for the best quality with the best customer service than from a guy who is passionate about aquariums but isn't particularly passionate about being an entrepreneur, solving problems and finding needs to fill. No matter how much your potential clients enjoy talking about their passion, in the end what matters is who caters to their needs better.

 

[luniac]

Fastlaners,

I've finished reading Unscripted a couple weeks ago and one key mindset is that giving real value is more important than "doing what you love". There was one example in the book of a friend of MJ who owns a dog product company although he never owned a dog. He gives value by helping dog owners solving their problems e.g. he creates a product for a specific problem his target audience is facing.

In my case I currently sell two products which are bought by a few different audiences but my biggest customer base are people who own aquariums.
I love solving problems, improving solutions and selling but I have no relation with my target audience. I somehow have a limiting belief (or whatever) that prevends me from helping this audience by creating products for their needs because I've never owned an Aquarium.
Of cause I could educate myself on the internet about this hobby or even buy a fish tank but I feel like a faker pretending I love this hobby when in realty I love being an entrepreneur, solving problems and finding needs to fill.

Did any of you face the same mental blocks that it isn't "right" to serve a scene that you are not part of?
How do you react to customers asking you how many dogs you own - if you are selling dog products - or just want to chat with you about their beloved passion?

Would be really thankful for your help since this question keeps me from moving forward.

you think u got it bad?
I was makin casual app games even though I'm not into casual games at all and think they're nothing more than killing time.
I just said to myself "at least I don't kill people or something lol I'm not really hurting anyone"
ull get over it.

 

[Andy Black]

I help plumbers, lawyers, wedding planners, web designers, web developers, HVAC guys, engineers, beauticians, electricians, physios, startups, eCom business owners, and more.

I help local teenagers pass their Maths exams.

I help people in jobs with their CVs and interview techniques.

I help people out of work with their CVs and interview techniques.

I help employees become contractors or freelancers.

I occasionally help people who are stuck and can't get started.



I'm none of the above, and I can still help them.

If your goal is to help people would you even have this worry?

 

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[RisingStars]

Do you personally really care if the owner of a business you're buying from is passionate about the products he or she is selling? When choosing from where you want to buy something, do you look at the value they offer to you or compare who's more passionate about what they sell?

Your customers aren't any different. I'm pretty sure that no matter how passionate they are, they'd buy their aquariums from the guy who offers them the best price for the best quality with the best customer service than from a guy who is passionate about aquariums but isn't particularly passionate about being an entrepreneur, solving problems and finding needs to fill. No matter how much your potential clients enjoy talking about their passion, in the end what matters is who caters to their needs better.

Thank you, you are right that when there is a clear problem I choose whoever solves the problem the best. But what about the marketing which is targeted towards the audience when the owner of the brand is not involved with the hobby?
-A blog article written by a brand owner who knows what he knows about the hobby/target audience from the internet?
-An E-Mail Marketing newsletter about the tips and tricks for potential customers/customers from someone who is not an advocate of the hobby himself?

Ain't these two things that are very important in modern brand building?

I help plumbers, lawyers, wedding planners, web designers, web developers, HVAC guys, engineers, beauticians, electricians, physios, startups, eCom business owners, and more.

I help local teenagers pass their Maths exams.

I help people in jobs with their CVs and interview techniques.

I help people out of work with their CVs and interview techniques.

I help employees become contractors or freelancers.

I occasionally help people who are stuck and can't get started.



I'm none of the above, and I can still help them.

If your goal is to help people would you even have this worry?

Thanks Andy,
in my opinion your case is a bit different since you help plumbers, lawyers, wedding planners, web designers with their adwords.
Not one of these groups expects you to know anything about plumbing, laws or weddings.
You are an expert in your field - adwords.
My goal is to build a brand for a certain target audience and help them solve their problems. When I am focussing on one audience only I fear that people might expect me to be an expert in the field they are passionate about.

 

[MTF]

Thank you, you are right that when there is a clear problem I choose whoever solves the problem the best. But what about the marketing which is targeted towards the audience when the owner of the brand is not involved with the hobby?
-A blog article written by a brand owner who knows what he knows about the hobby/target audience from the internet?
-An E-Mail Marketing newsletter about the tips and tricks for potential customers/customers from someone who is not an advocate of the hobby himself?

Ain't these two things that are very important in modern brand building?

For this you would need to hire somebody with experience, but I'm pretty sure you could find dozens of successful e-commerce stores selling aquariums that don't do any content marketing but are still the leading brands.

 

[Fpm9]

Being part of your niche can have some downside too.

I used to be part of the audience I am going to start my business in. I thought I knew what those people wanted, because I was one of them. Then I realized, because I was part of this audience doesn't mean I have the same needs as everyone else. I'm glad I reconsidered some aspects of my future product, because I was certainly going to hit a wall.

 

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[SirPsychoSexy]

This looks like impostor syndrome. Your customers have a problem, you solve it, and they are happy with your services. You have done your job as a business, so why bother?

 

[sparechange]

if u feel guilty take some of your profit and donate it to a cause or charity anything you are passionate about

bingo

 

[Colton]

If you invented the cure for cancer, do you think that your audience would care whether or not they bought from someone who had the disease themselves? (continuation of MJ's example in Unscripted )

 

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