If there's a need, but people don't know it, does it still count as demand?

[SamboNZ]

I have discovered a major problem a certain group of people (entrepreneurs / business owners) are having and I have a solution.

The thing is; most people who have this problem are unaware of it.

Other relevant information:
- The existence of the problem and how much it is affecting any given business is fairly simple to demonstrate
- Solving this problem will make a big differences to the target audience's bottom line (measurable decrease in expenditure and increase in profits)
- Once they understand the problem and the benefits of solving it, the target audience will be very interested in the solution

So my question is:
Is the existence of this problem and being able to easily demonstrate it enough to qualify as 'demand', or is the fact that people are so unaware mean that there is effectively no demand?

 

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[Lyinx]

one such idea:
Robot with self inserting tampon (for the ladies, obv)
You can sell all the "need" in the world, but if it doesn't make people happy, you won't sell any. Maybe you can adapt the idea towards something that would make them happy? (for example, if the robot would insert the electric plug into your electric car every night) or, you can educate the audience on how important it is that the tampon be inserted 100% correctly, and how this robot can do this for them (better than they can do it themselves)
This group can't solve all your problems, but I'd say the best place to start would be educating your target group about "this problem that 99% of all businesses have that is costing them $100 per employee, per week!" and how to fix it...

 

[SamboNZ]

This group can't solve all your problems, but I'd say the best place to start would be educating your target group about "this problem that 99% of all businesses have that is costing them $100 per employee, per week!" and how to fix it...

Yes, this is what I think also; highlight the problem (& potentially show them the actual problem in their own business) so that they are then aware of it.

I'm not sure how difficult this is going to be however!

 

[Stargazer]

You may very well say that in the 1980s businesses were 'unaware' they needed spreadsheet software until companies such as Lotus ( Lotus 123 anyone? ) came along and demonstrated the advantages.

So in the field of technology your premise is correct. Huge 'potential demand' by an audience who are currently unaware until demonstrated. PCs, laptops, mobile phones, Google, Websites, telco features, etc, etc were examples and right now new tech is being concocted that we have never heard of that will be common place soon.

So the simple answer to your question is yes.

Outside of tech I would be surprised if you have discovered something that no business person has thought about but you never know.

Dan

 

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[SamboNZ]

Outside of tech I would be surprised if you have discovered something that no business person has thought about but you never know.

Well it's not that no-one has thought about it, but most people don't know that they have this particular issue; it's somewhat hidden.

 

[SamboNZ]

That's the holy grail of sales

You mean an untapped need / market?

 

[maikooo]

Have you read the book "The Mom's test?" I think that would be the way to go to test if there is demand, going from Un-awareness > Demonstration (awareness) > ?Demand?

 

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[Kid]

Need by itself is not a business.
Question you should ask is, "If they'll get aware of their problem and your solution, will they pay you for that solution?"

 

[SamboNZ]

How have those that are aware of the problem solved it?

By employing various disparate solutions, which is another aspect I believe I can capitalize on; providing a 'one stop shop' to solve the various aspects of this problem with one coordinated solution.

You said you can solve a problem that people have but aren't yet aware of that problem.
It doesn't qualify as an untapped need until you make them aware of that problem.

Yes, agreed, and that's the key to this whole thing I think; can I make them aware.

 

[SamboNZ]

Need by itself is not a business.
Question you should ask is, "If they'll get aware of their problem and your solution, will they pay you for that solution?"

Also agreed.

I believe they'll pay because it makes financial sense to do so, but I won't know until I put it out there and test or at least survey.

 

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[AidenRafi]

I have discovered a major problem a certain group of people (entrepreneurs / business owners) are having and I have a solution.

The thing is; most people who have this problem are unaware of it.

Other relevant information:
- The existence of the problem and how much it is affecting any given business is fairly simple to demonstrate
- Solving this problem will make a big differences to the target audience's bottom line (measurable decrease in expenditure and increase in profits)
- Once they understand the problem and the benefits of solving it, the target audience will be very interested in the solution

So my question is:
Is the existence of this problem and being able to easily demonstrate it enough to qualify as 'demand', or is the fact that people are so unaware mean that there is effectively no demand?

My friend the only way to qualify demand is to go outside and ask business owners if they would pay for this solution.

Once you get enough validation then you build the solution (and hope they will stick to their word and pay for it).

 

[BizyDad]

I believe they'll pay because it makes financial sense to do so, but I won't know until I put it out there and test or at least survey.

Survey is unreliable. People will say they like it, but when the rubber meets the road will they?

There's only one way to tell. Sell.

Give yourself one month. Try to sell the solution. I don't know the product or service, there's any number of ways you could try to sell it. Here's a hypothetical.

Explain to your prospects the problem, the total cost, explain you haven't built it yet, but you'll give a big discount for the first movers. 50% off. And all they have to do is pay a 10% deposit to hold the spot.

Collect at least one of those in the month, and you know you have an idea.

Collect 10 of those, and you know you've got a pretty solid idea.

I really hope your idea comes with a monthly recurring revenue stream. Good luck.

 

[Brandon B]

I'd say yes, of course, it still counts. Just this weekend I was watching an infomercial for the Generac AC generators. Throughout the segment, they emphasized the pain of going 2, 3, or more days without power so well, that my 7-year-old son chimed in and said "we need that!" Were we even remotely thinking about generators before that infomercial came on? Of course not. Now, I think I need one.

After living through a summer in the midwest, and losing power a few times, that commercial did a good job of milking that pain of worrying about the HVAC, food going bad in the fridge, etc.

I think Dan Kennedy touches on this in his book The Ultimate Marketing Plan. Sometimes people need to be convinced that they have a need. I think his story was about fake fireplaces or something.

 

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[sparechange]

I'll give you a need idea.

Some type of website that is a knockoff of Facebook except instead it's a database of people looking for work so an employer can skim through and scout talent.

Send me royalty cheques, 5% or just a lump sum of $5,000,000 CAD

Silly question though, just pickup the phone and coldcall 100 business's and try to get them to give you money.

 

[BellaPippin]

one such idea:
Robot with self inserting tampon (for the ladies, obv)

 

[SamboNZ]

If you can do that & it's a problem worth solving you can write your own cheque.

How about barriers to entry?

First mover is good, but fast second can crush you.

Yes; it's quite a complex, technical issue and people don't really know where to start with solving it. I personally spent months figuring out how and it's part of my existing field of expertise!

 

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[SamboNZ]

I'll give you a need idea.

Some type of website that is a knockoff of Facebook except instead it's a database of people looking for work so an employer can skim through and scout talent.

You mean like Fiverr or Upwork?

 

[sparechange]

You mean like Fiverr or Upwork?

Yeh something like that, it's almost impossible for me right now to find employees. Imagine a temp agency type thing, but FB as the temp agency.

 

[SamboNZ]

Survey is unreliable. People will say they like it, but when the rubber meets the road will they?

There's only one way to tell. Sell.

For sure, a survey is only the start; whether people will put their money down is the real test!

I really hope your idea comes with a monthly recurring revenue stream. Good luck.

Sure does!
Thanks!

 

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[SamboNZ]

Yeh something like that, it's almost impossible for me right now to find employees. Imagine a temp agency type thing, but FB as the temp agency.

So you're really after on-site employees?

 

[sparechange]

So you're really after on-site employees?

Yes I'm sure there's a market for a website that is a knockoff of FB for people looking for work/wanting to hire. I'd bet whoever creates something like this will be looking at a good pay day.

 

[SamboNZ]

Yes I'm sure there's a market for a website that is a knockoff of FB for people looking for work/wanting to hire. I'd bet whoever creates something like this will be looking at a good pay day.

What is it about FB that you'd want to emulate in this new site?

 

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[sparechange]

I told you..

A website where people can post they need work, and employers can go through a database of people to hire. Simple

 

[SamboNZ]

I told you..

A website where people can post they need work, and employers can go through a database of people to hire. Simple

Sure, but my question is; how is this like FB?

Yes, you can search for people to a certain extent on FB, but there is often very limited information about them.
What features does FB have that you would want to see in this new job site?

 

[sparechange]

Sure, but my question is; how is this like FB?

Yes, you can search for people to a certain extent on FB, but there is often very limited information about them.
What features does FB have that you would want to see in this new job site?

Yeh i think i need to give up here

 

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[Andy Black]

My thinking is we sell to wants not to needs.

People often want something they don’t need (such as a nicer car than their current one).

People often need something they don’t want (such as healthier food than the junk they’re eating).

Is it even possible to sell something to someone if they need it but don’t want it? That’s like leading a horse to water right?


Another way I look at this is demand generation can demand fulfilment.

Are people *already* spending money on this product, or something similar? Are they searching on Google with a credit card on hand?

I like to start by selling to people who want to buy. Get profitable there and then work back to the people who might need it but don’t want it yet.

If you can make people want your product then you’ve a good chance of making sales, even if they don’t need it.

 

[rpeck90]

When you get some experience in the marketplace, you'll realize that the main reason why the problem has not been address is (likely) because fixing it does not generate much revenue.

Most small businesses make decisions based on the number of sales they receive. They buy products, tools and services (ostensibly) to increase sales. Increasing "profit" is an accountant's job (or, at least, FD) and is not of primary importance.

There is an excellent video of Gail Goodman, former CEO of Constant Contact, who explains (in minute detail) what it took to grow the company. It is a good demonstration of the type of thinking that small business owners have (and how to get into that market):

View: https://vimeo.com/54076835

If I were you, I would do several things:

1. Make a mental note that this sort of thing is not going to be a world changer. The reason I say this is because when setting out in business, it's easy to overestimate the importance of what you are offering.

2. Once you have this in mind, you can work on creating an "MVP" (read the lean startup). MVP = minimal viable product, and should be a version of your solution which "works" but is likely a step above prototype; think "alpha"/"beta" version.

3. With this, you then need a website and a simple demonstration of why/how the product can help improve a business' processes. This is marketing 101 and needs to be focused on "why" the problem you've discovered has such implications for the profitability of employees.

4. In the marketing world, this is called "creating an offer", and is basically the core of "why people buy things". Your main problem looks to be with this - and is where "copywriters" can help. I would reach out to Jamie Mcsloy.

5. With the above, you can then start to work on building some level of demand for the product. The line I would use is to approach some SME's in your area (probably > $1m) and say that you've developed this idea, have a prototype which can fix X Y Z problem, and are looking to test and improve it - stress that you've already had incredible results and are essentially looking at ironing out the kinks on the path to making a legitimate product.

6. I would work on getting 10 of these, mainly to use as case studies. You can use the experience A) to perfect the product + B) to build rapport. There'll be a ton of these businesses in your local area.

7. With this, you would then begin to start marketing the product more widely. This would be another step entirely, which I'm not going to get into - but it would include the likes of paying for adverts in industry-specific magazines/websites; speaking at industry events and even sponsoring YouTube content etc.

--

One of the biggest mistakes I made was trying to convince people they needed my product.

People, universally, want one of two things - money or sex. The way in which they obtain either is based on their standing in life and a number of other things... but selling a solution to some obscure problem (and trying to demonstrate its importance) is not going to be super effective.

You need to focus, almost exclusively, on how the tool will increase a company's ability to earn money.

 

[Andy Black]

^^^ Reminds me of some podcast where the guys said that making more money is sexier than saving money.

 

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[Tom H.]

You might want to check out Part I of Breakthrough Advertising

 

[Ismail941]

I think yes
First Thing First: Meet The Need
People as in gen pop do not need to know
That's where you sell it and make money.