You’ve decided to start your business and you feel that you have a great product/service to share with the world. The problem is, you aren’t sure if your product/service is really something that others want. How do you find out who your product/service is for?
One of the fundamental questions to ask is, who is your customer? I have spoken to several new business owners who have proudly told me that their product/service was for everyone. Many of you have heard the adage, “If your business is for everyone then it’s for no one.” In some cases, when people tell you their business is for everyone they are indeed correct. There are always elements of their business that would indeed be useful to anyone who used it. The problem doesn’t lie with the product per se, it’s in getting the word out about the product. Another word for that is marketing.
Marketing when done poorly is where great ideas go to die. When done correctly it becomes a multi-million or billion dollar business. Therefore, your ability to clearly and succinctly convey your product/service message is critical. In the current media landscape you literally have seconds to capture someone’s attention. If you have a broad message, you are less likely to do that. Your message, then, needs to be sharp.
So that’s the “why” we want to understand who are customer is, what’s the “how”? It makes sense to take a step back when narrowing your customer and go back to your mission, vision and core values of your business. Start looking at what values you tend to build your business on. What problem does your product/service solve in the marketplace? How can you use your unique skills and experiences to narrow your customer focus down more? What does the customer value ultimately? Are their things happening in the market that are hot topics currently that you can use your skills in? Make sure you are clear on these items. It will be much easier to narrow your customer down. Another thing that you can do is test which we will talk about later this week.
How have you been affected with a customer message that is too broad? What obstacles did you overcome to narrow it down? How have you experienced these scenarios as a consumer?