Does your product do what it says on the tin?

Knowing your customer 

The heart and soul of any business decision is the need to know your customer.  No matter how good your product or service is, if it’s not something your customer is looking for then you’re shooting a dead duck.  Businesses spend millions each year in advertising only to realise a very small return on their investment.  If only careful market research had been carried out prior to the launch of the advertising campaign, then huge sums could have been saved.  In the world on online marketing and particularly when you are working in your own home based business, you may think market research is not something you need to do.  You may think I just need to get myself out there and create an online presence.  I think by reading below, you will find there is a lot more to it than that.

 Benefits of market research

 Careful and accurate market research is essential to any business, regardless of it being a home based business, online or offline or your regular retail outlets.  You have to know what your prospects are looking for and bring it to them.  By doing this you will:

• Identify prospects
• Increase sales
• Improve products and services in line with prospect requirements

 Before you can expect your potential prospects to take value from your message you must be able to answer these questions about your product and company: 

• Who and where are my existing prospects?
• How do I communicate with them at present?
• Why did they choose me in preference to others?
• Who and where are my potential prospects?
• How can I effectively reach them through advertising?
• What benefits, in addition to my main product(s), do I offer or sell?  E.g. quality of product, expert guidance etc, continued support etc

 Competitors

 Some other questions you may wish to answer that will help you focus more are:

•  How much do I know about others in this industry?
• Is my range of products/services different from theirs?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• Do they advertise well?  How much do I think they spend on this?
• What are their selling messages? 

If you can answer all these questions above, then you may conclude that you fully understand your business.  If you have difficulties answering then you need to go back to basics and find out so you can confidently answer them all.  If you don’t know everything there is to know about what you are actually selling, chances are you will come across as under-confident, hesitant and unenthusiastic.  People buy from people who firmly believe in their product, can easily sell the values and benefits of it and are enthusiastic and passionate in their marketing approach.  

 Complacency 

This is a frustrating trait of many service providers and is a major cause of irritation and frustration to a product purchaser.  What was promised pre-sale has not lived up to expectations.

 Have you ever adopted an honest approach with a buyer of your product and asked them what they honestly think of it now they have been using it for a short while.  Good after sales is one of the most powerful marketing strategies out there but many people shy away from it and this is through fear.  The fear is that you know you haven’t delivered on your promises but you really need to take the courage and do this in order that you evolve and you can continue being confident in your product and yourself if you are coaching or mentoring.

  You could for example ask your purchasers a straightforward question such as:

 On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being absolutely delighted with the product you bought, where are you now on the scale, 3 months down the road?

 Straight out the gate this will indicate a number of things to you:

• Did I mislead in my advertising?
• Have I not lived up to my customer/prospects’ expectations?
• If not, did I outline boundaries/limitations right at the start or even before purchase?
• What can I do now to make things right?