Where and How to Learn Exactly What People Want to Buy
Small business owners often make the mistake of creating and marketing products and services that they are passionate about without learning first if there is a need or demand for them in the marketplace. This can lead to unnecessary struggle, frustration and disappointment. You think you’re doing everything right but the sales just aren’t rolling in.
It's important not to get too emotionally attached to your product or idea. Instead look at the range of what your skills, talent and knowledge can offer and then see how it matches up with what people are searching to buy. When there’s a match—Bingo! You’ve got a much easier sale. You’ve found a Market Bubble- a place where there is a big demand and not quite enough supply.
You might be excited at this point; already envisioning how much easier your life would be if you could just find that sweet spot, but you’re not sure how to do it. Well here are some tried and true methods:
1) Keyword Research
Keyword research is the foundation for the online portion of your business—and more. Good keyword research will tell you what people are REALLY searching for, which believe me, is usually not what you think they would be. I’ve seen this happen over and over again with my small business clients.
It will tell show you where there is an unfulfilled need. It will allow you to see who you’re competing with online and what products and services those top competitors are selling successfully. Which leads us to….
2) Competitor Research
Do a search in Google for the keyword phrases you think your potential customer would use. Then visit the top 3 websites that come up in the organic results (not the paid ads). See what their website looks like, what language they use, how they position and market their products and services. This will give you some insight into what is selling now and give you an idea of where the “sweet spot” may be.
3) Amazon
Look at the hottest selling books in your niche. What are the titles? What are they about? What do the online book reviewers say?
4) Social Media
Look for groups of your target market on Facebook or Linked In. Follow people interested in your topic on Twitter. What are they talking about? What do they need? You can even do a mini survey and get some great response.
5) Client/Subscriber Survey
Yearly, I survey my thousands of online subscribers to find out where they are in their business growth, what they need to learn, what services they need, and what they are willing to pay for. They tell me what I need to offer during the upcoming year. It’s great and you can do the same.
Research may seem time consuming but it’s actually a smart short cut. So before you decide on what you want to sell, discover what your customers what to buy and give it to them. You’ll generate more sells with much less effort and your business will grow much faster.
Where and How to Learn Exactly What People Want to Buy - To learn more about this author, visit Janis Pettit's Website.
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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