What’s my enjoyment of food got to do with your marketing? Well, all those adverts that pop up on my screen promoting the latest diet will not get one click from me because I love my food too much. Yes, I need to be on a diet, especially after Christmas but I have no desire to analyse what I eat. It would take a major medical event to give me a desire for dieting.
The most memorable quote I came across in 2017 was “Don’t try to make more people want your products, instead, make products that more people want”. Even though I am a marketing specialist, I find it difficult to achieve sales on some of the products that clients bring to me. Their usual catch phrase is that their product is something that is really needed in the market place. Well, just because we need something doesn’t mean that we want it. Take, for example, anti-smoking devices. All smokers need to give up smoking for the sake of their health but unless they really want to give up smoking then there is no point in presenting them with advertisements about anti-smoking solutions. It’s the same with me and diets.
If you are finding that your product is difficult to market, don’t ask yourself if people “need” it but ask yourself if people “want” it. If you are not getting the sales that you want, then you need to do some serious market analysis to see if your product is something people really desire. Don’t ask your friends because they will tell you it’s great. Instead, go to the marketplace. Being brutally honest about your product will save you thousands of dollars in wasted funds and hours of frustrating effort.
If your product doesn’t meet that test of being wanted, then start looking for a new product. A good place to start is yourself. What do you desire most in life? The chances are that many other people want that too. The best products are solutions to the biggest challenges people face. Look for the problems that people are trying to solve in their day to day living and there you will find the ideas for new products. Happy hunting!