Your Friends Are Not Your Market

How to find the right target audience for your product or service?

Your friends and family are not your market!

If your friends and family are the only ones who think your offer makes sense, then you are in trouble.

Your "Facebook Friends and Family" are more inclined to cheer you on than pull you aside and tell you the truth. Don't depend on social media likes and even comments from your network to decide that you have a business worth pursuing. Ask strangers, get data from your ideal customer (people who have the problem and the means to pay for it).

Go beyond do you like this or do you think this is a good idea?

Ask:

Would this solution solve the problem you have with xyz?
How much would you be willing to pay to solve it? - You need to know whether you can deliver at a price point the market believes is fair.
How often would you be willing to pay for this service/product? Once a year/month/week/day? - It is easier to serve the same customer over and over rather than acquire new ones. Ideally, you want to offer a product or service that the customer needs on a regular basis. - Food, fitness, entertainment, transportation, accounting, communication, etc.
How would solving this problem make you feel? - This question is an opportunity to get some of the language you can use in your marketing to show the impact that using your product/service will have on their life.
What other products are you currently using to solve this problem? - You need to know who your competition is, and they may not be local. The customer's inertia could also be your competition.
What do you like about the other product or offer? - You can't come into the market with an offer that is 20 steps back from the competition and expect people will switch. Innovation is key. Yes, we all need to eat but why copy the same menu from the 10 other people in the market? Bring a new solution or mode of delivery or experience to the market.
Does my branding and label make you feel confident about the contents? - Yes. We are judging you by your cover. Marketing doesn't need to be expensive, but it does require investment. Tools like Canva are great for cutting costs, but even that requires some level of skill and understanding about color, font style and aligning your branding and messaging with your ideal customer. Pay properly to have a professional help you create the right image for your business.

I'd love to help you improve your business so that you can reach the goals you've set. Here are a few ways we can work together. https://www.najischool.com/coaching-and-group-programs

Categories: : Entrepreneurship, marketing