Startup entrepreneurs face a huge challenge when they get up to the starting line, put their feet into the blocks and wait for the race to begin. Then they ask the question…
Now what? How can I reach millions of people with my idea? How will anyone find my product?
They invested in figuring out how to make a product, create an app or provide a service. But the entrepreneur often gets stuck on the starting line trying to get their marketing up to speed and to raise awareness.
I get asked by companies how to reach millions when they need to think small; like how can I reach 100 people.
I like to share this story to help them understand how to take a product to market.
Enter the Stadium
Imagine you have an idea about solving a problem that many people have that involves staying warm while watching an outdoor event. You have thought through how the product or service might work but you haven’t begun to build it.
Now consider that just walked into a stadium filled with 50,000 people in Wisconsin in October who are about to watch a football game.
You turn to the person sitting next to you and say, can I talk to you for five minutes about a product I’m working on selling? It is for people like you who attend football games in cold weather?
You engage with them, explain the benefit of what you are selling and describe to them what problem it would solve. Your conversations are human to human. You aren’t trying to fool them into buying from you. You ask them what they might pay for something that solves this problem. You listen to understand their pain and how your idea might solve their problem. You probe to understand what they do today to alleviate this issue.
Finally, you ask them if they think this is an idea that is so amazing, that they would tell the guy sitting next to them.
Now do this one hundred times with one hundred people in the stadium.
Talking to 100 target customers is how you begin to market your product or service BEFORE you invest in creating anything.
Sounds simple but first-hand market information from potential customers is the marketing starting line.
Convince Yourself to Continue
Marketing starts by convincing yourself that the product or service you have is so spectacular that not only will people buy it and use it but they would tell others about it. When you have enough first-hand evidence, then it is worth beginning to figure out how to proceed.
Usually, people do this in reverse. They make a product and then go search for people to buy it. This approach to marketing should be part of your 100-day plan to find 100 raving fans.
If you fail at getting 100 people interested in your idea, you should have enough information to go back to the drawing board to fix what is missing. Or to realize, that this isn’t a problem or pain point for those you have reached.
If you succeed in finding 100 people who love your idea enough to share it, then you can proceed past the starting line. The next hurdle is to figure out how to create the product or service knowing that 100 people think this is an idea worth sharing with friends. But now you can do this with a little confidence that the idea will spread.
Start marketing in a small, personal way. Talk to people in person. Remember what people say isn’t necessarily what they will do. Use your intuition combined with the data points of information.
Convince yourself that 100 people LOVE your idea.
When you are confident that the 100 people you spoke to would not only love the product or service but tell their friends, then you get to go to step #2. The starting line should give you confidence as you make that first turn around your first hurdle.
Marketing starts by convincing yourself, not others. Do you believe that your idea has wings and can spread?
Want to explore your new venture with an experienced marketing professional? Text me at 919 720 0995 or email me today at jeffslater@themarketingsage.com
Photo by Goh Rhy Yan on Unsplash
