Your Business May Not Be Worth Promoting!

Throwing advertising dollars into your business could be a complete waste unless you make some drastic changes to your business or product offering.

I can’t think of a more abrasive thing to say to an entrepreneur/small business owner.

I’ll start by saying that I know exactly what it feels like to be so attached to a new business idea that my judgement is impaired.  It’s really easy to get caught up in the hype of your newsolution to mankind’s woes.  It’s an amazing feeling to think that you have the fix everyonehas been waiting for.  People will probably stand in a line for hours for the opportunity to buy your gizmo or use your service.

I’m sure you know what I’m talking about because you’ve probably been there too.  I’m not downplaying that feeling or saying that it’s a bad thing.  I think that the creativity and energy that surround a good idea is what drives some entrepreneurs to push a dream to fulfillment.

What I’d like to point out here is that being excited about a project doesn’t automatically equal market demand.  Just because you think an idea is amazing doesn’t mean that people are going to stop what they’re doing to check it out.

I’ve heard all kinds of statistics about small businesses and how 50% won’t make it past 5 years (see additional statistics at score.org).  Ironically, these statistics are usually given by people trying to sell you their own product or service.  Why is it that a lot of small businesses don’t last?  I won’t even try to guess the attrition rate in online business start-ups.

There are probably hundreds of factors that go into why an individual business didn’t make it but my focus here is on the concept of having a product or service that really speaks to the individual consumers.

People aren’t looking for your product.  They’re not interested in the particular service you provide.  Consumers are looking for one thing… relief.  In one way or another they are experiencing some kind of pain that needs relief.  Maybe they hate their car and are dying to get into something faster and shinier.  Or, maybe they have hemorrhoids (you’ll find out in later posts why I reference hemorrhoids) and would like to be able to sit without their butt hurting.

In any case, it’s your job to find out what people really want.  Get your head out of your business and take some time to research what people are looking for and you might be surprised by what you find.  You may realize that the entire ‘pitch’ for your product is full offeatures when what you should be promoting is the benefits those features can provide.  In other words, stop being so conceited.  That’s a funny way of putting it when talking about you and your business but your business wouldn’t exist without those precious customers.  So, that’s whose head it’s time to get inside.

So, what’s the easiest way to find out what people are looking for?  

Use Google’s Keyword Tool to do a search within your niche.  If you sell Subarus in San Diego you might enter “subaru san diego”.  Instantly you’ll have a list of keyword phrases that people are actively searching for on a monthly basis.  You can even sort the list by search volume both locally and globally.