I had a conversation with a dear friend just the other day. Actually it was weeks after I shot this video but it re-inforced in me that this is a problem for people starting online and also for experienced marketers (sometimes).
What is it? They focus on building a product first - Let me explain first what I mean in the video below.
ALSO a huge shout out to Shona Easton (I mention her in the video) - this is her amazing French Barn renovation - check out her amazing handbags online here - www.eastondesignstudio.com
So my friend was asking my opinion on whether to buy an online training programme which was specifically about creating sales pages. My question to her was "Are you ready to start marketing to your tribe yet?".
When we discussed that she had not really got a list growth strategy or content strategy in place - she saw that focussing time and money on developing a product was premature - WHY?
BECAUSE THERE WILL BE NO ONE TO SELL TO
It is a basic business principle - McDonalds do not open a store without extensive market research to make sure there will be a need in a particular location. Actually it is the reason 95% of businesses (online and offline) fail within the first 5 years - lack of understanding the market needs.
"Build it and they will come" only worked for Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams - the statistics say it won't work for you 95% of the time.
This is the beauty of building an online business. There are heaps of things you can do to test your market, build your list of adoring fans, find out what they need and build it for them.
That is why I talk about building your online presence and developing your online ecosystem so that when you build your product you know they will buy it, BUT also you will have a flow of new prospects every month to sell to because you know where to find more customers.
That is smart and sustainable business!
