In last week’s post, I shared 5 reasons why you might not be getting customers. This week my question to you is… does your product satisfy your market as well as you thought?
Are you offering your customers something they really want?
This is also known as the product-market fit.
To understand how well your product satisfies the market you’re serving, think about the problems your ideal customer is facing and the solution you offer.
focus on the problem
Once you know who your ideal customer is, you need to truly understand the kinds of problems they face everyday. And you need to understand any challenges they face in solving those problems.
Put yourself in their shoes, immerse yourself in their experience and get a clearer understanding of what they truly need.
what is the solution?
So once you know what their problem is, you’ll need to decide what your solution for them is.
Create from the perspective of your customer. Is this actually something they need?
It is easy to get excited by new ideas. We assume that our friends and family are proof that there is a large enough market for our solution. However, this isn’t always accurate.
Here are a few things you can do to find out what your market actually wants as you design your solution or make any additions to already existing offerings.
1. market research.
Carry out a survey to understand what your customers’ current needs are. It is important to do this on a regular basis because needs change.
This is especially true today.
Because of the disruption caused by the pandemic, your customers’ needs today might have significantly changed from what they were two years ago.
Regular surveys will help you understand how your market and customers are constantly evolving.
2. experiment
Don’t be afraid to tweak and experiment with your solution or with the way you deliver it to your customers. Through experimentation, you understand what works and what needs improvement.
This could be in your product/service or in your processes.
In addition, what might have satisfied them a few years ago might no longer be enough today. Some features might do better than others or might no longer be necessary.
Base whatever changes you make to your product or processes on facts by testing them out first.
You could use a small representative group to test some of your new features. This will save you a lot of time and money.
3. listen to feedback
During the process of creating new products or product features, input from your customers is invaluable.
You risk creating solutions that the market doesn’t actually want when you create in isolation. In the end, you’ll have wasted a lot of time and money if your customers don’t want what you have to offer.
You can use your social media platforms, email, phone or in-person conversations to speak to your customers about some ideas you are thinking about implementing.
Speaking to your target customers is the only way to know what they think about your idea.
While it can be difficult to hear negative feedback about an idea you’re excited about, it’s better to hear it then. At that point, it’s still only an idea or prototype and you haven’t yet invested a lot of time and money into creating the final product.
Consulting your customers for their opinions will also make them feel like their opinions matter to you. This is a plus.
satisfy your market
The best way to create products that satisfy your market is to design said solutions from the perspective of your target customers. Understand your customers and their most pressing problems and then create solutions in response to that.
over to you
What ways do you keep up with your market to ensure you’re providing the right solution? Let us know in the comment section below.
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