Most people create their own business to get financial independence and control their own schedules. They don’t want to work for an employer anymore and are ready to live life on their terms.
While these are all valid reasons to start a business, if these reasons become the focal point of the intention that drives the entire operation, the business may have a hard time gaining traction when it comes to marketing.
Why You Need a Must-Have Product
Limited Vision Produces Limited Results
When you’re only looking for ways to make more money and spend less time working, you’re likely to create a mediocre knock-off version of someone else’s product. But cheap knock-offs are almost always unprofitable because they don’t really solve the problem they’re intended to solve.
Take dollar store brooms, for example. Have you ever noticed they’re way too short, the bristles break off easily, and they leave behind more dirt than they sweep up? There’s a reason cheap brooms aren’t actively marketed — they don’t solve a problem. They don’t even pick up dirt.
On the other hand, this broom manufacturer has solved every gripe you’ve ever had about brooms. It features a foot-powered dust pan that creates a seal so you don’t lose crumbs, short bristles that don’t leave a mess behind, and teeth on the side of the dust pan to push the broom through in order to remove the fine hairs and fur that you’d normally have to pick out by hand. And the best part is you don’t have to bend over. That’s innovation!
People Buy Products that Solve their Problems
Just like with the broom, successful marketing is predicated on solving people’s problems. People don’t buy products and services – they buy what the products and services can do for them. For example, someone who needs to hang a picture doesn’t buy a drill, they buy the hole in the wall the drill promises to produce. And someone who wants to gather their family photographs into albums doesn’t buy a photo album, they buy the ability to preserve their memories for future generations.
The Biggest Problem you can Solve is Lack of Convenience
People love convenience so much that you can run a successful business by solving problems people didn’t even know they had. Really, who doesn’t need a special tool to dip their Oreos in a glass of milk or a device to cut their butter into perfect little pads for their toast so they don’t end up with butter chunks?
It doesn’t matter what problem your product solves, nor does it matter what need it fills. It just has to be useful to people. What does this look like in the real world?
The company Tech To Us does a great job marketing solutions to people. Aside from offering US based tech support for a number of devices, the biggest inconvenience they solve is the Apple dilemma.
If you’re an Apple lover, you know how annoying it is to drive to the nearest Apple store just to get help with your iPhone, iPad, or Macbook Pro. And even though it only takes the tech a few minutes to resolve, you still have to pay full price.
By marketing their tech support services specifically to people with Apple devices, this company is doing more than just solving a basic tech support problem — they’re solving a major inconvenience.
Solving Problems Produces Bigger Results
When your first priority is looking for ways to solve a problem, you are literally powered by your vision. Your vision becomes the boundaries from which you operate. And if you design a product that you know is going to take thirty years to perfect, you do it anyway because you’re more committed to your vision than your immediate paycheck.
Consequently, this means your products will be of a higher quality because you will have crafted them to meet the needs of your customers, not just your need for time off.
When you create a must-have product, you’ll find success no matter what marketing strategy you use. Just get your product out there and if it solves a big enough problem, just like the broom, a product demonstration will speak for itself.
Busy Street Photo via Shutterstock
This article, “3 Reasons Your Business Should Develop a Must-Have Product” was first published on Small Business Trends