I see this mistake every day of the week.
It's not just beginners who make it and believe me, I've made it too - and long after I should have known better.
If you want to know what the mistake is – and remember it so that you never make it yourself - the answer is in the question and staring you right in the face: "marketing."
Marketing is not about creating products...licensing products...sourcing products...inventing products or anything related to products.
Marketing about bringing products to market.
The market...to market...marketing.
Market, market, market, market.
Not product, product, product.
Forgive me for being so darned emphatic, but...
Twice in the last seven days, I've had TWO different, very bright and accomplished marketing friends crow to me about the new products they've created or acquired the rights to sell.
I'm sorry, but I never get excited about products.
Well, that's not strictly true, but it's like this...
If I can't clearly identify...
* who the product is for...
* why they can't live without it...
* how exactly I can reach these folks with a compelling marketing message...
and
* how the math works out so that delivering the product will make money...
Then, for all practical purposes, the idea of a"great product" has as much appeal to me as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Really.
I've known the agony of trying to sell something that lacks the above four criteria and I've witnessed it hundreds (thousands?) of times.
I'm like a shell-shocked emergency room physician. I just don't want to see another car wreck.
So please, when it comes to products be calm, sober-minded and practical.
If you're going to lose it with excitement over something, lose it over a product that meets my four marketing criteria:
1. There is an identifiable market that needs (wants) it
2. The market can't live without it (it's unique or uniquely presented)
3. You can reach the people in the market economically (not cheaply, but economically) with a compelling marketing message
4. When all the smoke clears and the box has moved from your shelf to your customers' hands, you've made enough money to make the effort worth your while.
We call it "marketing" and not "producting" for a reason. You focus has to be first, second and last on the market.
[Via Ken McCarthy]
The God of Animals: A Novel by Aryn Kyle
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