A few weeks back I was talking to a woman about the new small business she wanted to start. She had emailed me on LinkedIn, visited the Bssential Solutions website and after a few emails and a rough outline of her business vision and plan, we set up a call to kick around some ideas to help her move forward with her vision. Before she could get started telling me about the technology she had embraced and the product she was so excited about, I asked her this question, “who is your customer and what pain do they have that you are trying to soothe or eliminate?”, There was dead silence on the phone and I could envision the confusion on her face. “Pain”, she said. “I do not understand, I thought we were going to talk about my product idea and my new business, not marketing. Aren’t you putting the cart before the horse?” “Am I?” I said, and that started the long and stimulating conversation that inspired this post today.
The Three Questions You Need To Ask!
An entrepreneur with a vision is very powerful and exciting. It does not matter if the new business is producing a product, selling a service, creating software, developing a new Web 2.0 site or opening a retail store in town. You can feel their enthusiasm, but a new entrepreneur can get so focused on their product idea, their organizational vision and all of the research, development, engineering and planning required to produce their new widget, that they forget to fill in the three boxes at the top of the page that they need to ask before they get rolling:
- Who is my customer for this product or service?
- What “need or pain” have I identified that I can fill or eliminate with my product or service?
- Is the demand and market big enough to be successful?
You can use the term “void”, “need”, “solution”, “want”, “desire”, etc. I usually use “pain”, because I want to illicit a reaction and get the small business owner’s attention. I want them to think first about who their customer is, what void, need or pain are they going to meet or fill with their idea and the demand associated with this pain.
By asking and answering these questions up front when developing a new product or service idea, you not only save yourself a lot of wasted time if you find out that there is no real market or demand for your idea, but it also keeps you focused on how you can best satisfy your customer and not just the product, as your vision evolves and your product takes form.
The Purpose Of Any Business Is To “Create A Satisfied Customer”
This is nothing new. Peter Drucker, the first great philosopher of management, taught us that the purpose of a business was not to make goods and services, but that the purpose of a business was to create a satisfied customer. He went on to write and lecture that the primary goal of a business was not profit, but to create a satisfied customer and from this, all else follows, including profitability! In 2001 Drucker added “that businesses should start out first by identifying the needs, realities and values of their customers. Those ideas, products and processes that do not add value and meet the needs of the customer should be eliminated”.
Still a majority of new small businesses are planned and formed around a product or service with little regard to who their customer really is, the need they are going to fill and the demand for that need. Too often, that is considered a “sales and marketing” question that can be addressed later. What you end up with is just another cool idea doomed for failure because of a product with no market or demand.
You Should Never Stop Asking The Questions!
Every small business should continually evaluate the health of their business by addressing the questions relating to their product, their customer and demand.
Your Product
- What pain or need does my product or service satisfy?
- Is that changing?
- What pain or need will I need to be able to satisfy in the future?
Your Customer
- Who is my current customer?
- Is that changing?
- Who will be my customer in the future?
Demand
- Is demand for my product or service strong?
- Is demand changing or evolving?
- Will there be demand for my product in the future?
It may be that your products and services are in sync with the evolution of your market and the business cycle for your product or service may have years to go before you have to worry about transformation. For many small businesses though change is inevitable and knowing when your customer base is changing and adapting to meet those changing needs can spell the difference between success and failure.
In my next post I will discuss performing a regular Small Business MRI Scan to maintain the health and continued growth of your organization.
Taking Effective Action
If you are developing a new business or product make sure that with every idea that you ask yourself those three simple but critical questions:
- Who is my target customer?
- What “need or pain” does this customer have, that I can satisfy?
- Are there enough customers with this need to justify a business?
Visit the Bssential Solutions website and sign up for my free Bssentials Small Business eLetter as I will be including additional information and forms on evaluating a new business or product idea and asking the right questions, first.
As always I encourage you to send me your thoughts and feedback.
To learn more about how I can help you grow your small business visit Bssential Small Business Coaching Solutions.
Bill Sifflard - With over thirty years experience as an entrepreneur, an executive, an author and as a business consultant, Bill Sifflard has a long history of experience bringing innovation, efficiency and success to large and small businesses adapting to evolving markets.
As a premiere Sales and Marketing Innovator, Bill is changing how business integrates traditional marketing strategy with the power and potential of the internet utilizing his "Velocity for Success" matrix.
To learn more about Bill and Bssential Small Business Solutions you can visit http://www.bssentials.com and register for his Free eNewsletter or follow all of his blog posts by clicking on the RSS feed button above. 
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