Remember that famous line from the 1989 hit movie Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner? A lot of times we think this way when starting our small business. If we just set up shop, our product is so good that the seats will fill themselves. And I’m sure some people somewhere get lucky and that’s all there is to it! But for most it just doesn’t work out to be that easy, and in time you’re left scratching your head, wondering if you even had a good business idea in the first place.
The good news…it probably was and IS a great idea. But if it hasn’t reached the success you thought
it would, you’ve got 3 basic options.
- Quit & lose all that investment.
- Rethink your product or service & make some adjustments.
- Rework your marketing mix & take a different approach to how you attract customers.
Our opinion? Start with numbers 3 and 2 and spend a lot of time, energy, and even money before going back to number one on the list and actually giving up.
Really take some time exploring different ways of presenting your goods (number 3 above). This is usually where people go wrong. It’s easy to adjust assume people will “get it” or see what you see, but often they don’t and you need to find ways to open their eyes or bridge the gap.
You’re probably GREAT at one or two things, and if marketing is proving difficult, get some help! After all, you’ve invested countless hours of energy, plus tens of thousands of dollars (or more) in setting up shop, getting equipment, & so forth. It would be a shame to throw it all away when there are people who can help get you off the ground!
One great exercise to ascertain why a potential customer didn’t come into your store, or click add to cart, or hire your services, is to track one of these people down and ask them why they went elsewhere. It will hurt your ego a little. And you’ll be tempted to defend yourself and why you do it the way you do…but resist the temptation. Really listen to what they tell you and thank them for their honesty. Then go ask another missed customer. And another.
…And then go back to the drawing board and work out if there was a real problem with your product/service, or if there’s just a better way you can present it.
(BTW…the actual quote in the movie says “If you build it, he will come,” but most of us have converted it to “they” as we think in terms of our potential customers. Anyway, you get the idea. Or at least you will once you watch the movie if you haven’t already seen it.)
If you build it, they will come. That is, if it’s high quality, somehow unique, and you’ve presented it the right way.
Need online marketing help? Give us a call and let’s chat today!
