If you build it, they may not buy it.

I am working on a couple of new projects I am pretty excited about.  Both come with huge challenges as it relates to awareness and audience.  Neither will be an easy sell.  Both are all about the basics of any good marketing strategy:  product, price, position, promotion and people.  In case you thought the basic principles of marketing had changed, these are still the five most important items as it relates to your most important business principle: profit!

Product
Just because you have one, it does not mean people want it.  If you have a service it does not necessarily mean someone has a need for it.  You must double-check and then triple check your audience and survey for wants and needs as it relates to your gee-whiz-I-think-this-is-so-cool offering.

Price
Once you have a product or service you need to think about what you can realistically ask for in the way of price.  It is more than just saying I want to make 150% percent in return.  You need to build in all of your costs and then look at what the market will bear.  Your understanding of your competition is imperative here.  In the age of everything is online all the time you must do as much research as your customers will when it relates to your product pricing.

Position
I know that you are sure your product is the only one that anyone needs.  The fact of the matter is that needs are slim these day, wants are in great demand.  You have to position your products differentials in a way that your customers not only want your product, but they are reasoning a need for it.

Promotion
You do not have to be a used car salesman to sell your products.  Promotions are not nearly as easy as they used to be.  Consumers are far more aware of how promotions work and what the cost to them is.  If you are selling a product MSRP for $40 and next week you run a promotion at $20 your customers know you are not loosing money and they will only buy when the product is on promotion.  Be careful of how you promote your product, and where.  The great thing about an online community is you can quickly promote specific products to individuals meeting your demographics with laser accuracy versus a buckshot approach.

People
In the end, remember no one buys from a business.  People love to buy from other people.  Make your products and service personal.  Never forget who is paying the bills – your customers don’t.  It is easy to get caught up in a bottom line and the business of business, but people are the most critical part of any business.

From your employees, who are the most important part of any positioning and promotion of a product, to your suppliers who are talking about how much they like or don’t like doing business with you.  There is not a person who comes in contact with your business who does not form an opinion which translates to their perception of your business.

And we all know that your customer’s perception is your revenue reality.

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