Does The Market Really Want It?

At the very heart of any successful marketing strategy is the determination of what your present and prospective customers need, want, and desire. You have to find out what they want before you try to sell it to them. Never make the mistake of investing a lot of money into a product or service you want to sell before you understand how much demand really exists on the part of the customer.

If you want to be successful in business you have to provide a product or service people want. You cannot create demand. All the best marketing will not be able to sell a product or service that no one wants. The advertising graveyard is filled with award-winning campaigns that did not make a dime, because there was no desire, need, or want for the product being sold.

You certainly must have a quality product or service, but you first have to put your effort and money into validating that there is sufficient market interest to actually warrant rolling out your product or service. You need to test first. Conduct surveys and focus groups about your product or service. This will validate or invalidate the viability of what you are trying to sell.

In order to be successful, you need to have a product or service that the marketplace is willing to buy, and a market approach that can sell the product or service at a profit. Unless you have both, don't even think about investing your time and precious capital developing a product or service.

I am constantly amazed at how many people come to me who have lost thousands of dollars trying to market a product or service that they didn't test to see if anyone wanted to buy it. Always remember this rule: You don't have the right to tell the market what it will buy and at what price. The market will always tell you what it will buy and at what price. Always test first. The market will never lie to you.

If you have an idea for a product or service you must know everything you possibly can before developing it. Here are a few research ideas to help you get started.

* Go to the library and check the periodicals. Pull up every related article and story from the past week, month, year, and even five years that is related to your idea.

* Research the internet about your idea and your competition as well.

* Go to a shopping mall and ask the management if they have a facility you can rent for conducting a focus group. Most malls have them for a small fee. Ask passing shoppers whether they'd like to participate. If you tell them they will be compensated for their time, you'll get people to participate.

All contents Copyright(c)2005 Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. A former ad agency executive and marketing consultant, Joe's work in personal development focuses on helping his clients identify hidden marketable assets that create windfall opportunities and profits, as well as sound personal happiness and peace.

Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com

Read more articles and newsletters at: http://www.jlmandassociates.com/

---

How To Start With Absolutely Nothing And Create Wealth online in 30 days or less.

Without a doubt, if you asked me, Shane if there... Read More

Tie-In With Others To Maximize Your Business Leverage

One of the most rewarding, inexpensive, under-used, and effective methods... Read More

Bedroom Marketing

Hopefully we are all adults here, so let's talk about... Read More

10 Ways to Get Your Flyers Noticed

An inexpensive way to promote your services is to createvarious... Read More

Trade Show Promotional Products ? Boosting Booth Traffic

I was about seven or eight years old when I... Read More

Creative Online Marketing For Salespeople and Business Professionals

New to a sales career? Want to market yourself but... Read More

Top Ten Blunders Exhibitors Make in Expos/Tradeshows

Triple your response from expos by avoiding the top ten... Read More

Generational Marketing

Having run a multi-state franchise company with multiple brands it... Read More

Marketing From Both Sides Of The Ball

In the world of business, marketing is often conveyed as... Read More

Trapped in Your Comfort Zone? Break Out and Send Your Marketing Skyrocketing

A marketer whose advice I generally respect recently published an... Read More

How to Convey Trustworthiness in Direct Mail Marketing Sales Letter

A person or business that might buy from you is... Read More

Marketing Brain Trust

Rest assured that no matter how smart you are, you... Read More

Loan Officer Marketing ? How Branding Shapes Your Prospects Perceptions

Social scientists have proven that people experience what they come... Read More

Online Advertising Versus Traditional Media Advertising

Before I compare today's online advertising with traditional media advertising... Read More

What You MUST Understand About Your Web Numbers

Two years ago, when I first started selling online, I... Read More

Network Marketing Is Definitely A Relationship Business

Heavily branded websites like amazon.com are household names and carry... Read More

5 Ways To Entice Your Parallel Market to Trade Links

Lots of people get confounded when attempting to exchange links,... Read More

Marketing Strategy 101: 10 Marketing Strategies I Learnt From My Oral Surgeon

This is how the conversation went on my follow-up visit... Read More

Why Smart People Dont Know How to Market

As an educated professional, your success is based on what... Read More

Data Map Charting for Mobile Businesses

As we study the demographic regional variations for small service... Read More

What Is Better Than FREE?

Oh come on! FREE is free. Zero, zip, nada, zilch.... Read More

Step by Step Guide to an SMS Campaign

SMS is good for:? Short lead times and immediacy ?... Read More

Spike TV - Know Your Audience

What do Klingons, giant rubber bands, and monster trucks all... Read More

10 Surefire Ways to Add Sizzle to Your Brochures

Businesses rely on brochures as their front line in communicating... Read More

Mission Position

Ahh, the mission statement. For some companies it simply describes... Read More

Five Tips to Make Your Marketing More Creative

Same old same old just doesn't sell anymore. To... Read More

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 3

To read the beginning of this special report, you can... Read More

Five Mistakes Absolutely Guaranteed to Drive Away Your Best Clients

We all work hard to attract even one paying client.... Read More

First to Market Theory

AGE OLD QUESTIONBusiness scholars throughout the planet keep asking the... Read More

Real Estate Investing - Writing Killer Postcards to Attract Motivated Sellers!

So many of you have been telling us that you're... Read More

Boost Your Direct Mail Response Rates with Mapping Technology

On Superbowl Sunday, Domino's Pizza delivered more than 900,000 pizzas-and... Read More

B2B Marketing - Why it Should be Subtle

Subtle adj. Showing or making, or capable of showing or... Read More

Key Marketing Questions - Planning Your Marketing Campaign

So you started a business. How's it going? Did you... Read More