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January 3, 2009 at 3:18 am #964028Up::0
Being a business development coach has enabled me to learn from various small businesses how they see the world of a small business operator, especially in how they see what they do.
I have found a lot of business owners start to complain that they are struggling to get customers to buy their product or service. This is an unusual process caused by one of the main reasons for a small business to fail after launch.
The business owner liked a certain product or service and thats why they started their business selling it. Yet customers only buy what they like, not what you like.
My question is this:
What would you do as a small business owner if your current market research demonstrated that you need to drop your favourite product or service to put in a service they liked but you hated.
What would you do?
Your answer will go a long way in analysing why you are in business.
Thought for the Day
January 3, 2009 at 3:27 am #1002397Up::0What would you do as a small business owner if your current market research demonstrated that you need to drop your favourite product or service to put in a service they liked but you hated.
So here is my answer….
I would offer the new (hated) service to the customers/marketplace that was demanding it.
Of course, possibly not that a decision that would be made lightly.
I would look over the idea with my ethical and moral ‘glasses on’ and see if I could wake up each morning and stand behind the product or service, and be proud to be known as someone who offers that to the world.
I could not sell weapons, ammunition, bomb ingredients, illegal products (or those teetering on the edge of legal/illegal divide), or other items related to the harm or exploitations of others.
I think this question is going to bring up a range of answers, and I am looking forward to seeing the conversation as it evolves.
January 3, 2009 at 4:56 am #1002398Up::0I once did a consulting job for a local retail store.
The store was in a very up and coming area with a lot of young families and sold some really lovely clothing at a great price – however, the front window made the place look like an Op Shop. The business was losing money hand over fist.
I came in and rearranged the front window … within two days the shop was full of young mothers, buying clothes. The owner made more money in that two days than she had in the entire previous week.
On the third day I walked past the window and she was in the process of changing it back to the way it was.
She saw me and said
“I’m sorry Leela – but it’s just not me.”
The shop closed down within six months. A year on, she still owes her employees thousands of dollars.
I was puzzled by this attitude and had a word with my mentor about it. He told me he hears it all the time. People start a business for themselves – this is particularly evident when people start a business doing something they love and is why I say this is not always a good idea – people don’t want to compromise. They feel that they know best and that the customer should understand that. And they know best themselves right out of business.
If you want to do something for yourself, make it a hobby.
If you want to make money, think about what your clients want and give it to them. If they want it in a way that’s “Just not you” change it or go out of business.
The other people you need to think about are employees – if you’ve taken on the responsibility of hiring people, you simply don’t have the right to be selfish and just do whatever you want. It’s one thing to go out of business and lose your life savings … it’s quite another to rob people who trust you of thousands of dollars.
January 4, 2009 at 2:37 am #1002399Up::0Wow, powerful stuff here indeed!
I would have to agree with Fiona, in that I would still like to be able to sleep at night and look myself in the mirror every day and know that I am doing the right thing.
What makes it harder for me is, being a software developer, I routinely fall ‘in love’ with what I have created, and I am wary about how the client will take to it.
In most cases though, the client is extremely happy with the results, and just seeing what a difference it makes to them and their business really makes my day.
I must admit that these days I have become a lot more holistic in my approach to my business. To be more specific, I have stopped being so interested in technology for technology’s sake, and instead am using it as a means to build a business/lifestyle of my choosing by enabling me to work anytime, anywhere.
Nowadays, I try and achieve the same results for my clients, so the underlying technology platform becomes irrelevant in comparison to the outcomes.
This strategy still clicks with who I am and want to be, but on a whole different level.
Regards,
DevanJanuary 4, 2009 at 4:37 am #1002400Up::0Devan, post: 1424 wrote:I must admit that these days I have become a lot more holistic in my approach to my business. To be more specific, I have stopped being so interested in technology for technology’s sake, and instead am using it as a means to build a business/lifestyle of my choosing by enabling me to work anytime, anywhere.Yep this happened to me at about the 2 year mark.
I used to tweak my own systems and play around, now I just want things to run.I am not at the point now where I could sell brown paper bags as long as it made money, but I think I will move to this frame of mind in the next few years.
My thought is that once you achieve that level of thinking (not caring what the product/service is) then you are a true business man/woman because you let the figures and whats on paper guide your decision making.
January 5, 2009 at 3:26 am #1002401Up::0If I wasn’t helping other people by the product or service that I was providing then I wouldn’t be happy in myself (I like to help others # 1).
Assuming that the other product or service is ethically and morally sound then I would change to what would make the client happy for a time. I would at the same time note that this is not where I would like to be in a year and would work towards finding a different product or service that would make both myself and the client happy.
January 5, 2009 at 4:35 am #1002402Up::0Twenty two tears ago I started a carpet cleaning business, because that’s what I wanted to develop, within six months I was doing Ok and someone asked if I could lend them a hand in contract cleaning. Within 12 months I was running a contract cleaning operation employing ten.
Before I knew it we were into hotel / pub cleaning as well as contract cleaning, high pressure cleanig, window cleaning house cleaning. But all i wanted to do was clean carpets.During that twenty two years I built three cleaning operations and successfully sold all three leaving me with a small carpet cleaning business which I absolutely enjoy.
I didnt like contract cleaning, but it was a means to an end. It gave me knowledge and experience that I would not have gained anywhere else. I gave me an understanding of the workings of the cleaning industry and it enables me to help others entering the industry.
So my answer is yes be prepared to sell products and services that you may actually hate, because it will allow you to indulge in those things you love at some future time.
Enjoy every moment, lifes too short
January 5, 2009 at 5:40 am #1002403Up::0As the saying goes if you do not have happy customers who buy your product or service then you do not have a business.
If the research results say drop it and it makes financial sense then drop it. In my past life as a marketer in large companies we had to do this including a favourite product I developed. The pain quickly goes away when sales increase for the relacement product.
That said I don’t think you can provide a service you hate as you will not have any affinity with it and you will not be think of ways to continually improve the offerings to your customers. It is also easier to sell a product you may dislike but again I don’t think this will lead to lon term success for your business.
The bottom line for me is that you need to provide what your customers will buy but you need to have some affinity with your product or service otherwise business life will be rather an unhappy one.
January 5, 2009 at 12:34 pm #1002404Up::0The basic principals I have discovered in the last couple of years (gee I wish I had found these many years ago) are things like, do a decent bit of research into just what need there is for what you want to do AND whether you in fact may need to modify your approach/product because you find the need is not what you thought it was.
I cannot personally advocate dealing with a product or in an area you don’t like/enjoy, simply because a/ you will not enjoy what you do (and isn’t that why we prefer to work for ourselves) and b/ you cannot project a sense of passion to your client. I am passionate about what I do and I reckon that accounts for at least half of my business. My business IS based upon all the sort of things I like doing and have done for many years, but it was when I looked more closely at exactly what people needed that I actually began to get anywhere.
One principal I have stuck to is that you are always in the business of servicing a client and supplying a need. It just so happens that you also sell/produce/provide a service for …… So your focus then becomes to supply a need, solve peoples problems and make them happy that they found you.
January 7, 2009 at 7:28 am #1002405Up::0Interesting question! Firstly, I’d be asking what is it about the new product that you hate? Once you know why you hate it, you’ll be in a better position to make a decision – is it because it will be a lot less profitable than the product you sell now? because you’re disinterested in the new product? becaue it is a hassle to deliver, service or source? All of these reasons lead to different decisions.
Yes, you are in business to please your customers (or you won’t be in business for long!!) However, I’ve seen hundreds of business owners who lacked passion for what they did and it showed! If there is no energy in your business, customers will sense that and look elsewhere anyway, even if you are offering what they’ve said they want. The basics of business always apply – where is the gap, where is your market, how can you bring the two together cost-effectively?
If it is a service based business, you need to be sure you have the expertise to deliver what the client wants – no point shooting yourself in the foot with an in demand product just because they want something you are only average (or bad) at!!
Another approach is to find out why they want the other product – can you adapt your product or service in such a way that there is a win-win? Creative business owners see their business in shades of colour, not black and white!!
cheers
LisaJanuary 7, 2009 at 9:31 am #1002406Up::0The passion argument is interesting …
It seems to come across as – passion is something you either have or don’t.
HOWEVER.
What I’ve found is that you can create passion by choosing to look at things in a different way.
I find something in every single clients business to be fascinated by. Therefore, every single client becomes interesting … MANY of them become friends … and I would do ANYTHING for my friends!
So if you figure out what your passion is, you make your business fit it – no matter what business you’re in.
January 7, 2009 at 9:51 am #1002407Up::0This has been an interesting read.
For me, it would really depend on the product/service. For example, I’ve had adult products want to spend a lot of money advertising with me, espeically the adult party plan products. I have moral issues with some of these products, so decided not to provide this service. My research showed that many clients wouldn’t mind seeing ads for these, however just as many would. I walked away from this, mostly because I was not willing to advertise them.
It would also depend on the reasons for why the market wanted the product/service or didn’t want the product/service.
Melissa
January 11, 2009 at 4:43 am #1002408Up::0Excellent discussion points.
This is one of the reasons why a forum like this is useful to any new Soloists joining the business ventures.
I have found similar responses from business coaching clients of mine. They ask for some help to improve part(s) of their business, usually turnover or profit based systems, then they watch the results.
The results are often achieved because i look at their business from the outside, as a customer, where they are too close to their loved product/service.
Interesting they often do change back to how they like it even though it hurts the business.
Running a business should never just be about the money because you need to feel happy about it being a very large part of the rest of your life.
Q. Do you think business owners resist customers suggestions about changes in product/service lines because they invested blood, sweat, and tears into building it and resent someone just walking in and telling them to change it?
January 14, 2009 at 12:25 pm #1002409Up::0Paul Baker, post: 1750 wrote:Q. Do you think business owners resist customers suggestions about changes in product/service lines because they invested blood, sweat, and tears into building it and resent someone just walking in and telling them to change it?Yes, I think some business owners might do this but not all, depends on the personality, where a person is in his/her walk in life and their openess to new ideas and change.
Assisting as Minute Secretary and Treasurer over time has made me understand a fair bit about what ‘influence’ is and how it works. If a person in a meeting has strong opinion and strong influence then they might end up guiding the direction that an entire organisation goes. Fortunately in the more extreme situation we are usually able to recognise that this is happening and can see past, maybe dampen/soften their strong opinion and strong influence.
I think this can be similar in our business, our opinion, influence and openess to new ideas and change are the things that shape our business. They might burden us and cause for doors to close, for us not listen to others or to see *red* on the first word. On the other hand these same traits but focussed in a much more open and positive way might serve to open many doors for us. We really are master of our own destiny through how we perceive things; whether we worry about stuff and let it bog us down – maybe let our own strong opinion guide our business decisions. Or on the other hand whether we see the things and the people that happen upon our lives as really good stuff and as a progression to bigger and better things.
January 14, 2009 at 2:18 pm #1002410Up::0i have to have passion in what i do
if i truly hated the new service or product demanded by my clients
I WOULD DO SOMETHING ELSE THAT I ENJOY, THAT CLIENTS WANT OR NEED
even though my clients wishes are paramount to me there is no point in me doing something i hate as it will eventually show
when im on my deathbed ,,, would i wish that i earned 10 or 100 thousand more in life
or spent my life doing something that i loved doing !!!!cheers eden
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