Last week in our no blogging clue post we were discussing product development and how it can benefits you to keep up with the trends and ahead of your market. But making developing products needs research and preparation, so where is best to start?
What makes product research so exciting right now is that it has never been easier to understand people and markets and the way that they are feeling. Google Keyword Planner Tool allows us to see what it is that people are searching for on Google. We can use tools like Hootsuite, Manage Flitter and Tweetadder to find people by their interests and listen in to their conversations on Twitter. We can use the Facebook Advert Creator to identify people by their interests and geography on Facebook and we can use LinkedIn’s Advanced People Search to find business to business decision makers on LinkedIn, by their designation, geography, connections, interests, company size and a whole host of other demographics. We can also check the millions of YouTube videos to see what it is that people are interesting in watching. What’s more, people have never been more generous with providing feedback, which has become normalised through sites like Ebay, Tripadvisor and Trustpilot.
You need to be selling what people need and want to buy but historically this isn’t what has gone on in the real world. What typically happens is that someone will spend some time supplying products and services within an industry and develop a view on what the industry might need. They then develop a product based on what they think might work, and they organise it in the way that they think it should be delivered and package it in the cutest way and then they go out and try to convince people that it is what they want or need.
The truth is that in 2013, buyers are better informed and have more choice than ever before. And they wont be persuaded to part with their money as easily as they might have done in the past. If you are able to work out what it is that people want to buy, there is no need to do any door knocking, or cold calling, objection handling or negotiation, you just need to let the world know that you have want they want and then manage the queue. Perhaps McDonalds is the best example of this, when have you ever been to McDonalds and there not been a queue?
We should accept that what the people want is really bad food, and the thousands of Bonita Springs dentist are trying to save our intestines and arteries with healthier alternatives could never hope to enjoy the success that McDonald do filling us with absolute rubbish, when is better to eat healthy as the best high protein hangover food and do exercise with a science based six pack program you can find online.
There you have it, a plethora of tools and social media outlets to keep up to date with your target audience and what they want to be spending their money on.
Be sure to come back next week when we will be giving you a blogging clue about how product development could be reducing your marketing costs.