Here is an idea, to help you create services and products, which your marketplace will find irresistible.
You, the problem solver
No matter what line of business you are in, your service (or product) is purchased by people in order for them to solve a problem. So, if you want more people to strongly desire your services, you need to know what type of pressing problems they have and what matters most to them.
When you know what challenges your marketplace is facing and what their wants / needs are, you are able to build services, which they find irresistible.
Selling to yourself
Most people are extremely good at building solutions for people, who are just like they are. They find it easier to sell to people who are similar to themselves, too. That’s because they already know what matters most to them and how to communicate with them.
It’s natural. It’s easy. It’s also extremely limiting!
Selling to people other than you
Just think for a moment how much more value you could add to your marketplace and your business, if you were able to develop services, which a more diverse group of people REALLY connected with. Consider for a moment how much your sales would increase, if you knew how to sell to people who were very different from yourself.
When asked why Apple products have been so successful, Steve Jobs gave an honest, extremely valuable answer. Here’s what he said:
A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design you will have.
Clearly, we limit our potential as problem solvers and marketers, if we have a narrow life experience. So, how do you build a more diverse knowledge-base, so you can look at the needs of your marketplace from a more rounded perspective?
Here are some things, which work extremely well:
- Talk to people, who come from different cultures than you.
- Listen to radio shows that have the opposite political views to you.
- Learn the basics of other religions and beliefs.
- Read the biographies of great problem solvers.
- Speak as often as you can, with artists in any medium.
- Tune into a radio station, which plays music aimed at a different generation than yours.
- Learn from your children or grandchildren. I have learned more about creativity from my 8 year old son, than any author or expert on the subject.
Open your eyes. Open your ears. Open your mind. Then, watch new business possibilities open up for you.