When you’re starting out with a new product, one of the most important things you should be asking yourself is: is there a need for it, does it solve a problem and will it sell?
So, you make it your mission to find out. You conduct extensive market research, engage in focus groups, and gather feedback from potential customers. You go on social media and stalk the groups there, looking at what people say they want.
But ultimately, the litmus test lies in one simple action: trying to sell it.
Now, most people will tell you that you need to test the waters first with pre-launches and beta testing by giving it away and seeing the reaction. But let me tell you a short story….
Over the years, I’ve had various businesses, one of which was offering courses in a very niche area. Did my research, asked people what they wanted and became convinced that there was a gap in the market waiting to be filled.
So I sat down, developed the first module and offered it up for free as a beta test. The response was overwhelming – people eagerly signed up, expressing genuine interest in what I had to offer.
Encouraged by the positive feedback, I launched the full package with hige excitement, thinking of everyone I was helping and, of course, looking forward to the sales coming in.
So what happened? Nada. Big tumbleweed moment. Reality had other plans and the sales failed to flow. I mean, there were some initial purchases, but they fell far short of my expectations based on the enthusiastic response to the free module.
So, what did I learn from this experience?
First and foremost, I learned that people love freebies. The thought of getting something valuable without having to spend anything is irresistible (and yes, I’ve done this myself so I’m not judging here!).
However, I also discovered a critical distinction: those who jump on the bandwagon to sign up for freebies are not always ready to make a purchase.
Now on the plus side, my email list grew with these freebie seekers, yet despite extensive follow up they were hesitant to take the next step toward becoming paying customers.
This told me that two things could have happened here:
- The product was rubbish
- I was marketing to the wrong audience.
This audience had already tried and liked the product so I was guessing the product was hitting a sweet spot so why weren’t they buying?
Because they were an audience who were trained in the art of freebie seeking rather than buying. In the buying cycle they were no way near the buying stage.
This realisation prompted a shift in my approach. Rather than solely focusing on building a massive email list, I recognised the importance of targeting individuals who were genuinely committed to taking action. So, I pivoted toward offering low-ticket items instead, which weren’t expensive, literally a few pounds, but the shift was incredible.
I knew that while the potential customer pool might be smaller, it would likely consist of more serious players.
And this is exactly what happened. I converted less of my audience into signing up but a much larger percentage went on to buy the full course, leading to far higher sales.
Building a successful business isn’t just about amassing leads; it’s about nurturing relationships with individuals who resonate with your vision and are willing to invest in their goals. While expanding my email list remains a priority, I’ve shifted my focus to cultivating connections with those who are ready to embark on their entrepreneurial journey.
It wasn’t a wasted exercise offering the course for free, although to this day not many on that original list became customers, but it did tell me they liked the product. But it didn’t tell me that it would sell. To do that, I had to get in front of a different audience and actually sell. And it worked.
Now, I’ve signed up for plenty of freebies and half of them I haven’t attended or opened the guide because I just didn’t value it enough. One of the highest ticket offers I bought came from signing up to a low ticket course. The course was so good I knew I could trust these guys with my money and they would make it happen for me. Made the effort to do the low ticket course because I had paid for it. It had value. All for the cost of a couple of coffees to find out.
So, keep offering your freebies by all means. I still have some free resources for those who are not yet ready to buy from me. It starts that relationship and hopefully one day they will be ready to move forward and remember me when they do. And if you want one of my freebies, I have a great content strategy blueprint that will guide you through how to plan your content so it makes sense and resonates to your audience, so they want to binge your content. You can find it here – cl.DoDigitalIncome.com/5-content-pillars
But at the same time, have a low ticket offer that hits the spot for those higher up in the buying cycle and to test out if there’s a need for it. For those who are ready to buy. If they buy you know your product is validated. If they don’t, it might be time to go back to the drawing board.
So, validating your product or service takes more than just theoretical research (although you shouldn’t ignore this step either). But once you’ve established that you are pretty sure your product fulfils a need it’s time to test it in the real world by selling.
You can spend weeks on research and it can still bomb when you offer for sale. My advice? Spend the minimum time you can on research – enough time that you are pretty sure it will work without wasting weeks and weeks. Then put it up for sale. Embrace feedback, refine your approach, and remain steadfast in your commitment to serving the needs of your audience. If it sells – great! Keep making it better. If it doesn’t – then you haven’t lost weeks of your life in research. Pick yourself up and go again.
And if you want to jump on the same low ticket business building course that made such a difference to me, then it’s here! https://onlinebusinessbuilderchallenge.com/get-started/enroll?aid=94261
Looking forward to seeing you on the other side!
jump on the same low ticket business building course
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