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Have you Discovered the "GAP" in Your Market?
I started my business back in the early days of the online world. Back then, there was a glaring gap or a need in the market that needed to be filled. I'm talking about website design and development. Yes, I was in the first generation of online business builders. But, it wasn't as easy as people make it sound. Not by a longshot! From 1995 to 1999, it seemed like fully-established competitors were appearing out of nowhere - overnight. I remember thinking, "How are these companies growing so fast?" I'll give you a hint - they weren't bootstrapping.
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Anyway, let's talk about the GAP. In sales terms, the GAP is the distance between where the client is (where they're stuck) and where they want to be. There will always be GAPS. Your business, in turn, becomes the bridge that gets them there. Where are your clients today? Where do they want to be? How can you get them there more effectively?
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Sometimes the GAP is something people desperately want that seems out of reach to them.
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This isn't rocket science, but it seems more difficult than it is because we seldom lead the with the problem in our marketing - we lead with the service instead. If you want to get people's attention, start the conversation by addressing the GAP that's before them. Lead with the problem or the frustrations. Now, if you have an established business, you can break these (and other) rules. If you're starved for business growth, however, this is where you need to start.
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General Problem Solving - Does it Still Work?
Can you still present your business in a simple 2 + 2 = 4 way and grow? Sure. Addressing the Gap with your sales materials and website isn't the only way to grow a business. That said, I think you'll find the Gap method way more effective.
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Why not test a combination of methods? You can grow your business through referrals. You can focus on building your personal brand which will enable you to build connections with others much easier. You can network locally as well as in online groups and forums.
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Experiment with this for yourself and see how it works. Zoom in on a problem or frustration your audience may be dealing with and present your business as "their bridge." This approach certainly can't hurt your business, right? Worst case scenario would be that nothing changes with your bottom line.
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But, what about the possible best-case scenario? It could be a game-changer for you!
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Books Worth Reading? Maybe!
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Studies are now showing that we have about 4 productive hours, on average, on any given day.
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When I first heard people talking about this, I thought the number was way too low. Also, studies show that people who push the productivity envelope end up experiencing adverse effects on several fronts. Not only does the quality of their work suffer beyond that point, but so does everything else. I’m talking about family, friends, relationships, and the ability to simply relax and unwind.
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All these things ultimately lead to burnout, depression, and worse. Recently, I found myself brushing up on my own productivity habits, which led to a recommendation of, "The Perfect Week Formula." At the time of this writing, it's only .99-cents. It's a fairly quick read and I think you'll be able to pick up a few valuable pointers from it. As long as it's on sale, you really can't go wrong!
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In case you were wondering, this month turned out to be a strategy plus productivity month. The Strategic Mindset was written by a young French writer living in Japan. It's interesting to see how each generation distills the information passed down from previous generations.
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What I liked about this book was its simplistic approach. Changes that require sustained willpower seldom last. However, there are many simple things we can do that will make a difference. For example, we can recognize where we're wasting time and what are top priorities should be next week. The nice thing about the future is, it arrives one day at a time. While I'm no longer a fan of following someone else's personal program for being more productive, I believe anyone can experience meaningful change in their business by adopting one or two nuggets of truth we receive from others.
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Should You Productize and Automate?
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Last month I watched a special about the history of frozen food. They covered everything from TV dinners, microwave dinners, and more. What fascinated me was all of the trial and error that went into getting the processes right. If a dinner contains, let's say three items, each of those items is traditionally cooked at different temperatures for different amounts of time.
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How, then, could you put all of these items in a single tray and cook them at a single temperature and have everything come out ok? At the time, most of the "experts" simply said, "It can't be done."
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It was a "can't be done" mindset that kicked in years ago when others began sharing ideas about having a smaller, yet highly profitable business. In my mind, bigger was better. For years, arguments to the contrary fell on deaf ears. Idea's like "one to many" and "productizing a service" didn't fit my preconceived thoughts on the matter.
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I'm happy to say, that's all changed.
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What about you? The idea of automating "everything," may not be practical for a variety of reasons. But, what if you just automated one aspect of your business? Or even semi-automated it? How would you do that? It's easy to mentally lump everything into one big project. Usually, however, the process is gradual or step-by-step.
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What if you productized just one of your services? In other words, like the frozen dinner, everything is premeasured and prepackaged with minimal setup required?
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It's something worth thinking about it. And if you start moving in this direction now, you'll most definitely be ahead of the curve.
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Okay, that's about it for now. Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you later!
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