The paradigm has changed. As an entrepreneur, "your job is no longer to go find more customers for your product, but to go find more products for your customers." (~Seth Godin).
Join us for a discussion on this mindset shift, where it came from and why it's critical to the future of your business.
3. CONTEXT
● Will use physical products for examples
● But these principles apply to physical
products, digital products, services, etc.
● As I walk through this, put your
circumstances into the example
5. MAINSTREAM THINKING
● Start with an idea
● Create or source the product
● Then find a customer
● Most startup methodologies teach this
process
Idea Supplier Product Customer
6. THE PROBLEM
● Getting traffic/customers is the hardest
part
● World has become extremely noisy:
difficult & expensive to get adequate
attention from customers
● World has lowered attention span: difficult
& expensive to hold attention (and
educate them on your product’s merits)
● Risky: significant investments required
before answering “will they buy?”
7. THERE’S AN EASIER WAY
● Find something they’re already buying,
and give them a better version
● Always start with the traffic
● Plenty of well-established marketplaces
(amazon, etc.)
● Marketplaces are ready-made traffic
Customer Product SupplierOpportunity
9. IS THERE AN EASIER
WAY?
Challenging the Status Quo
10. FIND AN EXISTING TRAFFIC SOURCE
Find Traffic
Source
Find
Opportunity
Research
Features
Find Reference
Website
Define
Requirements
Find Supplier
Find Website
Design
Ship It
Customer
11. TAP INTO EXISTING TRAFFIC
● Can be your existing customer base or 3rd
party (marketplaces)
● amazon.com
● ebay.com
● etsy.com
● envatomarketplaces.com
● etc.
12. FIND AN OPPORTUNITY
Find Traffic
Source
Find
Opportunity
Research
Features
Find Reference
Website
Define
Requirements
Find Supplier
Find Website
Design
Ship It
Customer
13. FIND A STARTING POINT
Pick a product that’s already selling well...
● Avoid brand-driven products
● Can you improve on the incumbent’s
quality?
● Can you provide a better (overall)
experience than the incumbent?
15. DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Read existing (seller & blog) reviews...
● Get into your customers mind
● What unique language is used?
● What features do they value? dislike? etc.
● How do they use the product?
● Find competitors’ strengths & weaknesses
● Use it to create your FAQs
● Use it to create your marketing copy
● Use it to define product image scenarios
16. FIND A REFERENCE BRAND
Find Traffic
Source
Find
Opportunity
Research
Features
Find Reference
Website
Define
Requirements
Find Supplier
Find Website
Design
Ship It
Customer
17. SPEAK THE CORRECT LANGUAGE
Find website your target already audiences
uses (product or blog)...
● What (type & specific) words are used?
● Headline ideas
● Bullet point ideas
● Find other places your audience hangs out
at (future advertising)
18. DEFINE PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS
Find Traffic
Source
Find
Opportunity
Research
Features
Find Reference
Website
Define
Requirements
Find Supplier
Find Website
Design
Ship It
Customer
19. THE MUST-HAVES
Capture a list of required features & talking
points based on reviews research...
● Goal: Minimum Lovable Product
● Match incumbent's current quality
● Fulfill as many review “wants” as feasible
○ Can be product attributes, or
○ Marketing talking points
23. FIND A WEBSITE DESIGN
Find Traffic
Source
Find
Opportunity
Research
Features
Find Reference
Website
Define
Requirements
Find Supplier
Find Website
Design
Ship It
Customer
24. START WITH A TEMPLATE
● Simple landing page to start
● themeforest.net
● Fill with stock images of similar product
(temporarily)
● shutterstock.com
26. CLOSE THE DEAL
● Craft your product/brand story from
reviews research & reference brand data
● Product live (on marketplace)
● Website live
● Customer support live
● Promote it (next session)
27. SHIP IT - A GUIDE
● sethgodin.typepad.
com/files/theshipitjournal.pdf
28. DON’T STOP!
● Find another product for same customer
○ Prefer complimentary products, cross-promotable
● Expand sales channels (more
marketplaces)
● Create internal store (ecommerce site,
etc.)
● Build a brand
29. ADDITIONAL TIPS
● Focus on one product a a time, go deep
(most people go wide and too shallow)
● If stuck, pick a product you assume will fail
○ Fail elegantly: pick a product that maximizes
learning & minimizes loss
● Always cross-promote your products when
you have more than one serving the same
customer base