What do you think is the most important component in growing your business?
Many say that it is the product and the value it brings. Some would affirm that the most important component in growing a business is the systems and structures. While these things are important, my experience working in marketing for over 10 years teaches me that it actually comes down to your active customers.
If this seems counterintuitive, I get it. How do you get customers without a valuable product or proper systems?
In short, that was the old, traditional way to build a business. I remember in school, I learned that successful businesses follow similar paths. They have an idea. They test that idea on a market. They create a plan to scale the adoption of that idea. They develop systems and get funding to launch that idea. They execute that plan with a huge marketing budget and become successful. Boom! #InstantBusiness
Not anymore. Sure, this still works for some businesses, but in this age of entrepreneurship, I’ve learned that there is no true path to success. Even the Kool Source took an unconventional approach to grow its business. Started by Eric Woodson in 2013, the Kool Source had a customer before it even had a name. That same energy is what continued to grow the business and allow Eric to hire us, his Kool Source team!
Sales keep businesses afloat. It permits businesses to innovate on products and to be able to develop better systems and strategies. However, regardless of how great the product or system is, if there is no one to buy it, then the business cannot succeed.
There are some people who understand this intuitively. The popularity of social media has taught us the importance of communities. However, what I want to stress today is that a community is very different than a customer.
A community supports your ideas, your initiatives, your mission. Customers purchase your products and help fuel the business’ success. So if you already have a community or are in the process of building one, how do you find your customers? Better yet, how do you convert your community?
Marketing articles will tell you to focus on the solution. I argue that you should focus on the intention. What’s the difference?
Solutions are broad and come a dime a dozen. Specific solutions are where we invest our time and money. It’s like they say, “the riches are in the niches.” As a customer, I may not always know my desired solution and I may not be able to communicate it verbally. However, my intention as a customer dictates how I spend my money. My interests within a community dictates how I spend my time.
Think about it this way: Many businesses provide the same solution. For instance, if I want a new website, I have the option to build one myself, ask my friend who dabbles in website building or hire experts like our team at the Kool Source. In the end, the route I choose will reflect my initial intention. If my intention was to save money and just get a website launched, I might spend time researching how to build my own. If my intention is to support my friend and also get something accomplished for my business, then I will reach out to my friend and pay them to design my site. If I want to position myself as an expert or an authority for what I am offering, then I will seek out a provider who is an expert in website design.
Do you know what your customer’s intentions are? If so, make sure that your business is positioned as the perfect way to achieve your customer’s goal.
If you don’t know their intentions and would like to speak with an expert to get a better understanding and close more sales, then contact our team at The Kool Source. We’ll help position your business to get Visible, Found, and Paid.
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