In pretty much every elementary school nation-wide (maybe even world-wide?), there’s at least one kid who’s a total wheeler-dealer.
You know, that opportunistic kid who’s looking for a way to make money by bringing something into school that kids otherwise can’t get. They take a look around or listen to enough complaining from their classmates and eventually size up a business opportunity for themselves, then take action.
You most likely remember a kid like this from your elementary school days. In most schools, that kid was the candy dealer.
Everyone in school knew the candy dealer.
They’d buy boxes and boxes of candy at wholesale and have them stuffed in their backpack, ready to whip out at morning, afternoon and lunch recess. Throngs of kids would shove money at them, then trot off with their Now ‘N Laters, M&Ms, and packs of Hubba Bubba.
This kid raked in cash every day for one simple reason: they understood product/market fit.
They knew that kids trapped at school all day—with no food except their mom-approved sack lunches or their school-prepared hot lunches—were jonesing for sugar. Show them there was candy stashed inside their backpack, and sugar-starved lunatics were eating out of the palm of their hand (and shelling out their allowance money to do so!).
Their product matched the market to a T.
Any business owner who is struggling with sales can take a lesson from those elementary school candy dealers.
Attracting customers becomes so much easier (and sometimes effortless) when your product or service is the obvious solution to a very strong need in your market.
Yet many business owners create offerings they want to sell and deliver, without making sure that their offer is aligned with their market’s needs.
When you take the time to dial in your product/market fit, you end up doing one of two things: you either adapt your offer to better align with the needs of your market or you find a market that has a strong need for what you’re selling.
When you take the time to dial in your product/market fit, you end up doing one of two things: you either adapt your offer to better align with the needs of your market or you find a market that has a strong need for what you’re selling. Read more: Click To TweetDo either of these, and your chances of dramatically increasing your sales go way up.
So, if you suspect you might benefit from taking a closer look at your product/market fit (and let’s be honest, who wouldn’t!), dedicate some time to answering the following questions:
- What’s the problem I am solving as my ideal customer looks for a solution?
- What about my solution feels on point to me? Why would a customer consider my solution for them?
- How obvious is my customers’ need?
- How obvious is my solution? How easily can they choose to purchase my solution?
- What can make my solution more obvious?
Answering these questions will help you see if your product/market fit is right on the money, or if it needs a tweak or total overhaul. Either way, you’ll get a great idea of how to better align your offers with what your potential customers are begging for, so you can be the solution that swoops in to meet their needs. No sugar crash required.