In business, our success is tied to our ability to juggle our numerous responsibilities, ensuring that many different things come together at once. The main thing that you must have, the one thing that no business can survive without, is a product that is ready for public consumption. The simple fact that you have a product, however, does not guarantee success. And while nothing in the world of business is guaranteed, one of the best ways to increase your odds of success is to have a complete product.
Obviously, your product must be profitable enough for your business to survive. But, in order to be considered “complete,” it must possess a few other traits as well. It needs to be user-friendly, so that the vast majority of your customers will be able to understand how it works and what it does for them. If your clients feel dumb because they cannot utilize the product that they just paid for, then you have fallen short of your goals as a business owner and your product is not doing its job. Obviously, the client is not going to blame themselves for their difficulties, they are going to place the blame on you and your faulty product. Make your product easy to use, and you help stack the deck in your favor.
Your product must also solve a problem for your customer. After all, consumers buy products to fill a need: to solve a problem in their life. Successful businesses figure out what their clients’ problems are and design products to meet those needs. Take care of your clients’ concerns and you help increase your chances of success.
Another important component of a complete product is perceived value. The leading businesses in any category are (typically) the ones whose products leave their customers feeling as though they have gotten more than what they paid for. Exceeding someone’s expectations with your product is a surefire way to help your business grow.
Consumers will take to the (social media) airwaves to broadcast their purchases for two different reasons: when they feel that they have been screwed and when they feel that they have gotten an unbelievable bargain. We all want to appear to be the best bargain-hunter in history, and are more than willing to let all our friends know whenever we have gotten an excellent deal. So be sure to give your clients a reason to crow about you in their posts, and they will be less likely to give you the bird.
In next week’s post, we will discuss some techniques for professional home inspectors to use to help them offer a complete product to their clients.
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Thanks, Joe
