Let's say your first physical product is starting to really gain traction and pick up sales.
What do you next? How can you grow your brand even bigger?
In this episode co-hosts Ryan Daniel Moran and Max Kerwick guide you through the next steps to make sure you're not just a "one hit wonder" but to ensure you can grow a sustainable and profitable brand you'll be proud of.
Its the hard part.
That's the thing about being an entrepreneur that isn't awesome.
"My first product hit. What do I do now?"
Sometimes, it's the part that leaves you doubting your creativity, abilities, and confidence. You even doubt whether this whole entrepreneurship thing is what you're meant to do in life.
Perhaps not all entrepreneurs. Surely, there are some who, after a product hits, sit back and think, "Looks like the perfect time to walk away from all this."
I don't want us to talk about those people. Let's talk about you and I, instead.
As entrepreneurs, we both have a burning desire to solve major problems through the products we sell. You've already put in the effort and fine-tuned your product, and that's why it became a hit.
So I want you to think of building and scaling your business like shifting gears in a manual car. To hit $1 million, you had to engage the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears.
For you to hit $100 million and beyond, you will have to engage the 4th, 5th, and 6th gear.
Making the shift to these new gears may not require you to put more effort and fine tune your product. Instead, you'll want to embrace new ideas and approaches towards serving your customers.
Here's how to do that in three simple steps :
Step #1: Go back to your customers
Your customers had to give themselves logical and emotional reasons to justify the amount of money they had to pay to get it.
Even though they would summarize these reasons as "Your product makes my life better," it runs deeper than that.
Your product does one (or several) of these things for them:
- It eradicates a fear they have
- It cures a frustration they have
- It brings them closer to their goals
- It fulfills a wish or desire they've had for a long time
Let's say, for instance, you're selling a sleep supplement.
It's easy to get caught up assuming that you know why your customers buy sleep supplements. It helps people get to sleep when they need to, right?
If you went back to your customers asking them why they bought sleep supplements, the answers might surprise you.
One customer segment might have bought it because someone they follow online likes it and uses it.
Another segment may be using sleep supplements to help them optimize their sleeping patterns. So your product helps them become more productive each day and helps them move closer to achieving their goals.
And to avoid the trap of assuming you know what is going on in your customers' minds, go back to them and ask.
Let them tell you in their own words how your product is changing their lives since they bought it.
Step #2: Be consistent
Asking your customers to describe how your product is changing their lives helps you decide the next steps you take to scale your business.
It also gives you clarity on the kind of products they may need, so you avoid offering products that aren't consistent with what they bought in the first place.
Let's go back to our earlier example. If you're selling sleep supplements, you'll want to continue serving those who buy them to optimize their sleep for productivity at work.
So you may decide to offer complementary products that help them become more productive at work.
If you're having trouble choosing between several products, ask yourself:
"How's the next product going to help my customer achieve the goals they just told me about?"
Step #3: Lead with value
Now that you've decided the kind of product to sell and scale your business, it's time to build relationships.
Share valuable content with your target audience that helps them solve their problems long before you ask them to buy from you.
Let's say you're selling games. One of your customers would be a bridal shower organizer who feels overwhelmed because she has to do everything well.
Assuming you've talked to her (refer to step #1) you might have learned two things about her:
- Besides being the go-to person in their circle of friends, she's also a busy mom
- Her children look up to her as their hero.
Make her life easier by providing a checklist on everything she needs to do on that day and then follow-up asking how the event turned out.
Supposing the day turned out well, you’ve helped her organize a party that everyone enjoyed. You now have the opportunity to present your offer for a set of products for busy moms like her.
And this has a compounding effect because when she meets other busy moms like her, their product recommendations become your product recommendations.
Bonus step: Be flexible
Sometimes, the product you sell attracts a different set of buyers than you initially expected.
While this is something you have little or no control over, you have two options:
- Find out what your ideal customer wants, adjust your marketing, your product mix, and target them.
- Go back to the customers who are already buying from you. Find out why they bought and what other products they need to make their lives better.
But there's an exception…
If you're selling premium products, you'll get an elite group of people buying from you. To scale, have another version of the product (with fewer features) and sell to people who aspire to be part of the elite group you're selling to.
Over to You
You've followed a certain formula to get your first product to hit. You've made mistakes, twists, and turns and fine-tuned things until the formula became so precious to you.
And it's so precious to you that you can't see it being the reason behind you being unable to scale your business. The same habits and formulas that got you here are the same ones you need to change.
Change is hard. But it doesn't mean that you forget what got you here. It's about embracing where you are today and understanding that you don't need to have all the answers.
When it comes down to it, your work is to provide solutions to people who are already living their lives. You'll need to spend some time asking your customers what they want and give it to them.
In essence, your work is to make them heroes of their own stories.
Now, go forth and scale your business.
Want help on Amazon? TurnKey Product Management sells over 8-figures on Amazon per year by quickly scaling brands on Amazon to grow into a profitable 7 to 8 figure sellable business faster than you could on your own by identifying & providing the missing proven strategies your business needs to accelerate sales and free up your time to do what you love!
For free resources and trainings that can boost your business on Amazon, go to: TurnKeyProductManagement.com/resource
Schedule a breakthrough session with TurnKey to scale your brand to the next level here: http://www.TurnKeyProductManagement.com/talk
