Tag: testing

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The one idea mistake you can’t afford to make in your planning


A couple started a hand and body lotion manufacturing business, which is still going well after a number of years. They started selling at Saturday morning markets, found there was a demand for the product and started developing their business. Now, they still sell to Saturday morning markets but also have stockists at retail stores and sell online.

This is a success story. But it doesn’t always happen this way. We know that the majority of new business ideas fail. Why is this so and what can you do about it? What can you do to ensure that your promising business idea will produce results?

The short answer is to do your homework. But what does this really entail? Unless you know what to do, you could follow the route of so many other one-be start-up ventures and land up with egg on your face. It’s no laughing matter. You would have wasted your time, energy, resources and perhaps feel embarrassed and disillusioned.

Before you even produce a sample or prototype, you need to check if there is a market for your idea. This may involve formal or informal research. You need to check in the existing marketplace to see what products are available and also do searches online to find out if such products or services are available. Depending on the nature of your product or service, you would probably also want to look for advertisements for similar products in general or specialised magazines.

Next up, would be to evaluate your idea to determine if it is attractive. What is your unique selling proposition? What benefits are potential customers looking for? How will your product or service offering reduce perceived risk, especially if you are a small business. Unknown, untried and untested? There are just too many products on the market to leave this step to chance.

An important stage is to test your idea to see if there is demand. This may involve producing a sample or prototype that you may want to take out into your defined niche market and test for buying intention. It’s no use receiving opinions and comments about how good your product is – the only thing that really counts is if people are willing to buy. The best form of testing involves actual purchases.

A stage that is often overlooked is feasibility planning to determine if you could establish a business based on your idea. Here you would look at a source of local suppliers, whether you have to manufacture the product yourself or not, how and where you are going to distribute it and whether you can do it on your own or need others to help you. I think this is an important step before producing a business plan because it gives you a rough guide of critical areas.

You would then prepare a business case for introducing your product or service, which would include a marketing and sales plan. Whether you are introducing a new craft beer, body or hand lotion or a specialised pet care service, it makes sense to come up with a brief business plan to help minimise your personal risk. Some may scoff at written down business plans, but how can you keep all the details in your head without forgetting important elements?

Next time you come up with an exciting new business opportunity. Don’t make the number one idea mistake which is not to do your homework beforehand. Get ready for your biggest step towards generating and implementing your own ideas for success. Why not use proven sources to build and target a product or side income asset of your own? Click on the books page to order your copy of “Breakthrough Ideas” now.

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How do you know whether your idea for a product will attract paying customers?

Petit brunch
Petit brunch (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Big companies invest resources and time into testing new product ideas but still get it wrong most of the time. So what about the individual who has a new idea or concept for a product, service or new venture? You have limited resources and time and lack the specialist skills.

Yet many people start something of their own and despite the odds make a go of it. I’m not talking about heavily engineered products but home-made, hand-crafted products such as niche foods, hand and body lotions and custom-made clothing. What’s the secret? Continue reading “How do you know whether your idea for a product will attract paying customers?”

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Is your product and offering compelling in this market?

English: A bewildering choice of honey! Haverf...
Honey selling in France – (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A small business that specialises in a range of products made from honey had a small stand outside a large Dis-Chem pharmacy, a health and beauty discounter. There were so many products made from raw honey and beeswax, together with the other ingredients, that the stand looked confusing. No potential customers were visiting the stand. What went wrong? Continue reading “Is your product and offering compelling in this market?”

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You can’t dine out on your first idea

Jean Baptiste Bernard Coclers (printmaker; painter/draughtsman, art dealer; Italian; Flemish; 1741 - 1817). Signs work as 'L.B. Coclers'. Born and died at Liège; Experimented with crayon-manner and drypoint. Source: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=128959
Dining out (1780), Jean Baptiste Bernard Coclers (printmaker; painter/draughtsman, art dealer; Italian; Flemish; 1741 – 1817). Signs work as ‘L.B. Coclers’. Born and died at Liège; Experimented with crayon-manner and drypoint. Source: British Museum

Some time back when the economy was buoyant meal preparation kitchen businesses took off. The idea was for people to visit one of the commercial kitchens, make dinners for the week with pre-chopped ingredients. The concept was even franchised with names such as Dinner by Design and Super Suppers. The number of stores grew well during the bumper years but when the economy went southwards people went back to making meals at home.

This is the difficulty with coming up with a new business idea or concept and estimating or evaluating whether it is going to take off. You never have absolute certainty that an idea will succeed. Start-ups and new business ventures have many inherent risks but the rewards can be a high when compared to other investments.

Steve Blank, known as the man who made the lean start-up approach a movement, says that it took a while to realise that “built into a founder’s ongoing passion is a series of untested hypotheses they can keep testing and iterating,” according to an interview in Start-up Smart.

What this means is that you can’t bank on dining out on your first idea. You may need to keep testing and refining your idea until it becomes workable. Many so-called good ideas need to be thrown out or discarded when they prove to be not commercially viable. One legendary entrepreneur, James Dyson, made more than 5000 “experiments” or prototypes to eventually develop his first bag-less vacuum cleaner.

What makes an idea successful?

Some will say immediately that the entrepreneur’s or founders passion is one of the key ingredients for success. For example, Steve Blank says, “On day one, you have to be a true believer. You have to believe your initial vision is correct, that your passion will make it happen and remove all obstacles.”

The other essential is market demand. You must be able to give potential customers value that they may not be able to get anywhere else. A new product or service needs to be cheaper, faster or easier to use than what is on the market. Often the problem is that a new product or service is so new that the adoption rate by potential customers is very low. Potential customers are hesitant to try out something new that may increase risk for themselves. In a tight economy, for instance, customers will stick to the tried and true even if it means they are not 100% satisfied with what they purchase.

Entrepreneurs also need tools and resources to turn their passions into profitable businesses. Some of the most important resources and skills an entrepreneur must master includees business planning, cash flow management and being able to pitch your big idea for funding or learning how to get the word out and sell your product or service.

Action summary:

– Products and services must give value to potential customers that is greater than what is presently available on the market
– An initial business idea will probably need to go through several iterations before it is shaped into something that will provide superior value
– The start-up owner needs to know what tools and resources they require to turn their new ideas or passions into a profitable business
– Learning how to pitch your idea and how to get the word out to sell your product or service is a key entrepreneurial skill

You may not be able to dine out on your first big idea but if you keep working at it passionately and know what is required to develop it you may eventually turn your idea into a viable business.

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Little-known ways to test your business idea

Customer Service Forum 2013 @ St George
Customer Service Forum 2013  (Photo credit: mylearning)

Low cost. Inexpensive. No cost. Magical words. Flop, failure. Unsuccessful. Not words anyone looking to start something on the side or even a would-be small business person would want to hear.

After selecting your most promising idea for a product or service and assessing its potential, next up is the important step of testing it in the market.

Leave out testing and your business idea could quickly go West. Continue reading “Little-known ways to test your business idea”

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The power of generating low-cost promotional ideas: a fight-back strategy

Come up with your own free, easy and low-cost promotion ideas that can help you to lift sales in a difficult economy

In this rough and tumble economy, some business people sit, like frogs in a pot immobilised with the water temperature rising. Even when the temperature hits boiling point, they remain in the pot. If the frogs suddenly stumbled into the pot of boiling water, they wouldn’t hesitate to jump right out. Why then don’t small business people react quickly when they recognize warning signs?  

Many business people seem to stubbornly believe that they can rough it through the difficult economy doing business in the same familiar way, despite turnovers in some cases plummeting by a third or more. Small business has such a high mortality rate in “normal” economic conditions but when economic activity declines, the mortality rate rises.

Riding high and spending less

During the good times small business owners were riding high. They spent less on their marketing as customers walked in and bought whatever they wanted. Small business owners were spoilt as they had to do little personal selling or advertising.

Now, when times are tough and small business owners and entrepreneurs are more concerned with meeting personnel expenses and covering overheads they are even more reluctant to spend money on promotion. Yet clients and customers are holding onto their cash, waiting for times improve, hanging onto their homes, cars, computers, household appliances for longer, repairing them instead of replacing them.What should store owners and small service businesses do?

Ignore selling and promotion at your peril

Even though small business owners have seen turnovers drop many are wary of spending money on promotion. Some are trying to play it cheap by bringing in well meaning family and friends to help them promote their products and services. Other owners knuckle down on the technical areas and processes in their business, ignoring selling and promotion at their peril.Promotional ideas need to work

Little do those businesses who use retail space or have high visibility and walk-in customers realise that if they don’t do something to promote their business and lift sales, they will be forced into operating the business from home to chop overhead. Running a business from home ironically means needing to acquire a whole set of new marketing skills.

How do you go about promoting your business in a stormy economy where every cent counts? Small businesses and entrepreneurial enterprises cannot pour vast sums on vague institutional (image) advertising with no way to measure sales. Entrepreneurs need to generate sales — even when advertising in traditional print media, adverts have to be “keyed” and have special phone numbers specific to adverts. This way they can measure their advertising conversion. A small travel agent told me recently that she had a separate phone number for each advert to measure response. If the newspaper, magazine, radio or television advertising didn’t pull, it had to go.

Test, test, test

Promotional ideas that work are specific to each business and the mind or emotional triggers of their customers. Small business owners need to brainstorm ideas that they think will work for their business. Try some no-cost, low-cost ideas out first and see how they work. Remember to test, test, test. As Claude Hopkins said, “Almost any question can be answered, cheaply, quickly and finally, by a test campaign.”

To get fighting fit in this economy small business owners and entrepreneurs need to focus their attention on attracting customers to their business through a variety of low-cost, no-cost promotional ideas. Idea generation techniques can be effective as can meeting with fellow business people to share and swop ideas. In the next article on www.ideaaccelerator.co.za we’ll look at tips, strategies and other ideas to promote your business. In the meantime, take a look at what your competitors are doing as well try to spot other businesses that seem to be doing well no matter how hard the harsh economic winds blow.