Evan Carmichael explains two ways to build products customers want: be your own customer, like L.L. Bean did with waterproof hunting shoes, or get close to them through conversations and observation. He creates content for entrepreneurs because he's been one; he understands large brands by having lunches and coffees with them to hear their actual problems.
Chapters
How to make products your customers will like. So I was doing a Google+ Hangout with one of my authors, Dave Kerlin, and I got a great question that I wanted to make a video response to. So the question came in from Conero Games who wrote in to say, "What do you need to make products that your target audience would like?" This is a great question and one that a lot of entrepreneurs face when they're thinking, "Hey, I need— what products do I make? I gotta make something that I'm excited about that I know will help my customers." So think about it. One of the most important rules in business is if you want to make money, you have to provide value to your customers, right? That's why people are paying you. You want to make a lot of money? You need to provide a lot of value to your customers. And a lot of times the value comes by solving a pain, solving a problem. If you solve somebody's problem, they'll pay you more for it. The more important the problem it is, the more they're going to pay you for it. So there's two ways to do it. One is you are your customer. You're making it because you have a problem and you've created this product to solve the problem for you. And you know it works for you, you recommend it, it works, you love it, so other people will as well. A great example is Leon, Leon Wood Bean, who started L.L. Bean. He was a hunter, and when he went hunting he was frustrated that his feet always got wet because his shoes sucked, because the shoes weren't meant for hunting. And so he made his own hunting shoe. And how did he know it would work? Because it worked for him, because he was a hunter, because he was his own target audience. And then he sold to other hunters and they loved it. So that's how he knew, that's how you can know, right? Are you your own customer or not? The second way is, if you're not your own customer, hanging around your customers a lot. Understanding their problem, understanding their needs, Being able to talk to them, speak to them, see what they're going through. The biggest challenges they're facing in their companies right now. Right? Talk to those people, really get to know them, and they'll tell you. They may not tell you the solution, you have to come up with that, but they'll tell you their problems. They'll tell you their pain. And if somebody is telling you a big pain, there's an opportunity to potentially solve it. So let me give you two examples from my own experience, okay? Uh, I sell to entrepreneurs and I sell to brands. When I'm selling entrepreneurs, it may be content like this video, it may be the Zuga Guides I'm selling, it may be a workshop, whatever it is, I can understand entrepreneurs. I know what content to create because I'm an entrepreneur, right? This is the stuff I wish I had. I had to struggle through this crap of starting my own business and failing and wanting to quit and then eventually building it up and turning it around and being acquired and all of that stuff. So I share my lessons. I know what I would have wanted, and I wish this stuff was there for me when I was getting started. So I am my own audience. The second part is I sell the brands. Now I'm not, I'm not a brand, right? I'm not a huge company. I'm not Microsoft. I'm not Dell. I'm not Google, but I sell to those guys. But I can speak their language. I got close to them. We have lunches and dinners and coffees and sessions together. Right? I help them plan. And so I know the problems that they're going through by getting close to them. If you are not your target customer and you're not close to your target customer, then how are you going to find their major problem and find a product that will help solve it? So that's my advice. The best one is if you are your own customer and you love it because other people, you know there are other people out there who are just like you who want it too. But if you can't, if you're not your customer, then hang around your customers and get really close to them. Believe. That's my advice. I'd love to hear how you guys started your business, how you found your first customer. If you are your customer, or if you're finding ways to get close to your customers, please leave it in the comments below so other people can benefit from it as well and be inspired by your story. If you guys like this video, thumbs up below, click on my face, subscribe to the channel. Thank you so much. I'll see you soon.
