If you’ve ever been in the same room with me for more than 30 seconds at a time, I’ve probably asked you to buy something from me. It’s not because I’m rich on commission, though. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: I work for a company that sells an item literally no one wants to buy.
To make matters worse, we sell this unwanted product for an exorbitant price and even then can’t seem to convince customers to take it off our hands. All this begs the question: why do I bother asking people to purchase what is obviously a terrible product?
The answer lies in lessons learned from my career as a door-to-door salesman and will surely surprise you!
Here are 29 tips to help you push a product that no one wants:
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You’re going to make some bad products, and that’s okay! In fact, it’s better than okay because it forces you to learn from those mistakes and grow from them. It also gives you the chance to try something new before anyone else does.
Find you’re why. If there was one thing I could tell myself when I started LaunchPad Lab over two years ago, it would be this: “Find you why.” Once you know why you’re doing what you’re doing (and hopefully it’s not just for money), it makes everything easier—not just in terms of your business but also in terms of life in general because everything gets clearer after that point.
Set the right expectations with customers before they buy anything from us—or even sign up for our email list (which is how we sell our product). We include a link at the bottom of every email we send out asking people if they’d like more information about purchasing something from us as well as giving them an option where they can unsubscribe from receiving any future emails once their purchase has been completed or canceled within 48 hours after signing up respectively;
Both links are clearly visible on every page where someone might buy something from us so there aren’t any surprises down the road later on when someone gets charged without realizing what happened beforehand due to having missed important details somewhere along those lines already.”
| Takeaways |
|---|
| – Creativity is key when marketing a product with low demand. |
| – Experiment with unconventional strategies to generate interest. |
| – Target niche audiences that might find value in the product. |
| – Highlight unique features and benefits that set the product apart. |
| – Leverage storytelling to create an emotional connection with customers. |
| – Consider limited-time offers or incentives to encourage trial. |
| – Use social media creatively to spark conversations and curiosity. |
| – Monitor and analyze results to refine your approach over time. |
Don’t Be Afraid To Make Mistakes
One of my favorite things about being in business is getting to learn from my own mistakes. It’s easy to get hung up on the past or obsess over a future that might never come to pass. But if you’re making progress and trying new things, you’ve got nothing to worry about! Every mistake is an opportunity for growth and improvement, as long as you make sure you learn your lesson each time.
Let’s talk about some common mistakes I see people make even though they know better:
- Not taking advantage of their strengths
- Focusing on what other people think instead of what they want themselves
- Trying too hard (and then not succeeding)
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Find Your Why
Your why is the reason you started a business. It’s the reason you get up in the morning, and it’s the reason you are working so hard. Your why is your purpose, your vision, and your goal.
The best way to find your why is through journaling or meditation. Close your eyes, take deep breaths and think about what makes you tick as an entrepreneur. Do this every day for at least 15 minutes until it becomes clear to yourself what drives you forward, even when times are tough or things aren’t going exactly how they were planned out initially (because they never do).
Once you have an answer whether that be freedom from debt or financial independence write it down so that it can serve as a reminder of who exactly it was that caused them to become an entrepreneur in the first place.
Set The Right Expectations
One of the most important things to establish with your customers is what they should expect from you. Set realistic expectations, be clear about what you are offering, and be clear about what you are not offering. If a customer thinks they will get something that’s not included in the price or that they don’t need, they may end up feeling cheated and leave a bad review.
If people know they won’t get something at all (for example: free shipping), then they won’t expect it when it doesn’t happen!
It’s also important to set limits on what you can do for the customer. Customers don’t want to hear about how busy or tired you are; instead, remind them that this is just an online business so there aren’t any real humans behind the scenes making their orders happen as quickly as possible!
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Show Up Consistently
This is something I learned the hard way. When I first started my business, I was afraid to ask for help. I thought that if people knew that I wasn’t an expert in everything, they wouldn’t want me as their coach or mentor.
I also had trouble asking for feedback on my work because it felt like admitting defeat. So instead of getting helpful feedback from my clients and friends (or even just friends!), all this fear did was prevent me from finding out what people really wanted before it was too late to change course.
Ask For Help
I’m sure you’ve been in a situation where there’s something you don’t know how to do. Maybe you need help with something that seems too difficult or tedious, or perhaps the task in question is just so far outside your comfort zone that it feels impossible. Or maybe you’re feeling stuck and don’t know what to do next.
Whatever the case may be, there’s one thing I can promise: If someone has walked into this world with a set of skills they didn’t have before, they had to ask for help at some point along the way. And if they didn’t get it? They asked again and again until they got what they needed. When was the last time someone stood up from their desk without asking for help? (I’ll wait).
Start Doing Your Research Before You Start Marketing
The key to avoiding these issues is to start doing your research before you start marketing.
This means not just looking at what the competition is doing, but also looking at who your target market is and how they behave, what your customers want to buy and why they might want it, what your product does and if it even has a market and whether or not there are any competitors selling similar products (if so, then you’re going up against tough odds).
You need to do this type of initial research for every aspect of your business: from determining whether or not there’s actually a viable market for the product in question all the way down through determining how much money to spend on advertising.
Talk To Users Who Align With Your Target Market
The first thing you should do is talk to users who align with your target market. If your product is a dating app, talk to people who are in relationships and look at their relationship patterns. If it’s a fitness tracker wristband, talk to people who work out often and see what they’d change about it if they could.
The easiest way to do this is through surveys or interviews just ask questions about your products or services that pertain directly to their experience using them. The method doesn’t matter as long as you’re getting good feedback from real customers or potential customers who fit into the demographic profile of what you’re trying to reach!
Once you’ve asked them how they feel about their current experience using the product, ask them if they would use another feature of its kind if one were available (like an upgraded version). If so, what would be different about that feature? Would it solve any problems for them? Would there be anything else out there like this new feature? Would they recommend it to friends?
This process helps get insight into whether or not people will actually buy something before investing too much time/money into developing it further; so even if nothing comes from these initial conversations yet no one says yes then at least now I know where things stand with my idea.”
Talk to Real Users & Learn From Them
I talk to real users. I learn from them. I don’t ask questions and then stop listening, so here is what you do:
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions; they don’t bite and they are more than happy to answer them!
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help; it’s easier than doing everything yourself (plus you’ll get better results).
- Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback; if someone can give you constructive criticism about your product or service, then chances are that person will probably enjoy working with/for/on it too!
If you’re selling software… Make sure it works properly before releasing it. If there are bugs in the code or functionality issues with your application, fix those first before promoting anything else about the product because these will ultimately cause users not only to leave bad reviews but also tell their friends not to try out what looks like yet another “broken” app on their phone.”
Face To Face Meetings Are Always The Best
Phone calls are a great way to get to know someone, but nothing is better than meeting face to face. When you meet in person, you have the advantage of seeing their body language and hearing their tone of voice. This helps you gauge how enthusiastic they are about your product and whether or not they would be interested in purchasing it.
You can also ask questions that would be awkward over the phone (or email). For example, if someone is hesitant about buying your product because of price, it’s easier for them to admit this when speaking directly with you instead of through an impersonal medium like a text message or email message where there’s less pressure (and no one else around).
Another benefit of meeting up in real life is that people often come away with more information than when discussing things over the phone; either because they asked better questions or just had more time during which they could think through all the possibilities before making a decision – either way works!
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Launching On ProductHunt & Reddit Is Worthwhile If Your Product Is Focused Around Developer/Hacker Tools
Launching on ProductHunt and Reddit is worthwhile if your product is focused around developer/hacker tools.
For example, my company’s app is a tool for developers and hackers (and others!) to create their own software products more quickly. We’re not selling anything directly through our app; it’s just meant to be an easy-to-use tool for people who want to build their own apps without having to learn how to code first. We wanted help from the community in terms of feedback, so we launched on ProductHunt and Reddit before we had even built our minimum viable product (MVP).
We were lucky enough that some users found out about us through these channels, downloaded our MVP app and gave us feedback based on what they thought of the idea behind it—not necessarily the actual features within it! This helped us decide which features should be included in future versions of our app as well as what kind of marketing strategy would work best.
Understand What Makes A Good ProductHunt Submission
Understand What Makes A Good Product
ProductHunt is a community of makers and early adopters. It’s a place for people who love to discover new products, as well as makers who want to share their work with the world. And it’s also a place for early adopters to find those products and help them grow through feedback and comments.
In order to succeed on Product Hunt, you need an understanding of how it works—and why it matters at all in today’s crowded marketplaces.
Learn How To Use Reddit & Understand Subreddit Rules
What is Reddit?
Reddit is a social media platform that allows users to post content, including links and text posts. Other users can then vote on the submissions to determine their position on the site’s pages. The most popular content rises to the top of each subreddit, while unpopular content sinks down.
How do I use Reddit?
If you’re interested in learning how to use Reddit, follow these steps: 1) Sign up for an account and choose a username (Do not enter your real name or personal information.) 2) Find subreddits related to your product and start posting! You’ll want to make sure that any subreddits are relevant so don’t waste time on ones that aren’t helpful for your business goals.
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Set Goals & Focus On The Bigger Picture
If you’re going to push a product, you need to set goals. If you don’t know where you’re trying to get, how can you know when you’ve arrived?
Goals are important because they give us direction and keep us on track as we work toward something bigger. But setting goals isn’t always easy. It’s common for people to set unrealistic or impractical expectations for themselves and then become discouraged when their expectations aren’t met.
The key here is not to think about what the outcome should be but rather focus on the process of achieving that outcome it doesn’t matter whether your goal is being able to bench press 300lbs or getting through an entire day without eating any carbs; instead of worrying about how many reps or pounds of weight have been lifted or grams of carbs consumed in one day, focus on completing each rep with proper form and using whole foods while avoiding processed junk food as much as possible (ideally).
If it turns out that reaching those objectives is more difficult than expected, there’s no shame in adjusting them accordingly! As long as we’re working toward something meaningful (and not just chasing numbers), our path will eventually lead us where we need it go
Find Alternatives To Advertising
The first thing you need to do is reassess what you’re doing. If you’re relying on one source of traffic, revenue, or marketing, that’s a problem. Don’t rely on advertising alone! Find alternatives to advertising if possible.
Take me for example: I don’t want to ruin my reputation by selling out and putting ads everywhere. So instead of relying solely on advertisements in order to make money with my website, I use affiliate marketing links and revenue sharing programs in order to bring in some extra cash without going broke doing so (and without giving up my integrity).
The second thing you need to do is come up with new ideas for how your product could be marketed more effectively than it currently is being marketed right now. You might even want someone else’s help here – but only if they are qualified and credible experts who work within their field as well as outside of it; otherwise they won’t understand where they can help improve things most effectively!
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Conclusion
I’ve seen a lot of startups that have ideas for products that no one wants, or at least not enough potential customers to sustain their business. When I was in the early days with my startup, I found out that no matter how much time or money you put into your startup, it will take a long time before it becomes profitable.
The best way to get started is by working on small things and starting off with a small team. You can always add more resources later on once you start making some profits from your sales.
Further Reading
How to Get People to Buy Your Product: Explore effective strategies to drive sales and boost your product’s appeal to potential customers.
How to Promote a Product: 20 Creative Marketing Ideas: Discover innovative and creative marketing approaches to effectively promote your products.
How to Market a Product: 24 Effective Marketing Tips to Skyrocket Sales: Learn 24 powerful marketing tips to increase your product’s visibility and sales potential.
FAQs
How can I improve my product’s appeal to potential buyers?
Enhance your product’s appeal by highlighting its unique features and benefits, showcasing customer testimonials, and using high-quality visuals.
What are some creative marketing ideas for promoting a product?
Consider running contests, collaborating with influencers, creating engaging video content, offering limited-time promotions, and leveraging user-generated content.
How can I effectively market my product to a wider audience?
Utilize social media platforms, engage in content marketing, optimize your website for search engines, and explore partnerships with complementary businesses.
What role does customer engagement play in boosting product sales?
Active customer engagement through personalized interactions, prompt responses to queries, and valuable content can build trust and encourage more conversions.
How do I measure the success of my product marketing efforts?
Track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, and customer feedback to gauge the effectiveness of your marketing strategies.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.
