- Conduct surveys of clients to uncover unmet needs
- Consider face to face lunch for select clients to probe for their ideas
- Consider looking to other industries to provide needed solutions
Identify Unmet Needs in the Marketplace
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A perfect way to make yourself an instant “leader” or “expert” in any niche of your marketplace is to be the first one to find “The Next Big Thing”. Just by finding out what your current or prospect clients want – then analyze this list to find an item that neither you or your direct competitor’s offer and BINGO! You’ve just found your niche or expertise.
A great way to find these “hidden treasures” is to conduct a formal or informal survey. With every new client you get you now have an invaluable resource for not only referrals and testimonials, but also for research. After you have completed your services with that client ask them if you can have a few minutes of their time to thank them for their order and then ask them your survey questions. This can be done on the phone or via the mail or on the web.
If this was a high-paying client, one who has the potential to be a big client or just a contact that is open and will talk freely with you, consider taking them out to a business lunch in a more relaxed environment than the office.
For all clients consider sending them a thank you email with a simple survey assessing their current needs across the board. Also, you can enclose a mention of your online survey enclosed. These are low-cost high return items that you can implement to keep your business fresh and in the fore-front of your industry.
Keep in mind when reading over these new ideas that even though you may not personally have a solution or know how to do one of the items that somewhere out there somebody else does.
Many times it is as simple as having a problem in Industry Type A that nobody has a great/simple solution for, but in Industry Type C you have the perfect solution. Just make a few revisions or re-package your solution and sell it to the other Industries.
The business world is ever changing and the more that you can keep your ear to the ground for the next train coming down the line the more successful you will be.
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