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A man, named Zeke, had a load of supplies to deliver to the top of a steep hill.  He uses all his effort to push the load to the top of the hill…only to find it’s the wrong hill! So, he goes down and finds the right hill.  Zeke again expends all his energy to get his load up the right hill…only it’s not the right load of supplies.  So, Zeke goes down to get the right load and again uses all his effort to get the right load up the right hill…only this time there was no one on top to receive the load.  Zeke passed out.

Another man, Zeb, had the same task. Before he delivered his load of supplies, he found the right hill, hiked up to the top and asked what supplies were needed and when they were needed.  Zeb also learned there was a pulley system the people at the top of the hill used to pull loads to the top.  So, on the day of delivery, Zeb got the correct load, went to the right hill at the right time, attached the load to the pulley and the people on top pulled the load up.  Zeb went home and watched Netflix.

Zeke’s story is what many new, and not so new, Utah business entrepreneurs spend much effort and time doing – allegorically.  Only it’s not loads they’re pushing, but product.  They use all internet social apps, get as many likes as possible, tell everything about the product, but nothing is productive.  They know they have a great product or service.

Many entrepreneurs are pushing product rather than having potential customers pull it.  They focus on selling product rather than solving issues for the customer.  Just like Zeb who found the best way to get his load delivered, several things need to be done prior to getting sales.

1.      Identify the market segments and choose one to target.

2.      Find out their issues, needs and wants directly from that segment related to the product/service.

3.      Ensure the product/service addresses those issues, needs, and/or wants. Make changes if necessary.

4.      Determine messaging specifically for that segment that will affect emotions, instill trust, and trigger the desire to buy.

5.      Determine a marketing strategy that best delivers and exposes the messaging to that segment.