So What’s More Important in Internet Marketing? The Product? The Market? Or What?

So What’s More Important in Internet Marketing? The Product? The Market? Or What? 

By: Warren Little

"I'm not so interested in products," one of my mentors explained to a mutual protégé. "Products change with the times. I'm interested in developing a sophisticated understanding of how our market works."

As someone who spends a good deal of time inventing new products, this comment shocked me. But it didn't take me very long to realize he was right.

Products -- good products -- are things that meet certain needs or solve particular problems. The same can be said of services. But what solves today's problem is not necessarily what will work tomorrow. The endless need to refine, reinvent … to make our products "new" … is evidence of that.

A common mistake a lot of entrepreneurs and executives make is becoming very knowledgeable about the product without knowing as much (or more) about how to market it. Product knowledge gives you the illusion of being in control because you can answer all your colleagues' questions and correct the technical guys when they are wrong -- but in the long run, it isn't as important as knowing how, when, and why your customers buy.

Having market knowledge means that you understand the attractiveness of the product rather than the product itself. It means that you understand its benefits, not just its features. It means that you know your customers' wants, needs, and desires so intimately that you can reinvent the product even before they realize it needs to be reinvented.

If you want to be a prime mover in business -- someone who can move your (You Inc.) company forward when it has stalled and the person who can come up with that sorely needed blockbuster promotion -- become an expert in your market.

Being a market expert implies having a very good understanding of how to master the selling process. How it's done. Why it works. What is essential and what is not.

Rate yourself by answering these questions:

1) What is the most important psychological benefit your product offers?

2) What is the most common mistake other marketers make when they sell it?

3) How have your customers' needs and desires changed in the recent past?

4) What changes have you made to accommodate those changes?

 

If answering those questions was challenging for you don't feel bad, you are not alone, lots of internet marketers struggling to find success online are in the same boat. My suggestion to you is to click here for step-by-step Internet Marketing Training.

 

[About the Author] Warren Little is a  successful Internet Network Marketing Consultant/Trainer and motivational speaker. His passion is empowering internet marketers to achieve greater levels of success quickly. His "Network Marketing Solutions Newsletter" has become one of most highly subscribed to internet marketing resources.