{"id":13447,"date":"2013-03-25T09:07:50","date_gmt":"2013-03-25T14:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ducttapemarketing.com\/blog\/?p=13447"},"modified":"2024-01-25T05:45:19","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T12:45:19","slug":"solve-unmet-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ducttapemarketing.com\/solve-unmet-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Questions That Will Lead to Market Domination"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the things most small business struggle with mightily is differentiation. And yet, it\u2019s probably the number one factor in the success of one business over another.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t demonstrate how your business is significantly different than every other business that says it does what you do, you are doomed to compete on price.<\/p>\n

\"differentiate\"<\/p>\n

Being different is the first step in building a business that people care about. In some cases, this step alone can allow you to create some distance from the pack of completion.<\/p>\n

But, and here\u2019s where it gets truly interesting, if you really want to carve out success you must also understand that it\u2019s often not enough to simply be different. You\u2019ve got to be different in a way that boldly addresses the greatest unmet needs of your market.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to uncover a way to solve the problems that no one else is even talking about solving.<\/p>\n

See, everyone in your industry is addressing the same problems, but what if they’re the wrong problems, or at least not the most pressing problems?<\/p>\n

Think about you industry, your business, aren\u2019t you simply trying to meet the same needs as everyone else? My guess is that even if you\u2019ve come up with a powerful new way to package, price, deliver and differentiate your products and services, you\u2019re still essentially attacking the same problems and challenges with the same proven approach as everyone else.<\/p>\n

So let me ask you this. Do you know the number one unmet need in your marketplace? Do you understand the biggest problem your customers struggle with? Do you know the thing they can\u2019t get anyone to solve? The answer they\u2019ve looked high and low for? The topic no one seems to have any advice on? The question they would gladly pay to have answered?
\nThe answers to those questions are where the true secret to marketing success resides.<\/p>\n

Great copywriters, Internet marketers and AdWords experts get this. It\u2019s how they push psychological hot buttons and find hungry niche markets already queued up to click on tiny ads buried deep in long tail searches.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also one of the most powerful ways to position an entire business and dominate an entire industry.<\/p>\n

Remember, it\u2019s not enough to simply be different; you\u2019ve got to be different in a way that offers extreme value and solves problems people are ready to pay for.<\/p>\n

Your research starts by sitting down with your customers or some segment of your market and asking some tough questions.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about this numerous times<\/a>, but often your customers know what you do that differentiates your more precisely than you do.<\/p>\n

In addition to asking your clients what you do that\u2019s unique, you\u2019ve also got to start asking, probing and digging for unmet needs. You\u2019ve got to try to figure out what they can\u2019t get and how badly they want it.<\/p>\n

The secret to success is to solve the problems nobody else is solving, even if you don\u2019t yet know how to that.<\/p>\n

Starting today, ask your customers some variation of the following five questions and start to look for patterns, unmet needs and opportunities to change how you approach your business.<\/p>\n

Your unmet needs survey questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What is the biggest challenge you are facing in your business?<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Why is it important that you find a solution to this challenge now?<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n
  3. How hard have you worked to try to solve this challenge in the past?<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n
  4. What about this challenge makes it so hard to solve or answer?<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n
  5. How hard has it been to find an answer to your challenge?<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ultimately, you’re looking for patterns of unmet needs that people are motivated to solve, but have had a very difficult time finding solutions to.<\/p>\n

    I have to credit former psychologist turned Internet marketing Dr. Glenn Livingstone<\/a> for the basis of these questions. Livingstone uses sophisticated research techniques to uncover problems people are desperately seeking answers to in order to create information products, AdWords tactics and sales copy that address these niche needs.<\/p>\n

    The approach, however, has powerful implications for any business. Every market has gaps of unmet needs and the business that figures these out, addresses and solves the hard problems that exist, can differentiate in ways that others won\u2019t even consider.<\/p>\n

    This path is the surest route to success but it isn\u2019t the easy route. The research you uncover from taking this approach seriously may greatly alter your business model, products, approach and positioning.<\/p>\n

    The secret to success in business is to differentiate. The secret to unparalleled success is to differentiate by solving the greatest unmet needs of a market.<\/p>\n

    If you liked this post, check out our Ultimate\u00a0Guide to Small Business Marketing Strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    One of the things most small business struggle with mightily is differentiation. And yet, it\u2019s probably the number one factor in the success of one business over another. If you can\u2019t demonstrate how your business is significantly different than every other business that says it does what you do, you are doomed to compete on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"spt_transcript":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11167,39,11561,4,10435],"tags":[2353,1316,2354],"class_list":["post-13447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consulting-business","category-duct-tape-marketing","category-professional-services","category-marketing-strategy","category-strategy-first","tag-differentiate","tag-strategy-before-tactics","tag-unmet-needs","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Uncover Unmet Needs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you really want to carve out success 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