New opportunities can be created by developments in technology. The internet has opened up the opportunity to sell to customers in diverse geographic locations and significantly reduced the cost to reach those markets. Smartphone technology has taken that a step further. What other developments are occurring that can create additional opportunities for your business to access new markets and engage with potential customers before, during and after they buy?
If pursuing the new opportunity involves minimal cost to tweak and test the response, then why not see how it goes. There are two ways you can go about this. You can either test it with new customers as a real purchase experience, or test the response using a small group of very good customers who you can ask to act as an advisory board.
You need to choose these people wisely though. They should be people you can absolutely trust to give you honest feedback, who won’t be negatively affected by the proposition of change and an alternative offering.
If it turns out the new opportunity stacks up better than the original plan, don’t be afraid to pursue it. I’ve seen many business owners who were passionate about an idea that just didn’t go anywhere or took a long time to get off the ground and still required adjustment to meet the needs of their economic customers.
This process is commonly used by most successful start-ups coming out of Silicon Valley. They’ve built it into their business model to continually stay in tune with the buyer’s needs, identify the opportunities, test and deliver what the market wants and pays for.
Two good reads that provides insights into how they’ve done this are The Startup Owner’s Manual by Steve Blank and The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries.
Australian start-ups can take advantage of building the same process into their businesses.
Marc Peskett is a director of MPR Group, a Melbourne-based business that specialises in providing business advisory, tax, outsourced accounting and grants and funding services, to fast-growing technology and innovation businesses.
MPR Group is holding a full day workshop on April 19 to help business owners develop strategies to stay ahead of the pack. For further information click here.
