Ensure Business Viability Before Marketing

Generating ideas is a valuable part of business, whether you’re starting a new one or looking for ideas for your current business. Yet, as good as the idea seems on the surface, it’s a good idea to resist the urge to forge ahead. Why? You definitely don’t have enough information to understand if the idea is viable or not. Creating the product, adding a service, launching a business – all of these need to be tested before moving through the stages of launching it. You definitely need to make sure it’s viable before putting together launching a marketing program and here is why:

Pursuing a Business Idea Prematurely Wastes Resources

We had a client who spent a lot of his own savings putting together a product that ultimately no one wanted. On the surface, it looked like a good idea. By the time the idea was developed, though, the technology had become obsolete. We were hired to help him with marketing, and it wasn’t until several months had gone by that we realized what happened. He pursued the idea without truly confirming if his idea was sellable.

So, what happened here? He forged ahead with his idea because it felt right. Ultimately, ten years later, the realization was starting to hit that the business actually wasn’t viable. This is something that should have been decided on before ten years of valuable resources were used up.

Take the Extra Step of Determining Business Viability

We’ve all heard cautionary tales like the one mentioned above. Testing business viability is important but it’s often skipped because it can take a while. We’re so excited about the idea that we just want to get going making it work! What you’re looking for are clues that your business will meet the needs of the people in your market and that they’ll purchase from you. Here’s some idea on how to do that:

Market Research. Do extensive market research to understand the target audience. This should give you clues as to whether or not the idea will work.
Competitive Analysis. You’ll also want to do a competitive analysis. Note that if there are no direct competitors, this doesn’t necessarily signify that you have an opportunity. It could mean there are no direct competitors because no one wants to buy what you’re proposing, and others have figured that out.
Financial Considerations. Another step to determine viability is purely financial. Do you have the financial resources to see the idea through to the end? If not, is it worth raising capital for?

As you can see, there is a lot that goes into determining viability. Let’s just say the answer is yes, the business is truly viable. When is it the right time to put together the marketing? Well, it depends. You need to properly develop the product before you expend a lot of effort with your marketing.

However, once it’s time to take a product to market, you should work on creating your marketing strategy right away. The sooner you start marketing, the better off you’ll be.