Built a product, now what?
Hi! I am mainly a developer, I have built a Facebook Messenger Marketing tool (http://kibopush.com/), now I am kinda of stuck in getting customers for my product. I dont have any clue where to start as I have no experience in marketing. There are a few similar products that exist but I think this space is very new so there is still room for my product. As for my target audience I am primarily thinking about e-Commerce and publishers/bloggers. Any advice on how should I get started?
Well, now that you've done the easy part, do the hard part. ;)
Here's your algorithm:
This is very, very simple and it's very, very hard. Expect that success will probably look a lot like 20 rejections before the first customer. Expect that it'll keep being difficult for a long time, maybe forever. Expect it to be the same kind of "simple but not easy" as building a savings nest egg.
Or find a cofounder that can do it for you.
This is freaking golden advice, thanks for sharing Marcus!
Definitely hard to do/mantain tho, what's been your personal experience with this?
Haha! Yes so hard to maintain!
I was able to painstakingly grow an Instagram account to a decent following with the idea that I should tag and share photos with camera nerdy hashtags and collab with users of the gear. I left when at about 2k and they then used the same tactics to grow it to 8k. https://www.instagram.com/intuitiveaerial
I made an app for wireless monitoring of Panasonic cameras and went through various forums, websites, Reddit and so on. I was able to find a niche group that was willing to pay $30 for that app. I still get beta requests today because I talked about it a lot for three months about one and a half years ago.
My current project I spent two nights finding 50 improv companies and emailed all of them over the course of the week after. I found one person that wanted to collaborate on finding the need. It was painful finding that early adopter but she’s priceless!
Ive seen it at work with one of my friend’s apps for autistic kids. They’re super engaged but you gotta build trust in that group since it’s about their kids!
So... I have no super impressive results, but the only results I’ve ever had is through this. And personally I’m sure if I try enough times I’ll eventually hit something that works.
I’ve failed a lot at it too. But I’m gonna keep playing until I crack the nut. :)
Marcus, great story!
Thanks for sharing, respect for the hustle 🙇
Good luck with your projects man!
Thanks Marcus, this seems like a very honest advice, I understand there are no shortcuts here and the best approach is to experiment, improve and repeat.
Hey @dayemsiddiqui!
Please, note that on your landing page, for screens wider than 1400px, in the very top section - words 'hundreds of customers' blend in with the background a little bit.
https://s14.postimg.org/7jaxnu9ch/Screenshot_2018-04-03_15-22-28.png
Thanks for pointing it out. Will roll out a fix :)
You have a product, but no audience.
Guess it's time to go find yourself an audience.
Make a giant list of bloggers and ecomm stores in your niche and start cold - emailing them, telling them how it can:
All you need is for one person to say yes.
Once you get that 'yes' and they download your product - make them your #1 customer/biggest fan.
Ask them questions on how you can improve it.
Is it user friendly?
What features is it missing, etc.?
Improve it from that point and then present it to other business'. Hell, give the first 10 for free so you can get a good idea of how to make it better, then do so.
After you make it better, spread the word about it.
Use testimonials from your 10 for social proof.
Go on FB groups and forums and find more of your ideal clients.
Use publications to help spread the word.
It can be a long process, but well worth it.
Starting with one user and expecting to growing to 100s and 1000s is a kind of joke. You will mostly be old by the time that 1 becomes 1000.
Everyone starts with zero.
You're objective is to get from zero to a, paying, ONE.
Then take that paying one and make it into three and so on.
You know?...
The running theme behind growing a business...
He may not be old, but just 365 days older before he gets to his 100 or 1000 mark.
Especially, if the marketing is done right, aggressively, and the product is of value to the end user.
Hell, if people can do this with fidget spinners, t-shirts, and solar eclipse glasses - he can do it with his product.
Thanks Gigi :) I will consider implementing these ideas.
I saw a great Facebook ad the other day. Heres a screenshot https://imgur.com/a/bxsMK. Maybe you could copy it, it was getting lots of engagement. I assume targeting was Digital Activites/Small Business Owners
Thanks for sharing :), this is very interesting, I will definitely try this