bwagy

I have dozens of Adwords hacks but here’s one that’s hugely valuable for startups that helps you identify very quickly which markets you should be targeting.

• Set up a Google Adwords campaign using keywords that describe your customers pain points
• Break it up into regions, measure which get the highest impressions & click throughs, also note the level of competition (important in a crowded market)
• Run it for a month

You can then narrow it down by region after collecting some data to find the market with the most potential.

I’ve done this numerous times but most recently for a client in an ultra niche market.  Their product is very innovative and only some segments of the market are worth talking to in the early days (the rest require education).  Thus we ran the campaign for a month, found very quickly (for under $200) where the main interest was – a specific country.

We also found out, that there was no competition in the market but also the level of interest which was approximately four times the next highest in the world.

Great – now our client can target an area where there is the absolute most interest.  Thus making growth a bit easier.

If I gave you $40,000 to go buy a new car, you’d probably go away, scan the car yards and come back with a few options.

You can pretty much guarantee a certain level of safety standards, fuel economy and performance.

Unless you’re looking at Luxury Cars the car itself is a commodity.  You buy it for the brand; experience, status…

This is the exact play that firms are using once their product slips into the commodity category.

You see when everything else is the same firms need to focus on the marginal value, the base value is assumed (safety, fuel economy, performance) – but what is the secret sauce? It may seem trivial but it’s the little things which can swing consumer preference.

You need to focus on that marginal value and stretch it, reposition it, make it meaningful to your consumer base.

Clearly the experience is a start, is being your customer a real experience worth sharing?

Photo Credit: Alex4981

How often do you find yourself without a pen and having to then ask to borrow one?

You think you have a pen on you but you really don’t, or you’ve absentmindedly left it at your last meeting.

This used to bug me, however it doesn’t anymore, and hasn’t for the last 5 years.

So what did I do?

Simple I created two rules.

Rule #1: I am only allowed to write with a Blue Bic Pen.

Rule#2: I am only allowed one pen per quarter.  When it runs out of ink, I break it in half, throw it out (so I don’t pick up a pen that doesn’t work).

I picked up a box of blue bic pens (and do so every couple of years now).  In 5 years I’ve lost my pen twice (first time as I was quite sick and second time travelling).

Once you put the constraint that you only have one pen, if you loan a pen you expect it back, also if you pick up another kind of pen you realise immediately (hey this isn’t my pen) so put it down.

Also you actually keep a track of your one pen (ideally keeping on you most of the time).

That’s how I stopped losing Pens.  Slightly irrelevant but a nice little life hack.

If you’re not making mistakes you’re probably not doing something worth your time.

How mobile is your business?

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Can it be run off a mobile phone?

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Should it be able to?

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What’s stopping you?