Here I am, happy old me, working on a new niche and brainstorming new products. I came across a killer product idea in a great, wealthy niche. Through all my research I was doing, it was going to fulfill a need that isn’t being fulfilled yet. Best of all, it was going to be a membership site, by far my favorite type of site. Then, just today, it happened…
I’m subscribed to my competitor’s email lists, as you should be too. You will gain great insight into a niche, get great free content, and even better, know exactly who to contact when it comes time to JV with them when you launch a new product.
So out comes this message from my #1 competitor stating he has something big coming up. Then he goes on to explain what the new product will entail and to watch out for it on Tuesday. Wouldn’t you know, the description matched my product concept, almost word-for-word. 
What was going to be a decent, $20-30k a month product that was rediculously easy to create and market because there is no direct competition will now require me to find a better USP, charge less, have a few less JV partners (because he has already partnered with a few others), etc.
The worst part? In my short list of maybe 15 different JV partner possibilities, I’m absolutely positive that at least 7-10 of them were going to accept a JV with me because my product was different enough from theirs that I could easily convince them to help me launch this product. Now I’m probably down to 3-4 at most.
Instead of being able to say, "it’s the only one of its kind online", my USP now has to be something like "it’s the least expensive of its kind, or best of its kind or has the most features" or something along those lines.
That is how business goes. I could just as easily switch directions and scrap this product. Instead, I am just going to make it much better and be able to market it better.
That, IMHO, is the difference between the super successful and the semi-successful. Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome.
What do you think?
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Monday, 2 Jun 2008 Filed under: Joint Ventures, Leadership, Marketing by Bryan
I’ve been there too. But that’s not the end of the world, and if you have a good product I’d suggest you not to charge less. Remember, that’s from Marketing 101, if your marketing strategy it’s based on low prices, there always be somebody else who will come up with a better price.
IMO, you should charge what you think is a fair price for your product and promote it stressing the benefits it provides and the differences with your competitor’s which make it stronger in front of the eyes of your customers.
In an ideal world, all things would run smoothly and beautifully for us, but real world is how it is. Furthermore, if the niche you have found is as wealthy as you think it is, probably you can still rake in a good share of the market (if not the best).
Anthony at Work-at-home-Wealth.coms last blog post..Killing Procrastination Instantly
Good point. Lowest price, in my experience, actually is a decent USP for some markets, even if it isn’t true. For instance, in my electronics store, when I started testing adding a “lowest price guarantee”, my sales skyrocketed. I didn’t have the lowest price, and only a handful of people exercised their option to get a lower price. The ONLY reason why price was an issue is because I was dealing with brand name products. For any other product, it shouldn’t be an issue, provided you have some other USP.
The important point here, though, is you NEED a USP. Differences sell. Period. And you’re absolutely right - even when you’re not the only game in town, you can still make a huge killing in a great market.
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