Summary
Are you tired of product launches that just don’t seem to work? It’s time to step back and reevaluate your approach. Today, I’m sharing my thoughts on successful product launch strategies, focusing on sustainability, ethical practices, and nourishing foundations. We’ll explore the importance of strong foundations, market research, and creating a product that addresses a need rather than a want. If you’re ready to revolutionize your launches, listen in as we discuss how to future-proof and recession-proof your business by focusing on the problems you’re solving for your target audience.
But that’s not all! We’ll also talk about understanding the market and asking hard questions before attempting to amplify your business. I’ll share my insights on why high ticket offers may not be the answer for every business model and how to create an evergreen method that works for you. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a solid understanding of how to launch a successful product while building a strong business foundation. And as always, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments – your feedback and support mean the world to me!
WHY DO MARKET RESEARCH FOR A COACHING BUSINESS
When it comes to launching a coaching offer or service, the first order of business is to make sure that you have done your research and due diligence on the market. Without properly researching potential customers as well as competitors, it can be difficult to create an offer that stands out and makes sense. Market research is an essential tool for entrepreneurs who are just starting out, helping them understand where they need to focus their efforts in order to successfully build coaching business.
SPOILER ALERT: The best way to prevent a failure with your launch, is to spend the time doing the research BEFORE you try to make ANY sales in the online space.
The BIGGEST Mistake most online business owners make when they’re just getting started is completely skipping this step and wanting to go straight into marketing and selling without any real data.
But the reality is, launches fail because of a lack of information about your potential client and not knowing how to create a data-driven marketing strategy that speaks directly to the audience you’re trying to sell to.
Especially if this is your first time launching something into the marketplace.
MARKET RESEARCH IS ESSENTIAL FOR YOUR COACHING BUSINESS
Your market research should give you a good understanding of what people are looking for in terms of coaching services – what type of problems they’re trying to solve and how much they’re willing to invest into their success. Doing this type of research before you create and launch your offer will help you avoid costly mistakes that could lead to failed launches.
HOW TO DO MARKET RESEARCH FOR A COACHING BUSINESS: A STEP BY STEP PROCESS
1. Identify Your Target Market and Ideal Clients:
Who is your customer? Are you targeting a particular age group, demographic, or location? It’s important to narrow down your target market so that you can focus on the right people when doing market research. Oftentimes, before you go into the marketplace, you SHOULD have an idea of who you want to help, what problem you want to solve, and the type of services you want to provide.
If you’ve never created a coaching offer, and don’t know anything about niche-related marketing, this is going to be the first step to building out your ideal client so you know who your ideal clients are.
Here are a few key questions to ask yourself when contemplating who you target:
- Who do I love to work with and get the best result with?
- What specific problem am I MOST confident solving?
- What expert training and credentials do I have to support me in solving these problems?
- What’s my background in this space and what experience have I had in solving this problem?
- What skills do you have that can support the outcome you’re trying to help clients achieve?
2. Analyze Your Competitors:
What are your competitors offering and how does it compare to what you offer? You should take a close look at pricing, features, and other unique selling points in order to make sure that your business stands out from the competition.
If you have other competitors who’ve had a great deal of success with the prospective clients you want to work with, then it’s incredibly helpful to take the time learning from what they’ve created and are already doing.
A big part of this framework is to better understand exactly what they sell and how they sell it including the pricing, the brand language, the messaging, structure, pricing, and deliverables so you can know what the audience is already responding well to.
Additionally, when conducting your competitor analysis research, you can look to see what kind of feedback clients have shared and how they describe their experience in other offers to help give you insight on what they enjoy and where they feel like things were missing to help you gain ideas on how to make your version of the same thing even better.
Many coaches avoid this step because it can feel daunting to see what other folks are creating and this is a big mistake. We can’t let our emotional experiences dictate what we do and don’t do inside our businesses.
This is why, in the early years of business development, there’s a lot of time spent on personal development that allows you to build the bandwidth to handle the potential rejection, disappointment, and sense of competition that naturally exists in ANY marketplace.
3. Conduct Surveys and Ideal Client Interviews:
Once you know who your customers are and what they want, it’s time to find out more about them through surveys and interviews via Zoom, over the phone or in person.
Ask questions about their interests, needs, pain points, and budget to get a better understanding of what they’re looking for in an offer. You want to ensure you write down everything they have to say about their experience in life and in other offers that are similar to the one you want to develop.
Ideally, you can also post polls on your social media to get an anonymous response from folks who follow you about what they think about certain coaching packages or offer pricing structures.
The more time that you spend talking to your prospective clients and your audience, the more research for your coaching business will be completed and provide all the data you need for developing your new offer.
4. Analyze Results:
After you have collected data from surveys, client interviews, and online polls, analyze the results to gain insight into your niche and how you can best serve them as a coach or course creator.
HONING IN ON YOUR IDEAL CLIENT AND WHERE TO FIND PEOPLE FOR MARKET RESEARCH
In order to hone in on your ideal client and figure out who will be interested in your offer, you should also look into the demographic data of people who are already using similar services.
Once you know what type of person is looking for a coach, digital course or template that your business offers, you can start doing research to find places where these people congregate online. You can use social media analytics tools like Facebook Insights or Twitter Analytics to target specific demographics and learn more about their interests. This will help you better understand and reach out to potential customers with a tailored message that resonates with them.
You can also consider participating in forums, attending events, and engaging in other activities designed to attract and engage prospective customers. All of this will help you create an effective message that resonates with them and encourages them to invest in what your business has to offer.
PICK THE RIGHT BUSINESS COACH OR BUSINESS COURSE
For any business programs, no matter how rudimentary or fundamental, it’s key to conduct market research before attempting a launch. This research is a critical part of successfully developing a product and can help you avoid the common pitfalls of failed launching. To gain insights into who your potential customers are, what they need from you, and why your offer should be the solution to their problem, you’ll have to do a deep dive into market research to better understand your ideal clients.
You may think that market research isn’t necessary if you’ve already conducted customer surveys or interviews with potential clients. This step is still important because it helps you determine if your offers are meeting the needs of your target audience and provides valuable information about current trends in the industry and you want to be sure, your brand stands out amongst the sea of coaches in the online space.
Additionally, researching competitors’ offerings allows you to determine how yours stands out among them, as well as how pricing affects customer behavior.
Market research also helps you identify any potential issues with your offer that would prevent people from buying. It also allows you to adjust your coaching business before launch to make sure it’s competitive and attractive to your ideal clients.
THE VALUE OF THE MARKET RESEARCH PROCESS FOR COACHES
This process can be tedious, but if done correctly, it will provide invaluable insight into who your market is and how to successfully create a high-ticket offer that addresses their needs. In the end, investing in comprehensive market research can help ensure that your next launch is a success!
Though there isn’t necessarily a wrong way to do business, there is a better way to set yourself up to avoid failure in the process of growing your online business.
The more time you take to talk to your audience and continue to do research for your coaching business, the more likely you will be to develop a world class offer that takes off more easily.
THE BEST STRATEGIES FOR GROWING YOUR COACHING BUSINESS
The best strategies for growing your coaching business in any type of offer should include a hefty amount of research for your coaching business within the first week. If your coach does not incorporate market research into the initial strategies that they teach you, it’s important to find additional helpful resources or join communities where you can get the support you need from other coaches to help you continue doing the research for your coaching business and brand.
The best way to guarantee sales for all coaches is to be able to describe your offers ub a way that’s clear, concise, and straight to the point for your ideal clients so anytime you make a post that has to do with selling whether it’s something from a template shop, a digital product or coaching they are ready to buy.
IF YOUR LAUNCH FAILS, ASK FOR FEEDBACK
If folks are NOT buying and you’re not making sales, this is incredibly valuable feedback about your marketing and what changes may need to be made to support your overall growth. Don’t be afraid to post about asking your audience for feedback and getting additional insight from them on what they’d love to see.
Conclusion
By conducting thorough market research, you’ll easily avoid common mistakes of a failed launch. Investing in this step upfront can help you determine if there’s an existing demand for what you’re offering and enable you to create a successful product or service that your target market will love. So, get ready to dive into the research side of creating your next offer!
For more helpful advice on launching a successful coaching business and increasing the money you make while also doing less, subscribe to the Sophie Kessner Podcast.
In your corner– Soph
Not sure which platforms you need to grow your online coaching business? I wrote an entire blog here: https://sassandseo.com/best-online-coaching-platforms-tools-2023-guide/
Keywords:
Product Launch, Sustainable, Ethical, Nourishing, Business Foundation, Market Research, Target Audience, Future-Proofing, Recession-Proofing, High Ticket Offers, Evergreen Method, Amplifying Business, Understanding Market, Asking Questions, Collecting Data, Range of Investment, Podcast Promotion, Contact Information
