How To Get Customers As A Small Business – Give Them The Fish

August 30, 2023

Lesson #1 from The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau.

How Small Businesses Find Opportunities

Think about the gaps you can fill in a field that you love.

An inefficiency in the marketplace
New tech
A changing space in the industry
Spin offs or side projects from something previously or presently successful

Identify what you want to do and always ask how you can provide value for your customers before taking the next step.

Small Businesses Grow Through Benefits, Not Features

Restructure your feature as a benefit.

All those features you have are meaningless if they don’t make your clients feel good. So talk about the benefits, not features, of your business, product, or service.

A feature is descriptive, a benefit is emotional. For example:

Business

Feature|Description

Benefit

V6 Ranch

Provides horse rides and campfires

Stay with us and become a cowboy/girl

Higher Ground Yoga

Hosts private yoga classes for busy women

Relax and prepare for the day through personalized, guided practice

Steamy Kitchen

Provides recipes and dinner with stories

Spend quality time with family

Megan Hunt

Makes custom wedding dresses and accessories

Feel special on your big day

How To Grow As A Small Business

Your business, product, or service should give more of what people want and help take away what they want less of. Sounds confusing, and it was for me at first as well but it’s not when you remember that this is based on emotion.

For example:

More:

Love
Money
Acceptance
Free time

Less:

Stress
Conflict
Hassle
Uncertainty

Business Growth Strategy #1

Go above and beyond. Always give more.
Give people what they really want, even if they haven’t realized they wanted it.
- e.g. – A wedding photographer has a couple that wants less traditional photos. This photographer went above and beyond by providing both the photos they asked for and the traditional photos they did not request, which they ended up loving as well.
Dig deeper to uncover hidden needs.

Business Growth Strategy #2

Make your customer a HERO.
- e.g. – “Our training programs help you succeed!” vs. “Our training programs make you so efficient it’ll turn you into a HERO in front of your boss, colleagues, people, etc.”

Business Growth Strategy #3

Sell what people want to buy.
- e.g. – Musicians want listens on their songs, likes, follows, and shares. So rather than just sell them a course on how to make better music, make sure to include that it will ensure more listens, likes, follows, and shares.
All your clients should have to do is follow your instructions. They shouldn’t have to worry about details at all.