| It's very hard to slice markets horizontally. A general purpose communication tool is a tough sell because the target market is "anyone who communicates". That's impossible to target, price, and sell effectively. It would be better to target a vertical market. If you already have sales, look to see which customer are getting the most value out of the product. If not, you'll have some exploring to do. Figure out what industry has the most need for a product like yours and will pay the most. For example: FINRA has requirements for email archiving. Financial advisers can't just use gmail. They have special requirements for their industry. Providers for this industry have specialized email systems for these folks and can charge outrageous amounts for email service. I'm not suggesting you target that specific market, but look for something similar. Maybe home builders? I know they use email to communicate between clients, subs, and foreman. And I know it sucks for them. So go talk to a few. Then think of another industry and go talk to them. Once you find your industry, figure out how much this solution is worth to them and what other features they would want. Now concentrate on that industry. You can go to trade shows, send targeted emails, have a list of clients on your website that makes them envious, and generally become an expert in that industry. So to summarize...Find the industry that needs something like your product and will pay the most for it. Sell them version 1.0. Customize the software to that industry. Change your website and product name to target that industry. Modify your marketing to sell directly to companies in that industry. Iterate. |
Let me work on them now.