Tip #5: Create Value and Sell It
How do you know if what you’re working on will be successful? At the most basic level, you must be creating value. Creating value simply means that other people will be willing to pay or trade for what you produce (or service you provide). Another way of putting it is being helpful. If you’re helping someone solve a problem, you’re creating value.
Value can come in the form of a useful product, a service that you provide, software, information, entertainment or anything else that other people will be willing to pay for.
Creating value is only one half of succeeding in business, however. The other equally important part of business is making people aware of your product or service and convincing them to pay you for it. This is commonly known as marketing.
Without marketing, the greatest product in the world will go nowhere.
Without marketing, the greatest product in the world will go nowhere. It’s true that having a great product will make your marketing activities easier and more effective, but you must not fall into the trap of thinking that if you just create a great product, everything else will fall into place.
It’s natural to be better at one of these two things. Some people are inclined to create great products. Other people are naturally good at sales and marketing.
To succeed in the New Economy, you must execute both good value creation and marketing. If you’re not good at both, you have to make a decision. Either you can spend the effort required to learn and improve your deficiency, or you can get help from someone else. If you’re not willing to do either one of these things, you’d probably be better off working for someone else in a business that has people who do what you’re not good at.
The ability to market yourself and your business with digital communications tools is absolutely essential to success today and in the future.
Technology has not changed the core efficacy of marketing and public relations at both the personal and corporate levels. Rather, it has acted as an equalizer for those with the strongest ideas and largest commitment to emerge as trusted voices in a connected society. Many are realizing this, however it is in opposition to a previous world where
attention at scale was reserved for a select few.The new rules of marketing are already on display in black and white on blogs, in emerging books and by studying what others are doing. With that said, the most effective path to success is to participate.
Adam Singer, The Future Buzz *
