3 builders who never spoke to each other

Prefer buyers who gather in a few places

Concentration decides what marketing costs: a group that lives online in a handful of venues is cheap to reach, and one that uses the internet without congregating on it is not. Check they are locatable and present at all before committing, since some trades disappear for whole seasons.

The method

1. 01

   Prefer audiences that are permanently online and gathered in a few central places, because reachability and concentration decide how cheaply you can market to them.

2. 02

   Screen candidate customer groups on four traits: easy to locate, numerous, motivated, and ready to pay today rather than eventually.

3. 03

   Check that your buyers are reachable at all before committing. Some trades vanish for whole seasons and some are only half committed to the job.

4. 04

   Check that the people who have the problem are the same people who can buy the solution. A group that cares but cannot use software is not a market.

5. 05

   Judge a market on three multipliers at once - how many people it contains, how easily you can reach them, and how freely they spend - because a product's ceiling is the product of all three.

What it returned

• 10,000

  Counter-example: the golden trout lives in Sierra Nevada lakes 10,000 feet up that require a five-mile hike or horseback trip, and most anglers who make the trip catch nothing.

• Justin's comparison: reaching a hacker online is far easier than reaching a plumber, since plumbers use the internet without congregating on it.

• Wedding planners were effectively uncontactable through wedding season, and the profession ranged from hobbyists to people who quit within two years.

• Phoenix let you leave a final message for people you love. Younger users were indifferent to the subject and older users who cared were not comfortable with the technology.

Sources

• Adam Wathan's $100k product launchJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Here's what this means for you · undated
• Fish where the fish areJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · First, figure out which fish you want to catch · undated
• Geeks as tastemakersJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Why geeks are becoming more influential · undated
• Eventloot: Failing to Listen Feedback Means $20,000 LossJustin Anyanwu · failory.com · Were there any disadvantages in the market of Eventloot? · undated
• Phoenix: Failed to Keep It Stupidly SimpleEnrique Benitez · failory.com · Which was the problem with Phoenix? How did you realize? · undated