The First 2 C’s of Research - How To Lay Strong Foundations To Build Your Business On

SO last week I started to talk about perhaps the biggest obstacle standing in the way oy your dreams…

The fact that you genuinely do not know what to do to get there.

You don’t know how to get clients online.

I broke it down into two main things that you needed to be able to do:

Attract qualified prospects to you

Close them into your business

I touched briefly on the one thing you need to have nailed in BEFORE you start doing anything else.

YOUR RESEARCH!!!

It is imperative that you lay the foundation on which your business is going to be built, before you start building it.

It’s a bit like the difference between a sailor setting off out into the big blue ocean, without a map or a compass, just hoping that he gets to where he wants to go before he runs out of food or water...

...and the sailor that has taken the time to plan their trip, worked out their route, and gathered supplies before they start.

While the second has done everything they can to ensure their success, first is doomed to failure.

So what research do you have to carry out before you start?

I use and teach a concept we called The 3 C’s of marketing, where the 3 C’s are The Client (YOU), The Customer, and The Competition.

When I am working on my own business, the first C - The Client - is me.

I want to cover the first 2 C’s today.

So you are probably thinking, I don’t need to research myself, I already know what I need to know.

But do you???

Until you take the time to unpack what’s going on in your head, you’ll be surprised by what you find there.

What you decide after you have researched yourself will set the course of action for everything else that is to come.

SO let’s dive into what you need to work out.

Who do you want to help?

Who don’t you want to help?

How are you going to help them?

When I ask my clients who they want to help they invariably say everybody. But the truth is that if you are to have a successful online business you need to choose a niche.

You need to be able to narrow down to a group of people so that you can tailor your message to them.

If you market to everyone, you market to no-one, because you have a diluted message that just doesn’t grab anyone’s attention.

So dig deep inside yourself and ask yourself, who do I really want to serve??? Who do I want to spend time with? Who do I want to help more than anyone else?

That person becomes your avatar. The person that you will research in the next C.

Now that you have a general overview it is time to dig deeper.

Do they speak English? Did they go to college or finish in high school? What do they do for a day job? What do they like doing? Who do they follow on social media? What books or magazines do they read? Is there a particular influencer they follow? DO they have particular phrases they use when they speak?

The first and easiest way to get this information is to survey your current clients/customers. You can even do this in the form of a competition.

Google, Ask the Public, Facebook groups, Quora, Reddit are all great places that are all great platforms to search for what your avatar is looking for. It's also ideal for seeing what language they use when they speak about the problem they have.

Now once you have worked out who you want to work with, work out who you don’t want to spend time with.

For example, you might not want to work with a certain sex, or age, or people with a particular mindset.

For example, I don’t want to work with people who aren’t coachable, who don’t take responsibility for their actions and who aren’t willing to get out of their comfort zone to achieve their dreams.

Now you need to know exactly how you are going to help the group of people you have chosen to work with.

What is the product that you will be selling?  Is it 1:1 coaching, group coaching, a course, done-with-you, done-for-you ???

And then you need to dig even deeper. While the features of your offer might excite you, they don’t normally excite your prospects.

To do this you need to carry out the second C of research - Your Client.

Where is the client now? (Their A) Where do they want to be? (Their B) What is stopping them from getting there? What are the obstacles they need to overcome? (These are the pillars you use to make up your offer.)

How do they explain their current emotions? What are their fears, frustrations, dreams, desires? Exactly how do they word them?

Once you know their A and their B, you can work out exactly how your product is going to get them there. Doing this allows you to create both your offer, and your marketing message.

For example, my marketing mission is:

 I Help Coaches and Consultants Stop Struggling and Learn How To Harness The Power Of Online Marketing So They Can Explode Theri Business, Create A Scalable Income, And Embrace Their Full Potential

I do this via 6-month marketing mentorship that involves course content and 1:1 and group coaching to teach them how to create an automated marketing funnel to bring qualified leads to them, and then how to engage those leads and convert them to clients.

So why don’t I say the second bit (the mechanics of the offer) in our message?

Well, I know that our clients crave a particular destination and they don’t really care about the vehicle that will get them there.

So for your marketing message, you need to work out what benefits you are going to give them, and what are the benefits of those benefits - which all links back to what is their dream?

What is there B? Where do they want to be?

My clients want a thriving business and to embrace their full potential. They want to make a difference.

Always think of it from their point of view.

What are they wanting and how can you give it to them. And how can you tell them you are giving it to them.

This research is going to allow you to craft your message to the market, your mission statement and your offer.