What is your future customer doing today?

[GordonJ]

This question was my focal point in this week's Fly Low and Collect the Dough UPDATE HOTLINE. I said it can be used to do a biz eval. So, now that everyone has the 52 ideas to help stimulate your possibility thinking, let's take a look at a couple.

Glenn just posted about rack jobbing, and his student with the gun club, which was card 26, and is a HOT business (all things gun).

I gave several links to rack jobbing opportunities, and I like CONSUMABLE, especially snack food. They eat it, again and again. Penny gum made Wrigley a fortune, and MARS candy, the same.

OK, rack jobbing snacks. What is your future customer doing now?

He is buying Slim Jims, Jack Links, and other well established brands in the local 7-11, Circle K or Speedway. And they offer tons of alternatives, first is, how do you get shelf space? Well, fastest entry is to buy an existing route, where product is already on the shelves.

And these giant chains might be hard to get into, maybe look at small independent stores, mom and pop places, or local and/or regional chains.

One method is to bring something different to the table. Like Steve DiMarco did with Golf Courses and Bowling Alleys when he set up his NUT Warmers, it was something different. Had he tried to sell popcorn there, he probably wouldn't have had the success he did.

I think "rolled ice cream" places is going to be a hot business, we have Handel's here, a similar concept where they mix the ice cream (a franchise) In fact, our several ice cream places are all doing pretty well, This in addition to prepackaged ice cream, and in my local circle K one freezer holds about 500 products, could easily fit into a small soccer mom van.

Whatever the Biz Op, if you ask the simple question about what your future customers are doing today, you can gain some valuable insight into:

the market, the competition, consumer behavior, locations and maybe even get enough evaluation to make an informed decision about the op.

If you start a business and you have something no one else is doing then a follow up question, How will I let my future customer KNOW I exist and what will I tell them to get them to come to me?

Gordon