Page 78 - Business Plans that Work A Guide for Small Business

Industry: Zoom Lens on Opportunity • 69

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tential suppliers, competition, and other people and companies involved
in the market space. Going to a trade show is invaluable. In such venues,
people gather to share information so your competitors might be more
likely to discuss what they perceive as the customer’s needs. Dan and his
team, for example, regularly attend franchising trade shows, such as the In-
ternational Franchise Expo, to learn about both potential customers (fran-
chisees who might want to buy a Lazybones franchise) and competitors
(other service franchises). The key to truly understanding your customer is
to do primary research. Get out there and interact with the customer.
In many cases, the end user is not the person who makes the purchase
decision. As we noted, college students are Lazybones users, but their
parents make the purchase decision and write the check. Each of these
players has a different motivation, and you, as the entrepreneur, need to
be aware of each motivation so that you can design a product or service
that meets each player’s needs. For example, students want clean clothes
without damage or loss, while parents want to insure that their kids are
wearing clean underwear. In the case of Lazybones, the universities can
act as influencers. If Lazybones secures a university endorsement, the
university will include company information in the initiation materials
it sends students before they enroll. This endorsement acts as a positive
influencer that will garner trust from the parents. Understanding how all
of these users, influencers, and actual buyers interact with each other will
help you design the product or service that best meets their needs.

19 In the age of fraud, as evidenced by Bernie Madoff, CountryWide Mortgage, etc., we
can’t stress enough the need to act in an ethical manner. When talking to competitors,
never misrepresent yourself as a customer. Many of your competitors started out as
entrepreneurs as well, and they understand the difficulties you are facing, so often they
will freely talk to you except in the most competitive, cutthroat industries.