Get Your Idea to Market!

I recently developed a new idea for a service that fits in with what my company already offers. I thought I would share the steps I took to shrink the time it took to get the idea to the market. Complete the following steps in just a couple weekends.

1. Brainstorm. Develop the idea into something you can process. Get concrete steps for the end user of your idea. Brainstorm who the targeted market is, why they want to buy it, how much they will pay, etc. Quickly evaluate the competition to see others who may have similar offerings. How does your idea differ?

2. Register Domain for the service. Instead of just creating a section on your company website, try creating an entirely new site. By creating a domain that relates more closely to what you are offering, your search results will be better. Also, a landing page can look and feel completely different from your main site.

3. Use competitor sites to develop your landing page. Give your new site a look and feel that your potential customers are used to. Keep it simple, and use only the landing page and a contact or purchase page. Think web 2.0.

4. SEO the new service and landing page. If you don’t know how to do this, visit your friendly neighborhood SEO expert, plunk down the cash, and get your page to the top of the search results quickly. The cost is genearlly quite reasonable. Flyte New Media is a good place to start.

5. Provide visitors the opportunity to “Buy it Now” Rather than simply offering a contact form or phone number, also give the visitor a chance to purchase your service.

6. Calculate. If you have done it right, you can expect 1 or 2 out of every 100 visitors to convert to a purchase. Driving traffic to your new site will be the most important, so spend your time and money on that. If your converting fewer than 1% of your visitors, contact an expert to see if you can improve.

Using this method is a great way to test out a new idea without spending a lot of cash. Obviously, these steps aren’t universal enough to fit every new idea. However, if you are a service company that has thought of a great new way to package and offer one or more of your services, go for it! A small change in the way you present what you do can yeild results you never thought possible.