Choose your customers first

It seems obvious, doesnt it? Each cohort of customers has a particular worldview, a set of problems, a small possible set of solutions available. Each cohort has a price theyre willing to pay, a story theyre willing to hear, a period of time theyre willing to invest.

And yet

And yet too often, we pick the product or service first, deciding that its perfect and then rushing to market, sure that the audience will sort itself out. Too often, though, we end up with nothing.

Examples:

The real estate broker ought to pick which sort of buyer before she goes out to buy business cards, rent an office or get listings.

The bowling alley investor ought to pick whether hes hoping for serious league players or girls-night-out partiers before he buys a building or uniforms.

The yoga instructor, the corporate coach, the app developerin every case, first figure out who youd like to do business with, then go make something just for them. The more specific the better.