It’s Not The Products

I bought a laser printer in 2020.

A laser printer is the type that prints labels, receipts, name tags, bar codes. I got it because shippers were de-emphasizing book orders due to COVID at the time, and my customers were getting restless over slow deliveries.

When shopping, I read some reviews of my chosen printer. I noticed a common complaint: With this printer, you must get your replacement labels from the same company who makes the printer — and the labels are overpriced.

This is a common tactic that companies use.

Sell you a product that requires replacement parts (think filters for water purifiers; labels / paper / ink for printers; maintenance for higher-end cars) and make recurring revenue from the recurring purchases. The idea is to lock customers in by force.

But, this truth / complaint is false — and becomes more false by the day.

I bought the printer despite this label issue. Then, I quickly and easily found an alternate source for replacement paper: Amazon.

On Amazon, you can find a knock-off version of damn near any physical item for cheaper than the “real version.” I bought, and still buy, “unauthorized” replacement shipping labels straight from Amazon. I’ve never had a problem with the printer or the off-brand labels.

Here’s the point: Many marketers and entrepreneurs tend to think that the quality and awesomeness of your products and services are what keep people around.

It’s not.

It doesn’t matter how amazing you are, you are in competition with the rest of the world at being amazing. You can probably beat a lot of people; you won’t beat the entire world as a group.

Your products, services and ideas can be easily knocked off, copied, and replaced by something similar, better, or different. Humans are fickle and tastes change.

You’re a consumer too, as well as a salesperson — are you spending your money in the same places now that you were 5 or 10 years ago?

Here’s what’s more important, and lasts longer: Your relationship with your audience.

When people feel like they know you, like you / your brand, and trust you, they will stick around as you shift and evolve through different products, services, and offers.

I came into this game selling $5 training programs to basketball players. Most of you, reading this today, would not be buyers for those. But, there are many people reading this today who were in my audience back then and did buy those programs.

They did not stick around until now because of the product. I’m in a whole different industry today.

The relationship is the asset that keeps people around.

An asset puts money in your pocket.

When you own a business, your relationship with your audience is the asset.

You can have nothing available to sell, while building or maintaining that relationship. I shared free content for five years before offering my first product.

You can be focused on something today that some in your audience are not interested in. Yet, you can still maintain the relationship until you do have something they want.

This is the power of content: It allows you to stay in touch with your audience consistently, with a low barrier to entry, to build the know / like / trust factors that help your business in the long run.

I’ll have a new program focused on content creation and ideation coming soon.

Right now though, join me in Work On Your Game University so you can build out and execute on a game plan for reaching and connecting with your audience on a consistent basis — which means building your business for the long run, not just the “quick” thing.

Start here: http://www.WorkOnYourGameUniversity.com