Ok, so you won’t necessarily fail, however, your life will be much easier if you start with the marketplace first. You want to build your business with the end client or consumer’s in mind, not from your own perspective.

What I mean by this, is when you see a need or void in the marketplace and fill it, your success rate is higher. I see this often, especially in small businesses, but even in larger tech companies. You create something, a product, a software, a site, that you think is cool, but the rest of the world doesn’t understand it, or doesn’t care.

How many times has a tech start up in Silicon Valley come up with an idea they think is great, and their friends and mentors…also in Silicon Valley, think it is “neat,” but when it hits a broader marketplace outside of that small bubble, it crashes? That is because they did not start with the user, client, or customer in mind.

Now, this isn’t a guaranteed failure, however, you’re working against the marketplace and having to prove to them why you matter, and why they should use your company, service, or site.

If you are seeing what the market wants first and filling a gap or a need, then you’re essentially giving people what they want. This is what the top marketers, especially direct marketers, do and how they do it so profitably.

So, before you invest all that time and money into your product, project or service, make sure you do your research and know the marketplace:

- Does the product or service exist already?
- Have people been discussing how they like one product or service, but how they just wish it would ____ better.
- Are people discussing online, in the news, in magazines, a certain problem that your product or service will solve?
- Could a company in the market already push you out easily by creating the same thing? Are you coming from a unique selling point?
- If there are companies in your market or sideline markets, are they doing well, or poorly?

I’m sure it sounds simple, but at the same time, I’ve had countless people tell me of an idea they have, and I go search on Google and find their product, site, or service already in existence in about 5 minutes of work.. The good part is, online, you can get essential data for your marketplace to see what the market is looking for:

- Read comments, tweets, Facebook updates, news, etc, that are related to information on your marketplace or potential product.
- Browse industry forums, blogs, and message boards, and even ask the market questions.
- Look on Google, Twitter, Amazon, and Ebay at the trending topics, reviews, and latest products and services being released or talked about

With the ability to have your pulse on the market in ways that you never could before, you can really make sure your product or service will be focused on solving a problem and being “cool,” rather, than just having what you may have thought was “cool” and “interesting.”