Selling the solution not the product

Recently I was at a meet up, the topic was about "how to create a startup". There were two well-known start up founders who addressed the crowd that day and I was surprised to see that they were just talking about all irrelevant areas without focusing on the most important aspect of the birth of a startup. In modern era there are lots and lots of startups emerging because of the technological advancement of the society. Also most of these startups are technological startups because of the same reason. So can anybody create a startup out of thin air? The answer is no. So how to create a successful startup? Here are some tips.

1) Identify a problem and try to find a solution for that
Identifying a problem is crucial when it comes to creating a startup. Just because you have an idea we cannot guarantee that idea will success. So instead of just throwing wildcards to the table it's always better to find a common problem and try to find the solution for that. This is very important to the sustainability of the business because if you are not selling the solution, you won't be able to sell your product for long. What if you identify a problem, are you going to straight away find the solution? If the answer is yes, you need to think again. Before jump into conclusion, you need to do a proper research. See if there are solutions already for the same problem, if there are; then see whether those solutions actually solving the problem. If there is a better solution already in the market, you will have a hard time marketing your product there, so think hard.

2) Start small and be ready to change
Keeping it simple is very important at the early stages of a startup, this means specially you will need to keep the costs closer to zero. If your overheads are less, you tend to experiment on things that you think will success. These experiments are good for the business as well as for you to get a better understanding about the market, customers, opportunities, etc. And also be ready to change and be flexible, remember it's not the strongest tree that survives the storm, but the palm tree, so be like a palm tree.

3) Create a likeminded team
Maybe you may start the venture by your own, but there will be an instance where you will have to get more people involved whether you like it or not. Remember to find right people who think alike. Try to get people involved into the team rather than just recruiting them to get the work done. Give them the ownership of the product and build synergy among the team. This will help you to explore the areas that you haven't even thought about.

4) Start connecting with people
To create a successful business, you need connections, a lot of connections. Connections will make things easy for you. Be passionate and find people who are equally passionate like you, educate them by sharing your knowledge among them. And don't jump in and market your product, see how you can help each other and be the first to offer the support. Remember, you need to have lot of patience for this, I mean it.

5) Define the marketing strategy based on the solution
Remember not to sell the product, but the solution. Define the marketing strategy based on the solution you have, so the people who has the problem will automatically buy your product or your service. If you have competitors, try to differentiate you from them by identifying the key competency. (After all you are not the only person with a solution for the same problem) but try to identify a uniqueness of your solution that others don't offer. Remember, don't follow the others; always try to come up with your own solution. If you just follow the crowd, it will not only make a bad impact on you but also to the others as well.

Hope now you have a better understanding about the importance of solutions over products and how you can use this to start your own startup. Well! If you have any comments about this lets discuss in the comments section. Cheers....