The most successful marketing campaigns usually start with an offering that solves a problem in a new way.

Imagine you are a comedian.

You want to pull the gag with water shooting someone in the face from your fake lapel flower.

Now, you know it’s an old joke.  But you’re sure you’ll deliver it in a way that will bring a fresh vision and loads of laughs.

You write the best jokes leading up to the hilarious dowsing.  You decorate the flower with glitter and mini lights that glow electron purple.  You get a partner who reacts with such comical anger and humiliation, he could be a cross between Lewis Black and Don Knotts.

You’re going to nail this.

Now a reality check:  do you think anyone, no matter how hilarious, could make the fake flower routine funny?  It lives on in cliche.  It is (literally) the oldest trick in the book.

Many new entrepreneurs are tempted to start out with an established business idea or product line.  In the enthusiasm of starting out, people suffer from new entrepreneurial ego-centrism.  They think that just because they’re doing it, it will be better and more popular.

We recently worked with an entrepreneur who wanted to sell dog products like collars, leashes, and beds.  Much of her product line was available at large retailers like WalMart and PetCo.

However, she had a story for her website she was certain would make the difference.  The site was named after her beloved dead dog, Mr. Buddy.  This dog had overcome cancer, ended-up with 3 legs, and had totally endeared himself to his owner.

This business owner cared deeply about this story.  But the market didn’t.  To consumers, she was just offering the same things people could buy elsewhere at lower prices.

We had a burger/grill restaurant in the area that did okay at first, then faded.  The next owner came in, changed the decor and name, the opened up another burger joint.  He was sure his wild burger ideas would sweep the town.  He lasted less than 6 months.

This type of ego-centrism is a common side-effect of the entrepreneurial spirit.  Initial enthusiasm gets people thinking they’re the ones who can take an old trick and make it new.

But the reality is that established markets won’t give, and consumers don’t care about old tricks with slightly different packaging.

So ask yourself these questions:

• Is there a problem you’ve uncovered that nobody is effectively solving?
• Is there a product or service you can market that will solve this problem?
• Will your solution be something people will tell their friends about? 

Pull the flower gag, you’ll get a few uncomfortable laughs followed by muttering:  He tried that old bit?

If you want to bring the house down, you have to turn it on it’s head.  Take risks.  Take the lead.

That’s what being an entrepreneur is all about.