When entrepreneurs get started with their idea and business strategy, it’s natural to be enthusiastic about the product they’re offering the world. But, blind enthusiasm can be a deadly business mistake. Here’s how to recognize and avoid it.

Really, it’s fudge

In the early days of Madwire®, we had a particular client for only a brief time — but none of us will ever forget him.

Unfortunately, his mark is one of infamy. He had one of the strangest and, frankly. worst product ideas we ever encountered.

His idea was based on the idea of a “poop gag.”  In this case, he created editable fudge made to look like a big turd. The idea was that a prankster would place the turd in a shocking place, like the living room couch, where it would be discovered by the butt of the joke. As the victim reeled in disgust, the prankster would walk in and eat the turd, sending the dupe into a hilarious conniption fit.

We never asked but assumed he must have been inspired by Bill Murray in Caddyshack:

Okay, this may be good for a laugh, but is this enough to build a business on?

This guy thought so. He envisioned this prank being played out across the nation. He thought it would be a huge social media trend. He figured Jay Leno would pick up on it and show it on The Tonight Show. And, by the way, his kids thought it was a hoot.

But in his enthusiasm, he failed to see something. People looking at this for the first time didn’t really see the joke playing out. They saw an ostensibly edible item designed to look like feces.

We did manage to tap into a small audience of guys ages 10-15 that bought this, but the product never hit the big time the business owner envisioned.

A new salt

We recently had a consultation with a business that developed a modified salt designed to help athletes overcome dehydration. The head of sales was very enthusiastic about applications beyond this.

He said that though clinical trials are pending, this would become a healthy salt people with high blood pressure could use. He wanted to brand it as a gourmet cooking salt that would not only be the most delicious salt but the most nutritious.

He stated his goal with unbridled passion, “This will be a huge product. Everyone will eventually use it. This is going to change the world of salt!”

Think about that one. Salt is the single biggest commodity on Earth. Even if they could create a brand where consumers would consider trading out natural salt for this product, the logistics of producing it would be staggering.

This is a solid product with the potential to be popular with the right consumers. But, the idea of replacing salt as a product throughout the world?  That’s a bit of a stretch.

Angelina Jolie

A marketing consultation with an artist in Boulder, Colorado, took a strange turn with this suggestion.

“What I really need is for you to craft a great letter to send to Angelina Jolie letting her know about my work. We could sell t-shirts and make a contribution to one of her foundations, and that would be great exposure for my brand.”

This gentleman is a fine artist with a clever idea about how to use his art on t-shirts, hats and coffee mugs. But, we wanted to backtrack a little.

We suggested that before we reach out directly to Angelina, he might want to make his brand known more in the Boulder area. We asked if he’d contacted any of the local shops, galleries or coffee shops. He had not.

How about reaching out to a few local yoga studios to see if he could get anyone to wear his shirts with yoga designs? Or, charter schools with some of the educational-themed products? He hadn’t thought of that.

What about creating social media pages, like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat, then trying to connect with potential clients and influencers? He wasn’t on that yet.

How about walking out the door and networking with anyone?  No, he preferred to stick to his work and let his small business website do everything for him.

But, he did realize he needed to get the word out. So why not write to Angelina?

He just knew she’d love his art. Why? Because he loved it.

Curb your enthusiasm

It’s not only great but necessary that you be enthusiastic about your product or business idea. If you’re not sold on what you offer, how can you expect to sell anyone else?

However, this enthusiasm, running blind, can become a real problem when planning a small business marketing strategy.

The three examples here are so extreme that they’re rather funny, but they make an important point about a common problem.

We frequently speak with entrepreneurs who are so passionately involved in what they’re doing that they’ve lost their perspective.

This creates two issues. The first is that their dreams and aspirations become their main goals. It’s okay to think big, but you often have to start small.

The salt company needs to plan on how to reach seed audiences with specific health needs before they even consider the idea of competing in the world of commoditized cooking salt.

The artist is caught up in a fantasy that Angelina Jolie will pay attention to him. In the meantime, he’s missing obvious opportunities to do market research and build his brand that are right outside his front door.

The second problem is this enthusiasm blinds people’s empathy. Business owners get so enamored with their idea that they can’t view it from the perspective of a consumer looking at the product for the first time.

Business owners forget that this consumer is jaded, suspicious and cautious.

They don’t want to spend their money, and they don’t care about you or how great you think your product is. You have to see your product through their eyes, then create a persuasive message that connects with their needs.

Through all the giggles, hoots and back-slapping, the funny fudge maker lost sight of what he was asking people to do. On an instinctual level, we all want to avoid dung. The idea of eating something made to look like it is repulsive. Of course, that’s where the joke lies, but he failed to realize how significant the initial sense of “no” was for most people. He was too busy laughing at his own joke.

But these issues are no joke. They impede many a business endeavor.

Two important tips

There are two things you can do to avoid problems brought on by your own enthusiasm.

The first is to do a user experience audit of your marketing material. Start by having people you know and marketing professionals look at your website.

Gather data on how people who are looking at your offer for the first time feel about it. Do they understand the benefits? Does your message resonate? Are they motivated to buy?

Remember that your marketing message is all about the recipient. If you’re not making a connection with buyers, your belief in the product doesn’t mean anything. You’re not the one buying it.

The second thing to do is to make sure you set small, attainable goals as you start your marketing. Define local target segments you can make initial connections with. Test their responses.  Find early adopters that are most likely to be interested. Make sure you build solid engagement with them. Then, let word of mouth help you and extend your reach into other markets.

Don’t go into your marketing thinking you’ll be the next Amazon or Apple. Forget about getting the Kardashians as influencers or having Oprah endorse you.

You might get into the big leagues, but only if you earn it through the grit and effort of many smaller steps.

Be enthusiastic about your product, but realistic about your marketing. The annals of failed businesses are filled with people who saw the summit of the mountain but forgot about the thousands of steps they’d have to take to get there.

Originally published on 2/19/18