Victoria's Kitchen On Shark Tank

Shark Tank is one of my favorite shows because it shows entrepreneurs that they can take an idea and create a business.  Along the way there's some great advice all of us in business can benefit from. In last weeks Shark Tank episode I heard something that really surprised me.  It had to do with a young man David and his wife.  Their product is  "Victoria's Kitchen", it's Almond Water.

This hard working couple were looking for a Shark to invest in their product.

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They are already making money with their product.  As I listened I found myself wanting to go find a bottle! 

Watch the video and notice what Robert says.

David had mentioned he was listening to the customers and took one of their flavors off the shelf. It wasn't selling well and the majority of the customers didn't like it.  Here's what Robert said: "When you are that small you can't assume your customers know what they want. When you are starting a brand new market you have to tell the customers what they want."

Hmm, I'm not a Shark with millions or billions of dollars but this is what I've learned when creating products.  You have to find a solution to a problem people are having.  Did their product solve a problem?  If the problem was finding something different to drink then the answer would probably be yes.  But here's the thing.  You have to listen to your customers. They are the ones who are buying your products.

What about your "buyers persona" or what some people call "your target market".  You need to know who you are marketing too in order for your product or service to be successful.  That means you find out who they are, what they like, where they hang out etc.  That guides you in your marketing campaigns.

I'll give you an example.  If I'm going to create a training course I don't say, "I think business owners really want this so I'll create it."  I listen at networking events and I also digitally listen.  That means I go into forums and Facebook groups to see what people in business find challenging.  You need to gather data.  Come right out and ask people: "If there was product that solved that challenge would you buy it?"  "What might that be worth to you?"  That doesn't mean you base your products solely on one comment but you put it out to the masses.  You test it.

As soon as I heard that statement you know who I thought about?  DiGiorno.  I loved their frozen pizza.  Yes, I know it's frozen but they have an amazing crust and it's hard to find good pizza where I live.

They changed their sauce about a year ago and my husband and I both disliked it.  We hadn't bought the product since.

Lo and behold there I was the day after watching Shark Tank walking down the frozen isle.  I saw the pizza on sale and thought , "Great deal but I'm not going to do that again!" Then something caught my eye.  The box now said: The original sauce is back!

Quickly I grabbed my iPhone and looked to see why the change.  You know what I found?  They said they listened to their customers who complained the new sauce was too spicy (it was) and brought back the original.  Fortunately for them this pizza was the only sauce they changed otherwise I'm sure they would have seen a large drop in sales.

By listening and changing their sauce DiGiorno won us back as customers.  

When I work with companies on a marketing strategy for their businesses the number one thing I tell them is that customers are the life blood of your business.  Will you be able to please everyone? No, but when you have the majority telling you something you have to take notice.

As for Mark saying the Founder sounded desperate, he did but you know what?  In the past they told other entrepreneurs they wouldn't work with them because they weren't willing to listen, change etc.  I believe David was trying to show them he was passionate about his product and wanted to be mentored.  

Although they didn't get a deal from the Sharks I hope that someone else saw their product and makes an investment.  

I'm not sure if they built their website themselves but I know there are a few tweaks they could make to improve it.  

You know what I plan to do?  Contact them and give them a couple of suggestions.  

By the way I found them on Facebook and "liked" their page.  They said the response from being on Shark Tank has been amazing.  

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Be Savvy and Successful!
Toni Nelson - Visual, Video and Content Marketing, Business Coach