This is Not the Field of Dreams: Why Great Products and Services Need Active Business Development

“If you build it, they will come.”

You probably remember that little gem from the 1989 film Field of Dreams in which Kevin Costner risks his family farm to build a baseball field in the middle of nowhere at the urging of a ghost. (The line was actually “If you build it, HE will come,” for you sticklers).

The point of the film is: if you believe in your dreams and build your passion project, it will eventually pay off. People will flock to it because you have built something amazing.

As far too many entrepreneurs have discovered, the idyllic Field of Dreams does not exist in real life.

If you build it, they will NOT come—at least not without marketing, lead generation and an excellent sales process run by a great team.

At VoloHaus, we have seen many clients who are brilliant engineers, designers and creatives, who pour their hearts and souls into developing something truly remarkable — only to hear crickets when it’s time to make money with their work. The problem is that nobody ever knows about what they have made, or why they should buy it. They assume that word-of-mouth will spread and that their product will speak for itself, but unfortunately, this is rarely the case.

To succeed, you must ACTIVELY drive business to your product or service. Not just at launch, either—this is a constant activity, day after day and year after year.

Look at how much Coca-Cola Company spent on advertising one drink, Coke, in 2021: $193 MILLION. You’d think they’d be satisfied with the fact that the entire planet knows what Coke is, what it tastes like, and where you can get it. However, they know that they can never stop actively promoting their product if they want it to remain number one in soda sales.

At VoloHaus, we work with clients to develop comprehensive revenue-generating plans and processes that help them to reach their target audience, generate leads, and convert those leads into customers. Without these critical activities, even the most innovative ideas will languish in obscurity.

Active listening

Part of the VoloHaus process is customer surveys and market research. In addition to building something great, you have to constantly engage with your customers and the market at large to stay on track. You can’t assume that once you establish a winning product and sales operation that success will continue forever. There is a need for continual active listening so that you can pivot where necessary.

Let’s look at some examples of great companies that failed due to a combination of faulty sales and marketing compounded with their failure to listen to customers and the market.

1. Kodak: Despite being the granddaddy of mass photography, including developing the first digital camera in 1975, Kodak failed to capitalize on their early lead in digital photography. They stuck to film, and they went bankrupt.
2. Blockbuster: They were ubiquitous but failed to adapt to the changing landscape of streaming video and online rentals, eventually shuttering all their stores.
3. Friendster: Before Facebook, there was Friendster. This social networking site was hugely popular in the early 2000s, with over 100 million users worldwide. However, Friendster failed to keep up with the rapid pace of innovation in the tech industry and lost all its users to newer, more innovative platforms.
4. Toys “R” Us: Who would have imagined Toys “R” Us would go out of business? After all, everyone loves toys! However, their sales suffered when faced with online retailers like Amazon that delivered a better selection at lower prices.
5. Borders: this bookstore chain was once the largest book retailer in the US, but neglected to build a strong online presence and was relegated to obsolescence by 2011.

All these companies initially had great products and services, but they lost out to more nimble competitors who were able to adapt to changing market conditions and customer preferences. Had they engaged in active listening and engaging with consumers, rather than assume “they will come,” they might have remained competitive to this day.

Marketing is not just about promoting your product or service. It’s about understanding your target audience and their needs, developing a compelling message that resonates with them, and delivering that message through the right channels. This requires research, analysis, and a deep understanding of your customers and the market. Then, you must set up proper sales processes and competent salespeople to capitalize on the interest marketing generates.

Furthermore, you need dashboards to keep track of KPIs at a glance and constant engagement with your customers and the market. None of this is set-it-and-forget-it. It involves constant vigilance and attention.

So, the next time you’re building a great product or service, keep in mind that you need to focus as much or even more energy into actively driving business to it at all times.

Because when it comes to making money, there is no “Field of Dreams.”