Ever make an incorrect assumption?
When the dot com crash hit, I thought I would bounce back quickly.
For 20 years, my skills were in high demand, so finding a job was easy.
I didn't realize the dot com crash changed everything.
There were no jobs for 40-ish network managers making six figures.
It took me time to realize my tech career was over.
Savings were dwindling, and Ellen pressured me to start making money.
I assumed my career would come back, but I was wrong.
A few months ago I was doing market research to see what challenges people over 55 face when they're laid off.
Many of my friends have had their careers cut short due to layoffs or being aged out of their careers.
In 2013, I was laid off as an Online Marketing Manager for a software company, so I assumed I knew their challenges.
My assumption was, that if you are 55+ and suddenly lose your income, your top priority was to make money to pay your bills.
You probably have a mortgage, children in college, and you don't have enough savings to retire.
I was stuck in my 40-ish brain, assuming money was the top priority.
Boy was I wrong.
I did some testing with ads to see what phrases people clicked on for searches related to being laid off late in their careers.
Nobody clicked on ads related to earning money or starting a business.
What phrases did they click on?
These laid-off people clicked on phrases that had nothing to do with earning money.
Want to know what their biggest fear was?
They wanted to maintain their skills.
They wanted to remain relevant.
They wanted to stay engaged.
They wanted to be part of a community.
And the winning phrase that received ten times more clicks than any other phrase was "not ready to retire".
This test took less than a week, and I spent less than $500 on ads.
Now I know their biggest fears based on data, not my incorrect assumptions.
I've been adding AI to my testing and the results are even better.
Would you be interested in having me do some market testing for you?
Leave a reply and tell me about your business, and let's see if I can help you.
- Ted
