4 ways to make sure you're selling the right products
Beginner guide to selling the right products
Before selling your products, it’s essential to know whether your product planning aligns with your go-to market.
- 4 ways you know you selling the right products
- Tips on selling the right products
As you start your business, before jumping the gun and starting to develop your products, you need to look at whether there is a need for your products in the market. There are many aspiring entrepreneurs looking to find profitable products or willing to ride the wave of a trend.
Conducting market research is essential, including product planning, as you will feel like everything you want to sell is already being sold.
Here are 4 ways to make sure you are selling the right products:
1. Is your product solving a customer’s problem?
- Customers need a product they feel the market is not providing.
- To see a problem as a business owner, you need to find out whether the problem has high enough demand for you to solve it.
- Do the research; for example, conduct an online questionnaire by asking where customers are experiencing difficulties with existing products and whether your service or product can solve them (Macdonald 2022).
- Take, for instance, the call from some customers who may feel there need to be more options in the e-hailing services market. That go-to-market is looking for efficiency and meeting their safety requirements.
- With the research you have undertaken, you will find what other competitors are doing and what they are missing to meet consumers' demands.
- This information will put you at a competitive advantage as it will assist you at a later stage in developing your product.
2. Yes, passion matters
- when starting your journey into opening a new business, there will be ups and downs; however, what will keep you going is the passion you have for the product or service.
- Your passion will shine through from the early stages of the concept of the business to creating the brand ethos.
- Your authenticity will be a clear indication that you want to help people. Consumers can see right through brands that did not put effort in, so it will be important that every stage of product planning is executed with the highest priority.
3. Brand potential
- For businesses to thrive, it's no longer just enough to provide good products and services. What is also important is how the brand makes customers feel.
- You essentially need to make people want to come back to your product.
- This is achievable by building a brand message and identity that stand out from the crowd and make people feel included.
- The go-to-market must feel like the product or service is accessible to them.
- Engage with your customers on social media platforms frequently and communicate with them in a friendly and welcoming manner (Roberts 2022) so they feel part of the process.
4. Capitalise on the trends
- Take advantage of the emerging market and trends. This may be a lucrative enterprise if done right; however, it comes with risks.
- To turn a business plan to meet a trend, you need to fully understand the market and stay updated with the changes and any new launches.
- Make sure to enter the market before it becomes too popular or saturated. It should be noted that businesses built on trends don't last long after the trend has whittled down in popularity.
- Think long and hard whether offering a product in a trendy market is viable for you.
References
Macdonald, M. 2022. ‘How to Find a Product to Sell Online: 12 Effective Strategies (2023)’. Shopify. [Online] Available: https://www.shopify.com/za/blog/product-opportunities (Accessed 18 April 2023).
Roberts, L. 2022. ‘How to Choose a Great Product or Service to Sell: An Essential Guide’. Bionic. [Online] Available: https://bionic.co.uk/business-essentials/guides/how-to-choose-a-product-or-service-to-sell/ (Accessed 19 April 2023).