It is not always easy to be certain about your e-commerce business, what you are going to sell, what your website is going to look like, or who you want to target with your products.
Sometimes, just the notion of being able to derive success from an eCommerce website is all one has.
In this chapter, our motive is to help you understand better the process of generating product ideas, or picking what products to sell out of the vast pool of options for your website as part of the first step of your custom eCommerce development services.
The idea is to help you get into the process of brainstorming and filtering only the best ideas for your vision.
Generating Product Ideas
Coming up with the best product for your business is, no doubt, a tricky business. Even picking out from the vast pool of options that exist is not that easy. Because all of them are successful in their niche, it is difficult to assess which would be best suitable for your business.
However, there are several strategies you could adopt to translate your scattered thoughts into a decent business idea. And being a top eCommerce development company, we can convert them into a thriving online presence for you. Various methods can help you generate a brilliant product idea for your business, a few of which we would like to list for you.
Solving a Customer Issue
Perhaps one of the best ways to land on a successful idea for your eCommerce website would be to identify and cater to real issues faced by customers around you. Further, you can solve these customer needs with the technical expertise of a top eCommerce development company gotten to build your web apps and sites.
Such customer pain points in some existing services or products around, or some areas that haven’t been catered to yet, can make for excellent ideas for an eCommerce website.
So you could begin by venturing out into the real market & interact with potential customers. This could happen either via a short survey you could take online, or even through observations and records you might register in day-to-day life.
A keen eye and the ability to grasp pain points are all you need to get started.
Opting for your Passion or Niche
Quite often, it is usually a passion or drive that makes us want to venture out into the world of setting up a business. However, the idea might not be definitive and is usually just a vague conglomerate of thoughts. Yet it could be one of the directions you could drive your website towards.
There must be some ideas you love pondering over, some hobbies you know you can shape to success and some fields of interest that could make you love your work. Begin by sitting down and jot down all these random ideas, hobbies, passions, or exciting things that come to your mind.
You will have already created a pool of ideas to dive deep into. And spark it into a business idea with an eCommerce app development company.
Going Back to your Personal and Professional Experiences
As a top eCommerce website development company, we admit that breaking into the world of eCommerce has come to us for a reason – be it personal or professional.
Most of us are either frustrated with our routine jobs or have been inspired by someone’s success in the venture. Even on the personal front, some incidents that could have sparked the urge for independence within us could be the reason we want to try our hands at online commerce. Whatever the reason might be, the idea is to use it to shape it into a productive step toward the business itself.
Perhaps working in a particular industry or dealing in certain services previously has lent you an insight into the ups and downs of the same? Or do you know better the pain points of customers your company could cater to? Or feel you are equipped with sufficient technical knowledge to lend new meaning to some conventional practices?
This is one sure-shot way you could convert your own experience and skills into a successful business venture. Being the best eCommerce development company, we can help you identify some potent abstract ideas and bring them to reality for your e-commerce sites.
Capturing the Future Trends of Mobile Apps
Mobile app development has become very popular and companies that are dealing with this have a bright future. Many new trends are coming in this field that aids eCommerce development services to enhance the e-commerce platforms for the betterment of the users and the business. And some have been discussed here.
Regular browsing, a little research on the current demands, and the way these trends are catering to people’s needs can help you capitalize on them quite early. As the benefits of this step are magnanimous for a business.
Not only does this provide you a lead in the market in terms of position and audience. But also provides you the opportunity of availing much better and suitable traffic for your products.
Once you have successfully assessed the trends in the market, be there as many as possible in different or allied fields. And you can quickly proceed to the next step of filtering out the more suitable options for your business venture.
So, how can you keep an eye on the trends in the e-world? Well, as your eCommerce development company, we have it all listed for you.
Google Trends – For those of us who are not aware of this handy application, Google Trends can be used to browse at a glance across multiple hot topics that are trending in the world. All you need to do is spend some time on Google Trends and keep taking notes whenever some topic or item sparks your interest.
Reddit – If you wish to know what the internet is talking about today, Reddit is the place for you. Colloquially called the ‘front page of the internet,’ it provides you with the most exciting and sought-after headlines daily. A few days or weeks of research can lend you an idea about what is hot, and you can pick out a few best options according to your taste.
Trend Hunter – The thing with Trend Hunter is that it works like a community that is always hunting for the latest trends and the newest information related to particular topics. Their job is to identify and analyze from consumer activities what is trending in what field at a given time. Additionally, it works with Artificial Intelligence support along with human teams. Not only do they provide you with accurate customer insights, but also a platform that already feeds you with multiple ideas and opportunities.
Social Media Sites – Being an experienced eCommerce development agency, we understand the importance and influence of social media very well. If you are okay with not being spoon-fed by websites and wish to spend time analyzing and studying the market trends yourself, the best resort would be any popular social media platform. With the option of using hashtags for joining discussions and sharing opinions on these sites, people are unknowingly declaring their preferences.
This is in complete harmony with your aim to identify the best ideas to cater to the voices of these very people. So you could successfully convert them into a target audience, and later into prospective buyers.
Analyzing Customer Reviews on Other Shopping Sites
They say, ‘we learn better from others’ mistakes.’ With too many eCommerce websites on the internet today, one cannot deny that these websites also offer the opportunity of learning as well.
As your digital partner and a reliable eCommerce development agency, we’d like you to explore other sites and apps to understand the existing online scenario better.
You can analyze through a brief study from these websites. About what kinds of products they offer and what is the customer response to these goods and services. You must go through positive as well as negative feedback to be able to grasp the all-around merits and demerits of launching a similar website.
Besides, there can be so much other information you can derive from these websites and their ideas. Also, you can quickly assess & target a specific audience with your products or whether you would like to cater to large masses – something for everyone.
All these assessments can go a long way in helping you to shape your ideas for your virtual store.
Keyword Search for the Best Targets
Often, you must have come across the terminology of Search Engine Optimization. But did you know that this is something that can prove to be great even for your eCommerce website? Your eCommerce store development company leverages the keywords to rank your site online among many other websites.
The idea is to do a little research on frequently used keywords by customers when they are looking for products. Some of the keywords can tell you precisely what kind of tags people add to products they are looking for, how many hits these keywords get in a month, or even how often people tend to look up a particular product.
With a little more hunt into the keyword game, you could begin to assess what kind of products are sought after. Whether there is a particular surge in queries related to particular products based on the time of the day, week, or even month.
All these stats can help you in jotting down ideas, of what works and what does not when it comes to picking products for an online store.
Extensive Research
When it comes to setting up an eCommerce store, the research process is like an unending process. The more you delve into different links and sites, the more information you get. Also, more research can help clear the doubts and prompt actions. Even for the best eCommerce website development company like us, nothing begins without thorough research about the industry and the current market trends.
For example, you could begin looking out for products that offer better profit margins. These days most online shopping websites have dedicated columns listing the most wished-for products. Some of these sites also allow a sneak peek into the products, their buying frequency, and what are the categories into which people like to sum up their shopping experience.
There is so much to learn about item promotion costs, holding, and shipping prices for different products, as it differs for each. Equally, there is much to learn about handling and reducing any overhead charges for different kinds of products by availing of complete eCommerce website development services.
Ultimately, the goal of your business venture is to seek higher profits and make a mark in the market. At the end of it all, you must learn how to translate the entire process into a profit, and this requires extensive research.
Trial and Error
The real validation for any product you wish to launch onto your eCommerce site can happen only by a trial-and-error.
This does not mean you are entitled to risk the security and trust of your potential customers. Neither does it mean you need to compromise on your investments and ship out products at risk.
What you could do is minimize the upfront investment, and try to analyze which of your chosen ideas can be translated into success. Also, you could use the help of promotions to drive traffic toward your product and assess the kind of response it manages to get.
Partnering with an experienced eCommerce web development company, can reduce your investment risks and produce fail-proof products for your business.
Try this out on finishing the chapter:
- Spend some time online to assess and decide upon a few great product ideas for your website. And jot them down in a notebook or an Excel sheet.
- Type in a few keywords you can associate with your product idea or ideas and visit the websites you feel most attracted to.
- Leave aside the details and try to take note of what could work best for you. In the Excel sheet, make separate columns for the – idea, popularity, sold items, customer reviews, and so on.
- This organizational planning of your research and ideas will help you narrow down your potential business forms while you are out looking for an eCommerce website development agency to develop your platform.
Narrowing Down Ideas to Just a Few
You might have realized by now that jotting down ideas or coming up with new ones is comparatively easier and more interesting than what you are supposed to do after it – assessment and decision-making.
The process of narrowing down ideas to make a call for your website involves so many activities at a single time. Part of which you are supposed to do while much of it is to be taken care of by your eCommerce app development company. Like understanding the market demand, assessing your potential and niche, understanding the customer response and need, estimating any scope for future growth, and so on.
In this chapter, we are going to go step-by-step in helping you carry out the above and much more. So that out of the entire bucket of ideas you have gathered by now, you can pick out a handful to proceed ahead.
Elimination Game
We are likely to have collected some very mainstream ideas along with some unique ones during the previous process. Hence, the first and foremost task that you need to do is to start eliminating the ideas that you don’t need to work on.
Being your eCommerce development agency, we want to draw your attention to the fact and understand that most of these websites with the mainstream ideas have already made a mark in the customer’s minds regarding their service. Therefore, it would be wise to not set foot in such common areas unless you are going for something more specific, novel, and adding value to your customers.
Second Layer of Research
At this stage, you might want to go through the second layer of research. And this time diverting your attention towards current trends only to filter out anything on your list that seems outdated or negative. Here, your partnered eCommerce app development company can help you distinguish them.
Next, you could continue to expand your research by keenly observing related items. It might also lead you to narrow down your services to a selected band of products and services.
Perhaps your extensive research could help you in cutting down your product ideas to just a few ones.
Say ‘See You Later’ to the Competition
Become aware that there are too many brains from all around the world that have the same forum for the display of their ideas and are trying out their luck. Therefore, it is challenging to be able to remain exclusive of all competition, even after having the best eCommerce website development company by your side. However, what you can do is try to minimize the chances of such unwanted clashes.
Out of the long list of product ideas you might have, it is advisable to filter out those that have stiff competition existing in the market already – ideas that are nothing unique for customers to come running to.
By providing personalized attention with custom eCommerce website development services that address the specific needs of your users in an intuitive manner. That gives your users ultimate satisfaction and sustains their loyalty to your business line.
The essence of owning a unique product idea lies in the fact that you do not want to end up fighting for a place in the digital world.
As they say, one thing always leads to another. The process of narrowing down these ideas could help you chalk down the great idea you were looking for?
Where is My Profit?
The number one thing that any business enthusiast should be concerned about is the profits that his products or services will make. Being your eCommerce website development company, that is our priority too. Maybe you could begin narrowing down your ideas to products that have less overhead costs and better prospects of making profits.
Often, the choice of products that the business would launch gets heavily impacted by the facts and figures like setup costs, overheads, and the likeability of making profits in the market.
That said, it is essential to realize that what is most important when it comes to calculating product prices and profits is the kind of conversion rate that is achievable. Perhaps you would want to consider making delivery available for some parts of the country or maybe anywhere in the world. Hence, the mechanism for each would differ, and so would the kind of products you could keep in each category.
You need to keep in mind at this stage that different products have different performances when it comes to promotional costs, shipping charges, and even charges related to holding and maintenance along with the eCommerce web development services.
This should be able to guide you in narrowing down your list of product ideas where you would be able to strike a balance between all the monetary factors.
1. Going for a Niche Store
Thanks to the world of eCommerce, people can now shop for literally anything online. However, one genre that continues to remain open for exploration is that of the niche store.
Niche drop shipping stores have such a high potential to be translated into successful e-stores with the proper guidance of an expert eCommerce website development company. And the reasons are manifold. Firstly, you have your chance at uniqueness.
For instance, there can be multiple online websites selling kitchenware. But perhaps your idea of opening a niche store that deals only in etched glassware for all home needs could be one of its kind in the market. Here, you would have a specifically targeted audience and yet a broad base to begin with. Because you have chosen the product wisely enough to cater to anyone who wishes to have jealous guests.
Such a niche store is easier to highlight and promote amidst the vast crowd of generic sales. And escalate much faster to become a household name.
2. Deciding on a Marketing Strategy
What many people fail to realize while setting up an online business is the vitality of an effective marketing strategy. Here, your eCommerce web development firm can help you form a robust marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals.
Because you cannot apply the same marketing strategy to all kinds of products. And a product and its marketing channel are like a unique combination of a lock and key – they don’t work as expected with others.
Hence, the best way to handle this stage would be to go for a tabular comparison of the product components you need to take care of during marketing. Apart from that, you can determine the role of SEO in marketing your products, the weight of Search Ads, Facebook Ads and Display Ads, email marketing and so as integral to any marketing strategy.
At the end of this tabular comparison, you will also need to weigh your resources, capabilities, and talents to be able to extract something meaningful out of the analysis. Also, keep a tab of your budget and project time.
This will help you a great deal in getting your product ideas to fit in the channels with well-tailored eCommerce development services that you find most suited to your temperament.
3. Say ‘No’ to Seasons
There must be a few products on your list that are very seasonal in terms of customer demand.
There could be a few items that are dependent on the season like winterwear or beachwear. Such products see escalation exclusively only during particular times of the year. Investing your time, energy, and money into such product ideas would leave you with comparatively negligible proceeds for the rest of the year.
This is why it is essential to say no to such seasonal products and services.
4. Evaluating Product Ideas
So, you are done with all the research you needed, at the end of which you will have the following
- Ideas about what domain you would like to cater to in terms of products and services.
- Further refinement of ideas to understand what suits your temperament, capabilities, target audiences, and budget.
From this stage on, you need to focus on setting up your own business with a successful eCommerce website. And here, you will be assisted consistently by your eCommerce web development agency to evaluate your products to hype up your e-commerce site.
Considering the knowledge you have acquired and the skills you have to hike things further, let’s begin first with a comprehensive guide on product finalization.
5. Deciding your Business Niche
It is imperative for a business these days to have a niche category to be successful. Because there are too many competitors in the market to be setting up a general shopping website. Secondly, the customer is searching for such niche stores because the online world has made their demands very specific.
Hence, let’s evaluate your niche products for their potential in terms of a market success rate. The first step would be to understand what exactly is meant by an eCommerce niche. An eCommerce niche tends to narrow down on the ideas and pick out a domain that caters to either a particular target audience or a specific idea.
Working with an eCommerce niche provides you with the option of handling unexplored areas or areas that haven’t received requisite attention yet.
As your eCommerce web development company, we can certainly say that you have a fairer chance of success and big numbers with the niche store compared to a general one.
6. Benefits of the Niche Store
For any business to succeed requires a combination of cleverness and hard work. However, the first benefit of a niche store would be the immense opportunity it provides. While the other benefits can be explored in detail below
A customer will be more attracted to a store that sells graphic t-shirts based on the latest trends than browsing for one such piece among the array of other t-shirts available on another website. You can get such a niche e-store with the help of an eCommerce app development company.
Because, in these days of digital madness, the customer knows they can find anything and everything they are looking for. This makes their choices specific, and your decision to go for a niche store is a hit.
- Participating and Creating Trends
With a niche store on your mind, you are not just availing the option of working with some of the latest trends in the market with your specific work area, but you are also creating them yourself. And we as your eCommerce development company, help you take it digital.
Suppose you have chosen handmade items as your niche, with the correct marketing and brand awareness. Then you might be able to bring the craze of handmade goodies back into trend.
- Chance to Stand Out in the Market
By going for a niche store, you have already reduced to a great extent your immediate market competition. Above that, it gives you a better chance of standing out among your contemporaries with a distinct online store with a reliable eCommerce web design company.
Besides, your potential customers will be able to easily identify the class difference between your niche-specific services and other standard or general ones available in the market.
Being different is, after all, the trendiest thing to be in the market these days.
- Lower Advertisement Costs
The best thing about the niche business is that you already have a defined target audience. This means there is comparatively less advertisement your product requires.
Be it social media marketing or using platforms like Google Adwords, you do not have to worry about making your advertisements for a large and diverse customer base. You spend lesser money on advertising, which can be great savings for other areas of focus.
Moreover, your eCommerce development company will design a comprehensive marketing plan for your product as needed which would be cost-efficient for your business.
Another characteristic of customers when they are browsing for niche products is that they are willing to pay higher prices for these products.
Usually, compared to a standard store, customers choose more specific websites for their particular needs. And wouldn’t mind paying a little extra to get something they have been looking for. That’s exactly what you’ll be getting from your eCommerce development firm. This means, you can place your product prices a few notches higher, which reaps in greater profit.
Your niche store must deliver the required uniqueness and quality of the product as well as service. And that’s all it takes to create a loyal customer base.
So, what could be some niche store examples? There could be special genres like beard oil for men and customized chocolates for various occasions! The choice is yours to make.
7. Applying Various Filters on Ideas
Being a top eCommerce website development company, we know that ideas matter a lot. It is one thing to kickstart a business; it is another to sustain it. Neither of the two is possible without great business ideas. When it comes to eCommerce, the importance of the idea increases even more with time because competitors never cease to make entries into the market.
This makes it very important that we know what mistakes are to be avoided, right from the stage where we are evaluating and finalizing our products.
Right at the beginning, let us discuss the importance of filtering out products based on their likelihood of not working out for you.
Essentially, there are a few products that are simply not going to do well for anyone in terms of the existing scenario of the market. Because these are the products that no customer wants at all.
Also, just because your idea might address a pain point of the customer, or it is both cost and function efficient, doesn’t mean it will be in demand. So how do you know so? The answer is your eCommerce app development services.
Besides, certain products are so commonly available in the market that you will be ramming your head onto a truck by choosing to endorse those in your business.
Keep such products at bay from your business ideas.
- The ‘I Can Pull it Off’ Filter
Both knowledge and confidence are extremely necessary if you are wanting to launch an eCommerce website. But do not play foolhardy. In this case, you need to filter out all those products that you don’t think you can pull off and leave them aside for good measure.
There is no such claim in the world of eCommerce that smaller, easier-to-handle ideas do not turn into successes. Whether the idea is too complicated for you to execute, or it sounds too big for you to handle, the best way is to not go for it. But also know that whatever you decide upon in the end, you and we as your best eCommerce development company together will pull it off.
- The ‘Target Customer’ Filter
After all your research, a study based on your product choices, and narrowing down the ideas to a niche category, you must have got a clear target audience in mind.
The key here is to identify any product where you seem to either not know the right target customer, or that doesn’t fit according to your ideas. Because not knowing the target customer is a big drawback in the entire screening process.
- The ‘No Shortcuts’ Filter
Shortcuts are easy and hazardous to your business in the long run.
Remember that if it’s the ease that you are looking for when trying to set up an eCommerce venture, the latter probably isn’t a field for you to explore. However, having a good, dependable eCommerce web development company by your side may ease the burden to half.
There are several articles available all around the internet describing product ideas that will take less than a couple of weeks to get you started on your eCommerce venture.
The truth is that if you want to taste success, there is no replacing the time you need to spend on research, narrowing down to a few ideas, and so on. Until you have what you want, and your niche eCommerce store is all set to be launched.
Therefore, if you still have any ideas on your list that have made it so far only because they would be easy, it is time to chalk them out of sight.
At the end of the day, we are setting up this eCommerce venture for the profits it will bring us. Also, as your eCommerce development agency, we are aware of the market prices, the standing, and positions of some of our biggest competitors, and the worth of our product idea among the potential customers.
Therefore, if there are any products on your list that you think might not be able to earn you good profits for any reason, it is time to eliminate them. The fact that you will have to struggle for desired profits upon using them in your eCommerce venture is reason enough to chalk them out.