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After creating a Shopify store, it’s time to go live with the best possible products and start the work! That’s when you need product research.
In a customer-centric marketing strategy, you should consider what products are in demand by the target market. You just can’t afford to invest in something that your market doesn’t want or isn’t willing to pay for. That’s why you need to have an idea of who your customers are and what demands and interests they have.
For this purpose, the first step is understanding your customers and creating their buyer personas. When you chose a product and a niche to investigate further, it’s time to put it under the microscope. Without a proper evaluation of your product and niche idea, you make haphazard choices.
Using the steps listed below, you will get a far deeper grasp of your product and niche. Also, you will get the ability to detect its shortcomings.
You will almost certainly never discover a product or niche market that meets all of the requirements listed below. However, comparing your findings to this list can provide you with a better knowledge of your selected product/niche. It also helps you avoid mistakes and improve your overall chances of success.
This article is a great step-by-step guide into product research for your Shopify online store. Moreover, we cover some of the most effective tips for finding profitable products.
Before jumping into the tips and steps for your Shopify store’s product research, let’s consider what product research is.
What Is Product Research?
Product research focuses on the unique and necessary features of a service or product. It enables businesses to better understand their consumers’ requirements. And, allows them to customize the necessary product accordingly.
It is the process of validating a product concept and determining if it has the potential for success. Product research is a stage in the product development process that determines if your concept can satisfy market demand. As a consequence, your product’s return on investment will be higher.
- Product research provides answers to queries such as, “Will the product be a commercial success?”
- What are the market’s comparable products?
- What is the most effective method to create and market the product?
Businesses that do frequent product research remain one step ahead of the others in the same industry. It also assists with the development of new, high-value goods. Because you will constantly know what’s trending and what opportunities are laid ahead.
Now let’s check the steps for the most profitable product research:
Step 1: Market Research
Market research is the prerequisite of product research. The market size may be tough to estimate, but with some guesswork, you can have a general idea of it. A product that caters to pregnant ladies aged 25-40, for example, is likely to have a sizable market. While a product that caters to pregnant ladies between the ages of 25-40 who like pizza will be more limited.
For most companies, determining precise market numbers is difficult. But there are several methods to grasp market size in a more broad sense. Google Trends is an excellent place to start, not for determining market size, but for determining market demand trends.
In the above chart, for instance, you can spot the “smartwatch” trend within the past year, throughout the world. So, it provides you with an idea of how the market demand is changing as time passes.
Moreover, you may search for your specific product concept being offered elsewhere. And you can observe the quantity and quality of client reviews. Is there none, a few, or hundreds of reviews? The answer reveals a lot about the market demand for that product.
It offers you an indication of how many people are looking for your keyword phrases. As a result, you get a better understanding of the market size. Combine all of these techniques with some sound judgment. Then, you should have a decent estimate of the possible market size for your product concept.
Step 2: Competition Analysis
The next step to product research is the analysis of competitors and actors in your industry.
Determine the competitive landscape for your chosen product and niche. Check if you are the first to enter the market. Observe any signs showing that the market is already crowded with competitors targeting the same niche. Also, see how well the market demand size is addressed by the competitors.
If you are the first to market, you will need to do extensive market research. You need to ensure that there is a demand for your product.
If there are a lot of rivals in the market, it means there is demand for your type of product. However, you’ll most likely need to figure out how to distinguish your brand and goods from the crowd.
Google searches may assist you in identifying existing market participants. And an SEO tool like Ahrefs or Moz can provide you with estimated search volumes for your selected keywords.
Step 3: Buyer Personas
You don’t have to go into great depth defining your exact customers at this stage, but persona mapping is beneficial. You should be aware of the kind of customer you’re likely to sell to and their online buying skills.
For example, you may have a product aimed at kids, like a toy. Bear in mind that the majority of kids don’t have a credit card with which to make internet transactions. Similarly, if your product is aimed at elderlies, recognize that your target group has a lower degree of technology use. So, they may not prefer to make online purchases often.
You may check into your Google Analytics account to learn more about who your target market is. If you want to go deeper a thorough psychographic segmentation is helpful.
Step 4: Product Availability
A product that is easily accessible locally eliminates one incentive for customers to look for your product online. A unique or difficult-to-find product that isn’t accessible locally, on the other hand, raises the likelihood of searching it online. As a result, the odds of buying it online increase.
One of the easiest methods to determine if your chosen product is available locally is to do a Google search. Simply, search for your product + the name of your city. If you don’t live in a big city, try replacing the name of the major city nearest to you.
Step 5: Markup Determination
Before delving deep into a particular new product, it is critical to evaluate markup for it. When you first start selling online, you will discover that many little fees are eating your margins. Therefore, having a high initial markup will give you the required cushion to absorb these minor expenses.
Step 6: Determine a Selling Price
Selling a low-cost product necessitates moving a large number of units to earn a reasonable profit. Additionally, as a result of relocating a large number of units, there is an increase in customer support queries. Also, it can increase other operational factors. Selling extremely costly goods, on the other hand, implies a lengthier sales cycle and a more specific consumer group. So, consider a reasonably priced product so that you don’t need a lot of customers for a good profit.
Conclusion
Throughout this article, we discussed various steps required for the most profitable product research. You can apply these tips for your Shopify store as well as any other eCommerce platforms you are using.
