Table of Contents
So that you wish to discover a new product concept to promote on-line? Nicely, chances are high you typed one thing like “new product concepts” or “good product concepts” into Google, hoping you’d discover the reply.
Nothing fallacious with that.
Nonetheless, the issue is you’re looking (and discovering) the very same factor as everybody else. These “new” concepts actually change into what everybody’s already doing and promoting.
We’re not going to checklist out a bunch of product concepts right here—that’d defeat the aim of you discovering what your buyer wants.
As a substitute, we’re going to indicate you the way to give you new product concepts (that don’t suck) you possibly can promote on-line. Your brand-new concepts is likely to be impressed by merchandise that exist, however you’ll be empowered with creativity and freedom to make them your individual.
Bear in mind good ol’ Henry Ford? There’s a quote attributed to him that goes like this: “If I had requested individuals what they needed, they’d have mentioned sooner horses.”
This text will assist you give your clients what they want as a substitute of simply sooner horses.
Desk of Contents
What Makes a Product Thought “Good”?
How you can Discover Your New Product Thought
How you can Validate Your Product Thought
How you can Make Your Product Completely different and Higher
What Makes a Product Thought “Good”?
First, let’s assist differentiate the nice product concepts from the dangerous ones. Right here’s just a few tell-tale indicators of every:
Indicators of a Good Product Thought
- Addresses a Want: Good product concepts resolve issues. These may be enormous issues (like Elon Musk battling local weather change) or minor issues (like assuaging somebody’s physique odor). Don’t got down to discover a product. First, discover the issue. Subsequent, discover (or construct) the right product to resolve it.
- Offers Strong USP: Your product wants a distinctive promoting proposition (USP) that makes it higher than another product available on the market. That USP might be associated to options, pricing, scalability, and even pace of supply. A very good product might be precisely what’s available on the market, however possibly your manufacturing is extra scalable, so you possibly can drive down costs for patrons? That’s a brand new product concept.
- Has Revenue Potential: The perfect concept is only a notion until you can also make a plan to (1) create it and (2) make it worthwhile. Meaning you’ll want to think about bills, pricing, provide and demand, the dimensions of your addressable market, and present competitors.
Can Be Simply Communicated: You’ll possible must safe funding from lenders or traders. In case your concept’s too advanced, you’ll wrestle to get financing. Plus, your clients will face a barrier to entry. - Makes You Completely satisfied: Don’t begin promoting a product you don’t care about—that’s a recipe for a sleazy MLM. Try to be in a position (and excited) to connect your identify and photograph subsequent to your product. That’s an indication you’re pleased with it.
- Is Value Paying for: There are many merchandise on the market that make you assume, “Oh, cool!” Nonetheless, you don’t wish to simply impress passing-by clients—you need them to open their wallets. Guarantee your product is value paying for and never only a enjoyable idea.
Pink Flags of a Unhealthy Product Thought
- Affords No Identifiable USP: Your clients ought to have the ability to establish your USP. If they will’t determine what makes your product totally different from the remainder, then it’s possible insufficient.
- Confuses Prospects: If you need to persuade clients it’s product, it’s most likely not. Your product ought to have the ability to market itself and not using a 60-minute infomercial.
- There’s No Demand: Some issues aren’t value fixing. You’ll must validate your product concept to make sure your goal market doesn’t simply assume it’s a good suggestion, however they’re keen to spend their hard-earned cash to purchase it.
- It Already Exists: Do your analysis. There are a lot of entrepreneurs on the market, so guarantee your new product concept doesn’t exist already. If it does (or did), be taught extra about it. How’s it doing? Why did it fail (or succeed)? How are you going to do it higher?
Write these concepts down, and share them with somebody you belief. If you happen to give you a product concept you’re in love with, you’ll possible see all the nice and not one of the dangerous. It’s pure. Nonetheless, for those who give your concept an goal look-through, you may uncover deadly flaws earlier than it’s too late.
Don’t Skip: Ecommerce Enterprise Concepts That Yield Highly effective Outcomes
How you can Discover Your New Product Thought
Now that you already know what you’re on the lookout for, it’s time to begin looking. If inspiration comes from mountain meditation or lengthy hikes within the wilderness, go get after it. But when these product-finding strategies allow you to down, listed below are some locations to begin:
1. Ask Your Prospects
This method goes towards Henry Ford’s well-known quote, however your clients virtually (virtually) at all times know greatest. Begin there.
When you have clients, ship out surveys or conduct interviews to determine their issues. If you happen to don’t have clients but, establish your goal market and begin there.
You may even discover a subreddit you’re fascinated about and open up conversations there. For instance, for those who’re into mountain climbing and wish to discover a product concept that solves hikers’ wants, you would possibly be part of the r/Climbing, r/Backpacking, or r/Ultralight subreddits. Browse the conversations there, probe into complaints, or simply flat out ask individuals what they need.
You may begin by asking what’s difficult them or what they want mounted. Dig deeper and ask what they assume may resolve it. They won’t at all times know the reply to the second query, and that’s OK—that’s in the end your job to determine.
When you establish an issue, begin figuring out your clients’ willingness to pay to repair it. If it’s nothing (or not loads), it’s most likely not a difficulty value fixing.
If the issue is value fixing, begin pondering of a product. Don’t fear about perfecting the design and all of the parts simply but. Upon getting a prototype or a draft, ask your clients if they’d be fascinated about one thing like this. If the reply is “sure,” then you already know you’re heading in the right direction.
2. Spot What’s Scorching
Search for what’s trending on ecommerce websites or social media platforms. What’s doing effectively? Why? Are you able to replicate it and make one thing higher?
For instance, if everyone seems to be raving about on-line studying, is there a course you possibly can create to resolve a necessity? If a course already exists, are you able to make one which’s higher or extra inexpensive?
Bear in mind, fads come and go. If you happen to soar right into a pattern early, you possibly can capitalize on the second and get out earlier than it cools off. If you happen to be part of too late, you would possibly find yourself investing in a product with shortly diminishing demand.
A method to make sure you keep on observe is recognizing wants inside the tendencies. For some time, air fryers have been a scorching subject throughout the information and social media feeds. Nonetheless, they didn’t resolve any determined wants—they only gave individuals new healthy-ish methods to cook dinner meals. After some time, the hype petered out, and now there’s a bunch sitting unused in client’s closets.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Steal
“Good designers copy, nice designers steal.” These well-known phrases spoken by painter Pablo Picasso apply to rather more than design. You don’t want a completely unique concept—you simply want to repeat, steal, and iterate to make the subsequent smartest thing.
Even smarty-pants Elon Musk didn’t do something exceptionally revolutionary—he simply took a well-liked mannequin of vehicles (which have been round for over a century) and made them electrical, highly effective, horny, and unique. OK, he did greater than that, however you get the concept.
Or check out Jibbitz. Jibbitz capitalized on Croc’s recognition (nonetheless don’t perceive why individuals put on these sneakers) by creating charms to let wearers personalize their footwear. Jibbitz primarily piggybacked on one other model’s success to hit it massive, and Crocs ended up shopping for the tiny startup for $10 million.
You may additionally take into consideration all of at present’s social media apps. Bear in mind when Instagram stole Snapchat’s mannequin and added Tales to their platform? After which each different social media platform did the identical factor?
Or bear in mind when Chicken and Lime began littering each metropolis within the US with electrical scooters? A few months later, Uber, Lyft, and a number of other different manufacturers have been already on the scene.
You don’t must give you one thing brand-new. Borrow, steal, and Frankenstein your individual product concept—simply ensure that it has a USP that beats out the competitors.
4. Consider Upsells and Cross-Sells
If you happen to’re already promoting items, you don’t essentially want an out-of-the-box product. A intently associated product has the potential to succeed, and it additionally may enhance your present merchandise gross sales.
For instance, for those who promote sneakers, you may increase into shoelaces or socks. If you happen to promote on-line programs, you may increase into e-books or in-person courses.
When you’re desirous about it, take a look at methods you may enhance your present product. Are there less complicated, cheaper or extra strong, pricey variations you may present? For instance, yow will discover about 3 totally different fashions of each new soccer footwear: budget-friendly, middle-of-the-road, and premium.
Are you able to do the identical factor along with your merchandise? If you happen to promote a web-based course, you may have a condensed cheaper model or a extra complete costly model.
5. Discover Your Personal Issues
You (sure, you) are a client, too. What issues do you could have? Is there a day-to-day difficulty you want you may resolve? There’s probability your private persona belongs in a distinct segment market—if yow will discover an issue you wish to resolve, there is likely to be different people (hopefully plenty of them) with the identical difficulty.
Don’t fear—we’ll get into validating your concept later to make sure it has legs to face on. However don’t low cost your issues. This technique doesn’t take lengthy processes or intensive analysis. Simply take into consideration what actually bothers you and the way you want you may resolve it.
Take Airbnb, for instance. Founders Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky struggled to pay hire, so that they determined to hire out airbeds on their living-room flooring to convention attendees in San Francisco. The subsequent day, the pair created a web site—6 days later, they’d 3 tenants sleeping on their flooring.
Codeacademy began as a Columbia College programming membership. Co-founder Zach Sim struggled to be taught new coding expertise on his personal, so programming native (and cofounder) Ryan Bubinski used Sims as a guinea pig to create a self-paced studying expertise that grew to become Codeacademy.
Don’t overlook your individual issues. Create an answer that’s value paying for, and also you’ll possible discover different clients identical to you.
6. Experiment with AI Instruments
Take into account synthetic intelligence (AI) instruments as your greatest associates in relation to ideating on new product concepts. They won’t be as dependable as a mentor or co-founder, however they will shortly assist you sift by way of concepts and automate a variety of the validation course of.
For starters, ask ChatGPT about potential product concepts in an business or sector that pursuits you. Have a dialog with the AI to slim issues down. Present it with suggestions to assist refine future responses. You’d be shocked how intelligent it may be in serving to you determine your individual ideas.
Past the primary ideation stage, you can even use AI instruments to assist with the whole lot from market insights and competitor evaluation to prototyping and pattern forecasting:
- Market Insights: AI can analyze huge quantities of information to establish market tendencies, client preferences, and rising wants. Use a software like Crayon to offer market intelligence which might help in discovering new product alternatives.
- Competitor Evaluation: AI instruments can automate the monitoring of opponents’ merchandise, costs, and buyer opinions, which may spark concepts for brand new or improved merchandise. Strive a software like Kompyte to trace opponents in actual time to tell strategic decision-making.
- Prototyping: AI might help in creating prototypes and simulating how merchandise will carry out below numerous situations. Instruments like ANSYS Discovery provide real-time simulation to shortly consider design alternate options.
- Pattern Forecasting: AI might help predict upcoming tendencies, which may be invaluable for product improvement. Instruments like Pattern Hunter use AI to establish and forecast tendencies that will help you keep forward of the curve.
Validate. Validate. Validate.
Have an concept for a product? Incredible! Don’t do something with it but.
Hear us out.
Earlier than you go off to the races or begin digging down deep into rabbit holes, validate your product concept. You don’t wish to commit any time or cash (or worse—get personally hooked up) to an concept that’s going to crash and burn.
Whereas we are able to preserve asking theoretical questions and taking part in with concepts, sustainable companies are solely constructed when cash modifications palms. If it’s going to achieve the long-term, it must cross a stress take a look at. Right here’s the way to do it:
Smoke Check With a Touchdown Web page
Construct a touchdown web page that highlights the advantages (and pricing) of your product. Drive site visitors to the web page with natural (social media and e-mail) and paid (PPC adverts) methods, after which see what your clients do.
Do they click on the “buy now” button, or do they go away with out taking motion? Set a click-through price objective for what you need the web page to attain. If it hits that objective, then you possibly can really feel assured in truly creating and scaling the product. If not, you then would possibly wish to rethink your concept.
This smoke take a look at helps you discover out if persons are actually keen to purchase your product. Associates, households, and colleagues would possibly say your concept is nice, however an actual viewers with actual cash gives you the chilly, arduous reality.
The entire course of in your smoke testing touchdown web page ought to solely take just a few days. Don’t spend an excessive amount of time making a flowery touchdown web page—preserve it minimal with the fundamentals.
At foundr, we’ve launched a variety of on-line programs, and we make it a observe to validate each one earlier than we put within the money and time to make it a actuality.
Flesh Out Your Complete Technique
GTM. Manufacturing. Delivery. Financing. All of it. Work out the logistics of how your new product concept goes to come back to fruition. Do all of this analysis earlier than you begin constructing prototypes and web sites.
You would possibly discover a logistical part that shuts down the entire product concept, so do your due diligence:
- Sourcing Your Product: How are you going to construct or purchase your product? Do you come up with the money for and assets? If it’s one thing like a web-based course or e-book, do you could have the abilities and bandwidth to carry it to fruition? If not, are you able to rent somebody?
- Go-to-Market (GTM) Plan: How do you intend to launch and market your product? What worth does it have to be to beat out opponents, attract clients, and assist you earn a revenue? What channels will you have to use to succeed in your viewers?
- Delivery: How will you get your bodily or digital product from you to your clients? Will or not it’s by way of e-mail or the publish workplace? Will they want a login, or will or not it’s a downloadable product?
- Financing: The place are you going to seek out the cash to make this occur? Do you could have a wealthy uncle, or will you have to ask a financial institution for a mortgage?
It’s loads to consider. We all know. But it’s essential you concentrate on all of these items earlier than pursuing a brand new product.
The perfect concept may test all of your containers, however for those who don’t have the cash, time, or means to make it occur, it’s not going to be a good suggestion.
How you can Make Your Product Completely different and Higher
Distinctive Worth Propositions
A Distinctive Worth Proposition (UVP) is a transparent assertion that explains how your product solves clients’ issues or improves their scenario. It delivers particular advantages and tells the best buyer why they need to purchase from you and never from the competitors.
Crafting a compelling UVP requires a deep understanding of your clients’ wants and needs, in addition to the market panorama.
Completely different Is Higher than Higher
In a aggressive market, being totally different usually holds extra worth than merely being higher. Differentiation creates a blue ocean of alternative, whereas being higher usually results in pink oceans the place competitors is fierce.
Intention to redefine the issue you’re fixing or provide a novel resolution that units you other than the competitors.
Take Present Issues and Resolve Them in Completely different Methods
Innovation usually comes from taking present issues and approaching them from a special approach. This may be achieved by making use of totally different applied sciences, using distinctive supplies, or using unconventional methodologies. Search for inspiration in adjoining industries or totally totally different fields to seek out novel options to previous issues.
Product Innovation Framework
A scientific method in the direction of product innovation may be segmented into 4 major dimensions:
1. Design:
Concentrate on user-centric design that not solely seems to be good but additionally enhances person expertise.
Make the most of design pondering methodologies to empathize with customers, outline issues, ideate options, prototype shortly, and take a look at your assumptions.
2. Operate:
Improve or add functionalities that resolve issues in a extra environment friendly or gratifying approach.
Leverage cutting-edge applied sciences to allow new options or enhance present ones.
3. Value:
Take into account progressive pricing methods that would make your product extra accessible or interesting.
Discover totally different enterprise fashions that would differentiate your product available in the market, comparable to subscription fashions or pay-as-you-go.
4. Time:
Take into account when a product turns into accessible and the way lengthy clients have the chance to purchase it, including a way of urgency and shortage to the advertising combine.
By integrating these parts inside your product improvement technique, you possibly can make sure that your product not solely stands out available in the market but additionally delivers distinctive worth to your clients, thereby securing a aggressive edge within the market.
Hold Studying: What Can I Promote On-line to Make Cash?
New Product Concepts FAQs
What components ought to I think about when evaluating a brand new product concept?
At first, your product should resolve a necessity. The subsequent step is framing the product for a particular buyer group. That is referred to as a novel promoting place. You additionally want to judge if clients can pay in your product at a worthwhile value. Lastly, guarantee your product aligns with what you are promoting’s mission, imaginative and prescient, and model.
How can I defend my new product concept from being copied by opponents?
This may be difficult. Getting a patent on an concept is the best solution to defend your product. It’s also possible to trademark the identify of the product and imagery. Sadly, these protections are costly. So do not spend an excessive amount of time worrying about individuals stealing your concept. As a substitute, make investments your capital in making a product that solves a novel downside in comparison with opponents in your house.
How a lot does it value to give you a brand new product concept?
Nothing. Concepts are free. And for those who do sufficient analysis or can establish issues, you are one step forward of the competitors. However for those who’re trying to implement an concept, the price can vary anyplace from $2K to $20K, relying on the product or business.
Make Your New Product Thought Come to Life
New product concepts are nice and all, however they solely reside in your mind and on the again of a used serviette till you launch them to the world.
Sound intimidating? It may be. Nicely, with out the best mentors and processes, that’s.
Allow us to assist stroll you thru your complete product improvement course of. Sourcing specialist, Kian Golzari, will share his confirmed blueprint that may take you from “questioning what to promote”, to having your individual distinctive product manufactured, shipped, and making gross sales sooner whereas avoiding pricey errors.
The publish How you can Come Up with New Product Concepts (That Don’t Suck) appeared first on Foundr.
