Is eCommerce Right for my Business or Product?
The success of online retailers has many of us considering the advantages of eCommerce. With that consideration comes a very important question, “Do I have the right type of product for eCommerce?” Although no one can truly answer that question for you, there is a gamut of other questions that might help you discover the answer. In fact, those questions were the topic of PML’s most recent meetup. Our own Bechara Jaoudeh (aka Mr. B) provided us with an insightful presentation to help guide you in your discovery.
Before the presentation, we had the pleasure of speaking with Bechara and asked him, “What factors should I consider when getting into eCommerce?” In his response, he emphasized 3 main components to consider when picking an eCommerce product to sell.
- Follow your passion – Do you want to merely make a profit because you can or would you prefer to do something you love and make a profit because you’re ardent about the product and the benefits it has to offer?
- Marry your passion with the trends – Is there a seasonal trend or perhaps a trade show that you can visit to capitalize on newly emerging trends?
- Choose between a general or niche product – Do you want to offer a common product and compete on price or create a niche product and carve out your own market share? Or do you prefer to take the middle road and white label a current product?
Before you reach finalize your decision, you may find yourself asking even more questions. For instance, “Working with a local artisan and offering a niche product sounds appealing but isn’t there a concern about a limited audience?” This is a great question and one that Bechara was prepared to answer. If you take a look at the featured image above you will see a very enlightening slide from the presentation about analyzing your sales funnel. As you can see, even if you have a niche product and can’t increase visitors to the site, you can still improve revenue by optimizing your sales process and reducing drop-off rates. So, don’t let concern about the limited reach of a niche product deter you. If you market anything properly, you can always expand the audience.
Be sure to check out the video above for a great idea about a new shampoo product 😉
