The benefits of researching and selling a niche product
Ok, so I know 2017 isn’t over yet, and right now online shoppers are about to launch into a massive buying frenzy – particularly as today is Black Friday – however, as an online seller, you should never stop planning ahead. Particularly right now as this is exactly the time that you should be preparing for 2018.
It pays to plan ahead and consider the type of niches online consumers will be looking into once the Christmas rush is over. Yes, it’s very tempting to hedge your bets and offer a huge variety of products, but in fact it’s way more beneficial if you keep your inventory short and relevant.
This applies if you’re not selling yet but are contemplating starting an online business too. Planning is key, as is research! Choosing a well-defined niche is vital so that you are ready to go, with the right product and with focus, at exactly the moment when prospective buyers are rife.
So, my advice today applies to experienced sellers and newbies too. You should be aware that choosing a specific niche will allow you to build customer trust and brand loyalty and you will develop a reputation as an expert in your niche as your reputation grows.
By focusing on one or two great products that are related, it’s easier to build credibility, and of course gain loyalty from customers. You’ll also find that you have less competition which will give you a competitive advantage.
So, deciding which new products to add to your inventory is extremely exciting – but it can also be daunting, challenging, intimidating and quite frankly terrifying.
One of the biggest challenges is deciding exactly what to sell – in other words, finding a profitable niche and product – and that’s where good forward planning comes in!
You need to think about a specific product or niche first so that you have direction and focus – then simply research that niche and consider the opportunities that are all around you.
For example, let’s take the baby goods niche. It doesn’t matter what else is happening in the world – babies continue to be born and need looking after! This niche targets not only parents but also aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends – the opportunities are endless in this huge market.
Consider craft supplies. We are in an age of popular sites such as Pinterest and Instagram and with those sites come tutorials and ‘how to’ videos. This is a huge niche market which is growing rapidly and ‘supplies’ are in demand.
What about the food niche? I know, not the most obvious one, but think about specialist diets such as gluten-free or organic. Then think about ‘convenience’. Consumers who purchase food online are usually willing to pay more for the convenience – which makes this a very lucrative niche.
Another huge and rapidly growing niche is ‘mens grooming’. Men are taking care of themselves more now than ever. Think beard oils, razors, moisturisers and similar.
You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned the fitness and slimming niches so far! Well that’s because, although lucrative and obviously highly popular – and more so in a couple of months’ time – those niches are all also highly competitive, so your best plan of action would be to ‘dig deep’ into the sub-niches within those categories and uncover specific products that have less competition – but are still in-demand. Don’t be scared of looking into smaller, less well known sub-niches!
So, when choosing a niche and product, first you need to look at trends. Trends come and go, but by recognizing a trend early enough, and getting in to the market at the start will ensure you make a name for yourself before anyone else. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times.
Product opportunities appear in the unlikeliest of places, but finding a gap in a market is great news. You need to capitalize on that opportunity to the best of your ability, so look at a particular niche and try and work out if there is a problem or something that is missing within that niche. Solving a problem has long been a fantastic way to ensure you have a best seller on your hands. Think about problems that people have (or even that you may have had in the past) – and how you could solve the problem with a particular product or set of products.
If you have knowledge of a particular industry, product or niche or if you have a particular skill or have experienced something that makes you an expert on the subject then you can use this to your advantage. Perhaps you already know the exact peak selling times for a particular item making it easy to plan ahead.
Remember to follow your passion though! It’s likely then that you’ll know exactly what potential buyers are searching for and when, and you’ll be knowledgeable about products in the niche. Just having this expertise can prove to be extremely profitable and will shape your business for the future.
So, plan ahead, research carefully and choose well. Good luck!