So why is it that 7 out of 10 customers end up dissatisfied? Its primarily a matter of perception. Customers will only buy something they feel will value them in some way. Never forget that by improving the life of your customer through your product or service you will also be improving your net profits. So making sure that your customer is satisfied should be your number one goal- NOT MAKING A PROFIT!
In a recent study, customers were shown different online businesses, when asked which sites they would or would not buy from and why, the majority of answers consisted of: lack of perceived value, website credibility, or security issues.
When you are starting your own online business you must first consider how the customers will perceive what you are selling. If customers do not perceive your product to be valuable to them, there will be no demand for it. There has to be market demand or the law of profitability doesn't work. To be successful with your online business you need to offer something people want so badly, they will pay almost any price. Sometimes an entrepreneur will believe that they have a great product or service which they would like to offer however, just because they love it doesn't mean the general public will, and when it comes to sales, it's not about you-it's about your potential customers.
Being smart about product research and development is what separates the best sellers from everyone else online. If you want to be a successful online business owner, follow the techniques below to make sure your good or service is in demand.
Research Your Competition. See how much competition you have on the web. Is it a good quality product or service? Can or is yours superior? What price does it sell for? This research is imperative to gain a competitive advantage over other online businesses selling the same or similar products.
Perform a keyword search. What are some keywords associated with your new business? Keyword popularity is a good way to view the demand for your good or service. You may be surprised to learn that one of the best selling items on the web is information!
I ran a Google Trend analysis between the key words "how to" compared against numerous other key terms such as money, jobs, information, sales, deals, discounts, etc. and each time the words "how to" ranked higher than the others. I took my little experiment one step further and found the terms "how to make money" far surpassed the terms "how to eat right", "how to speak Spanish", and "how to cook", three search terms I assumed to be popular topics. You can try your own experiment at: http://www.google.com/trends
Read online forums and blogs. They are a great way to see what people are saying about an online business, product or service, idea or concept. Type in an area of interest such as the key words you used above and include "discussion forum" "blog" or "article" into a search engine. You should be able to find a few active, high quality discussions to review and get a general idea of what people think about your product or service. This may even help if you notice a complaint from someone using a competitor's good or service. You can address the problem to make what you are offering more valuable to your consumers before you even launch your site.
Another great thing about forums is that you can even ask for opinions of information or services people desire and would pay for just try to be subtle. You should never try to solicit these users about your product. They will report you for Spamming and you will surely be kicked out of the discussion.
Finally, there are services out there that can take the mystery out of finding niche markets and product ideas that are high in demand!
I mentioned before that one of the most commonly search terms on the internet is "how to make money" Six Figure Yearly answers that question and even offers a step by step ebook with video guides to help you get started with your own online business.
Using a company like Six Figure Yearly can cut your time down by months to getting your own income-generating, niche products to market - it's an incredible service, well worth investigating...
Again I'd like to reiterate that you should NEVER just leap ahead into promoting goods and services BEFORE finding out if there is a perceived value by using the techniques outlined above.
The key rule to remember is that successful online businesses are usually broadly known and has a large target base. Those goods and services will have higher and easier profit margins than specialized items such as children ballet slippers or exotic snake food. Now you may have a small following for those items but usually goods needed by the general public perform better online. If your good or service does not have a high profit margin, if it is expensive to ship, or does not offer a value above its competing brands - you may consider thinking about whether or not an online business is for you. While no one can predict the success of your business, past trends have clearly shown that there must be demand before you can profit off of your website.
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