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You know, it all starts with product. So why are there so many people trying to sell junk like...
- 5500 reports-on-CD-ROM (generic rehash written by others)
- software that does not get the job done
- inferior hard goods of any kind.
I mean, why bother? The Net is such a fabulous place to change your life by building your own business. Why in the world would you want to set your foundation in quick sand?
So let's get away from site-selling and traffic for an issue. Instead, let's evaluate the product or service that you are selling (or considering) on the Web.
In Make Your Site Sell! (MYSS!) , there is a 16 point product checklist. Let's give your product the nickel tour...
When considering a product for Web sales, weigh these sixteen factors, listed in approximate order of importance...
1) Product Quality -- Does your product solve someone's problem, or deliver a benefit, in a high-quality way? If not, STOP -- kill this product. Everything becomes a lot easier if you are selling a great product.
2) Competition -- Consider the competition. Don't enter a crowded field if you don't have some kind of unique edge (for example, a unique product or a unique approach).
3) Market Size -- Wide appeal is great, but the Internet is ideal for niche products, as long as that market is on the Net in sufficient numbers.
4) Promotability -- Can your product be promoted at low-or-no-cost?
5) Profit Margin/Pricing -- Even though the cost of doing business on the Web is low, a product with a great profit margin is still a wonderful product to sell.
6) Supply and Exclusivity -- If you develop your own product, you're 100% sure of your supplier... you! Exclusivity on a product is the next best thing. Otherwise, make sure that you are protected.
7) Advantage for You to Sell Via the Web? -- Evan Schwartz, in his wonderful book Webonomics, describes information-rich products as being the ideal ones for the Web. By that he means videos or software, but not Tide detergent. Is your product information-rich?
8) Advantage for Customer to Buy Via Web? -- Is there an advantage to the customer to buy via the Web? For example, availability, price, convenience, or speed of delivery.
9) Sizzle Factor -- Does the product lend itself well to some marketing "sizzle?"
10) Support Required? -- Is the product basically "plug and play." If your consumer can use it immediately with no special help, this is a big plus.
11) Legals/Regulations -- Make sure it's safe and legal in every jurisdiction where you'll be selling it, including a trademark search to be sure.
12) Cost of Transportation -- The product must be cheap to ship (as a percentage of the cost of the item).
13) Cost of Inventory -- It should be cheap to maintain inventory.
14) Potential for Repeat Purchase? -- Your product must have the potential to develop repeat business.
15) Community -- Does the product lend itself to building community? Perhaps via a newsletter? Or through a Chat Room or E-mail Discussion List?
16) "Fun" for you? -- Does selling the product give you pleasure? Your Web marketing efforts will suck a lot of your time, and will require a lot of creativity. If you enjoy it, time and creativity both come easier.
I put "fun" last, just because it's such a special consideration that I didn't know where to rank it! For you hard-core sales professionals, "fun" may not matter. But for the husband-and-wife team marketing a "labor of love" based on a long-time hobby, obviously "fun" should be ranked at the top.
If you can give all of the above 16 factors high or perfect scores, you're all set. If you can't, either reposition your product for Web sales (see MYSS! for full details on the above 16 point checklist and for advice on how to best position your product/service for the Web)...
.. or start over. MYSS! reveals the very best product categories and even how to develop your own products. After all...
If "PRODUCT" is not solid, everything else becomes 100 times harder.
For more Ken Evoy articles and resources, click here.
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Ken Evoy is an author and founder of Site Sell - a provider of e-commerce information and software. Ken is a Canadian and licensed physician who formerly taught and practiced emergency medicine at McGill University (Montreal). Early in his medical career, Ken realized that doctors were doomed to be slaves to the government in Canada's socialized medical system. Still wanting to practice emergency medicine, but as a hobby that he loved, he and his wife began designing toys and games in 1983 and sold 23 inventions to large toy companies around the world, generating millions of dollars in royalty revenues along the way. . Ken then directed his business skills and experience to the Internet. Site Sell's first publication, Make Your Site Sell!, (MYSS!), is generally acknowledged Web-wide as the, "Bible of Internet Marketing" and was the inspiration for the "Make Your ____ Sell!" series. The company also markets server-side software tools used by all types of enterprises and entrepreneurs. Ken's business philosophy is to offer the absolute best information and tools available on the market. The recently launched Site Build It! is the ultimate e-commerce value bundle that will increase targeted traffic to your sales site (or to the site of the merchant that you represent). |
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