TBefore you set up your business, regardless of whether you have a product
already or not, you MUST identify who you are going to market to. The
product itself will usually define the target market.
Once you know who your target market is, you can judge how much demand
there is for your product. Demand is everything. If not enough people want
your stuff, is it worth your time and effort?
For example, if you are selling college football jerseys for a particular school,
that’s pretty targeted - you know that your customers are fans of a particular
school’s football team.
If you are selling a device that helps curb snoring, you know that your
customers are people who have trouble sleeping because their significant
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other snores a lot!
Your target market will either be fulfilling a want, or need a solution to a
problem. This want or need MUST be crystal clear in your mind before you
start any other marketing - because this information is how you will find and
drive customers to your store.
Quick tip: It’s a good idea to make ideal customer personalities, too.
An example of an ideal customer profile is: a male between 30-50 years of
age, interested in sports, earning between $50-70 thousand per year.
Do this right, and you’ll find every other task easy.
Resources:
An excellent post on Shopify on what kind of products to sell online
How Leighton Taylor of Ecommercepulse chose his product niche
An awesome infographic by Richard Lazazzera that will help you choose a
product to sell online
