Internet sales market research
- Knowledge base
No one likes to lose money. Especially if there is a lot of money at stake that needs to be committed at the beginning of running a business. Buying the necessary materials, adjusting the office, building an online store, proper marketing. To minimize the risk of losses, the start of any business should be preceded by a thorough market research. This involves probing the average prices operating in the industry, possible promotions, getting to the optimal supply channels, as well as the sales itself and the type of marketing that builds recognition. How to do it yourself? What is market research? What to pay special attention to? We give you a hint!
Market research for online stores
Conducting a good market research of the online store is the basis at the beginning of the business. One of the basic tasks of such an activity is to answer the question - what to sell? Sometimes the answer is trivial and comes from our experience and qualifications. We sell what we produce and do it well. Then the task of the study is to determine average prices, possible promotions, identify the competition and possibly when we should start aggressive product marketing. If we are not "in the business" and are looking for a product that will bring in the anticipated revenue then we need to base the decision to start selling on something. Then it is worth identifying two main factors.
- Products with high sales
The first thing that should be examined in the context of an online store is the products that generate the most online traffic. Almost every chart has long shown that products in the "clothing, footwear and accessories" category record the best sales results, which translates directly into store turnover. However, there is nothing to prevent interest in books or electronics as well. The mentioned categories, except for the pre-Christmas period, are characterized by little susceptibility to seasonality - their sales remain relatively high throughout the year. This is a hint for those who plan to open an online store.
- Market niche
This is the sales "Holy Grail." Everyone would like to hit on a product that isn't actually on the market, but which customers are looking for. Thorough analysis of any charts related to the number of searches and the type of keywords typed in can get us closer to answering this question. However, we need to be far more cautious - not everything we pick up on the US market, for example, will be popular proportionally in Europe as well. Here we need to focus on analyzing the queries of Internet users. The basic information will be contained in a simple Google Analytics tool, which will answer, among other things, two questions:
- demand for newly introduced products
- will demonstrate the seasonality of the products in question
Mobile application market research
It is especially important to thoroughly research the online market when you intend to launch a mobile application. If it is oriented to a wide range of users, it must indeed be characterized by good quality, optimization and usability. How to do a study of this market? In the context of mobile applications, there are many tools that study the basic and at the same time most important parameters for this branch.
- uptake estimates
- revenues, if any
- number of active users
- number of passive users
Based on the data collected in this way, it is possible to accurately identify possible market gaps, i.e. to approach what in the context of mobile applications will be a market niche. This is extremely important especially in the context of new applications that address issues previously unknown to users. Then hitting a need can be the start of something really big. The Internet reacts instantly to any news that appeals to others. Whisper marketing in this context can work real wonders.
Correct market research conclusions
This is the key to taking appropriate action. If we collect a set of information on a particular industry - then we can move with sales. On the other hand, it is worthwhile not to give up the ongoing analysis of any market trends. This will allow you not to sleep over the need to make adjustments. Below are six, in our opinion, basic actions that are worth implementing on a regular basis to stay in the market.
- Let's analyze our competitors' offers
- Let's check the target audience
- Let's check where and how the competition is selling
- Analyze available and relevant communication and marketing channels
- Let's identify keywords and position our pages accordingly
- Let's analyze the changes taking place in the competitors' offers
Taking into account the above subsections, we ensure that we have up-to-date knowledge of the mechanisms that govern the market. This knowledge will come in handy regardless of whether you have been in business for a long time or are just about to launch your sales.