Should You Introduce New Products To Your Store?
Retail and eCommerce are competitive industries and it is important to make the most of opportunities to get ahead. It seems everyone has an online shop these days!
Your product line is critical to your success. But when was the last time you looked at it? Is it varied and interesting enough? Is it meeting customer needs? Is it attracting new business?
That’s a lot of questions to consider!
And when you find the answers, what do you do with them?
Another question!
Often businesses will decide to add new products on a whim. Yet, expanding a product range can be an expensive and risky endeavour, especially for small businesses.
In this update, we look at if now is the time to expand, the benefits of adding new products, and how to make sure you do it successfully.
Why You Should Consider Expanding Your Product Range
Stay Relevant – Trends in the consumer market are constantly changing. Something you are selling now could lose significance next month or even next week! By bringing in new products regularly, you are keeping your brand relevant to customers and securing yourself in the market.
Find New Customers – As you grow your product range and establish a more diverse selection, you will naturally end up with a more diverse customer base. The more you have to offer to different types of people, the more potential your business has to grow. Just ensure that you stay within your target market when expanding your range. Don’t diversify too much.
Increase Brand Loyalty And Awareness – If you have an impressive range on offer, you are more likely to stand out from the crowd. More people will become aware of you, and this awareness will encourage loyalty and return business.
Make More Money! - At the end of the day, business is about making money. Being relevant, attracting new customers and encouraging loyalty will mean an increase in your earning potential as your brand reaches more people and more sales are made.
Is Now The Time To Bring In New Products?
Before you rush info filling your spare room or warehouse with extra stock, you need to assess whether your business is ready for this step.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Am I ready to bring in new products, is my business established enough?
- Will this improve my offerings?
- Will it jeopardise the success of another product?
- Should a product be removed to bring a new one in?
- Will it fill a gap in your current offerings?
- Does it fit with your current pricing
Once you have considered all of these elements, you might just be ready to expand your product range.
Tips For Successfully Introducing New Products
Market Research
Carrying out market research helps you to understand why people want to buy your products. It is the information you collect about the wants and needs of consumers. Market research is important when looking at product expansions because it ensures you are offering the right things at the right time.
Primary market research is when you study the market directly. You could use customer surveys to find out from your customers what they think of your current range and what they would like to see more of. You can also use your own sales data and existing customer feedback, which contains insights about existing customer behaviour and opinions.
Secondary market research is learning from the market via someone else’s research. This includes industry trends, case studies, or consumer reports that have been made public by other companies. Secondary research is good to support primary research. It shouldn’t be relied on as your only source of market information because it isn’t specific to your customer base.
Launch New Products At Peak Sale Time
There are certain times of the year where business gets particularly busy. These are periods like the Christmas holiday season and special retail days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Even though these are traditionally an American event, the rest of the world are embracing them too.
Launching new products for these events is sure to bring maximum exposure and sales.
Promote Early And Create Suspense
Be sure to let everyone know when you have something new and exciting hitting your store! You don’t have to give all the details away at once though. Using social media and email marketing to tease new product launches is a great way to drum up interest and create a bit of suspense.
As you can see, expanding your product range can be a great step for your business if you do it at the right time.
And if you need an awesome eCommerce website that can help you handle your new product range, get in touch with us here at Creative Web Designs. We are the Shopify experts who can help you take your business to the next level.