Ecommerce is driving me crazy (12)
hello everyone,
I would like to ask a question which i'm sure not everyone can answer but how come some people in ecom are always ahead of trends.
i feel like there's a 1% that finds products and makes a lot of money of it and then there's a 99% who take leftovers.is there a way of product research that i don't know. I've tried Amazon, tried spying tried aliexpress and similar websites but always come to the reality that there are people who find unique products that i didn't find anywhere! what is the way to be with the 1%????
Hello Midsoufi,
Maybe you are too much focused on the products research don't you think ? Of course the products is an important part on the ecommerce market but, a good and unique product doesn't mean success. I mean you can sell every object that can be useful for people even if there are not unique.
If i can give you one advice, before finding the ONE product, choose one that a lot of people sells, and learn how to promote him correctly (Retargeting / Emails / Landing Page ...). Like that, when one day, you are going to find the best product - the unique product you are looking for, you will be ready for big numbers. And maybe, you will already get some great and green numbers with normal product 
Mon Coco
thanks for your reply @moncoco , yeah i've done that for several times but right now it became more difficult to market those already burned out products because you start getting 5 to 10 orders per day because the product was exhausted by your competition. but i get what you are saying and i know it's a god idea, but the product research is still the piece of the puzzle that is missing for me
Perhaps you are part of that 99%, and maybe you should accept that and try to stand-out on other levels (check your current skill set and exploit that). I think some parts of the mind you can't train by spying or such, you just have it or not. I am not sure if this is the case ofcourse but asking the question is also answering the question I think...
Finding a normal product - > exploit it with a unique angle/approach
Finding a unique product - > sells itself if you talk to the right audience
What suits you best?
As stickupkid says, I think some just "have it" when it comes to being the first movers for different products.
But here is one thing I've seen since I started IM:
There are plenty of products that are very basic, boring and general
that then smart marketers have made into "must-have products"
Want some examples?
That freaking flash light.
99.9% of ecom peeps would take the same flashlight and sell it like " Hey look at this cool flashlight, it has 3423423-lumen bla bla bla"
Where the smart marketer came in and angled it: Protect your family from psychos with this tactical flashlight.
Another example:
Have you seen these pest control products --> http://pest-patrol.pagedemo.co/?
They sell one for $40 bucks.
The same device on Amazon $15 bucks -> https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ds=pest+patrol
The difference?
Amazon seller sells the product and benefit.
The smart marketer creates a problem in the prospect's mind and gives them the solution right there, right now = protect your home from pests.
SO... try to find products that have mass appeal, and look how you can angle them so you are not selling the product.
Instead, you are selling a solution to a problem YOU created.
No point in selling what's hot - others are already way ahead of you.
Plus, you won't be able to buy it at the right price. Which basically means they can make money while at the same advertising cost, you'll be losing money.
The best thing to do is to identify a group of people you want to sell to. doesn't matter what it is, be become the go to guy/girl/site for them.
So 30 to 35 year old single professional women that are in to yoga for example. Lots of stuff you can sell to them, from clothes to DVDs to exotic yoga retreats (travel).
Too many people still think ecommerce = dropship + woocommerce + facebook ads.
Not saying that can't work, as it clearly can, but it's not all there is. There's a whole world of products out there that offer way more interesting opportunities than most of the hot-now, completely forgotten stuff that people are pushing.
You should be thinking brand, long term and the value you add, rather than short term profit.
And to answer your question, why are some people ahead of the curve in ecommerce? Well, they create the curve it's that simple.
We do the same and are well ahead of any competitor in our market (and we sell branded products virtually anyone can buy). You can do the same. But it requires some marketing savvy (yet not much more than basics + execution) and market knowledge.
I know my market better than anyone else, which is a combination of technical knowledge, taxes, buying prices, competitors, products, customer demands, supplier strategies and goals plus general market knowledge.
This is the edge that I built up over years and helps grow the company.
That drives innovation that fuels further growth.
You can get the same results, but it requires exposure to your market and identifying opportunities, which can only be identified through that exposure. For a starting point into this, read this about affordances.
As you can see, not your average get-rich-quick scheme advice.
Anyway, post a follow up here if you need more info.
Thaaaaaaaaaanks a lot guys i really appreciate your replies and informations
To add to the previous post, ecommerce is still a massive opportunity.
So it's not too late.
I have mentioned this time and time again, but the bar is really low.
Seriously.
Just some basic research will put you ahead of the competition.
Again, just decent images and a shred of copywriting on a template-based website is a level above what many others are doing.
Then, all you need is just do your job. Get the sale, send the product. Rinse & repeat.
I realise this might come off as overly simplistic, but there's enough time to get more sophisticated and grow to the next level as time passes and you get to know the market better.
But it's the basis for a long-term success, that's not dependent on a single campaign.
Again, post follow up questions or comments if you want more info.
Good luck
thank you pekadis, your words are really encouraging, thanks a lot again for taking time to reply
You're welcome - now go kick some ass!
So much gold in this post! Another one for the newsletter!
I agree with pekadis: The bar is still low for ecom.
Sure there's more and more people doing ecom, but there's also more infrastructure - more tools, more services, more courses and guidance in general.
And the masses are still doing the
With just a bit more work, you can put yourself ahead of the masses.
For example, you can start with
Then take the promising products and build very simple sites for each, with upsells and downsells. Sell them on the backend (linking to other individual product sites you have, or just to the shopify site with all related products).
If all goes well, the next step would be to source directly from the manufacturer (through alibaba for example). Branding can be done at this point as well, as many manufacturers will give you the option of having your logo printed on the merchandise (would depend on the company and type of merchandise of course).
Then it would just be a matter of finding a fulfillment centre to receive, store and ship the goods. You may need to arrange for a courier to deliver the goods to the customer too (depending on the fulfillment centre and payment options you have available - for example for COD you'd need to find a courier that can collect money and transfer the funds).
You can go a lot further than the basic stuff I've covered here, but even just doing a portion of all this will put you ahead of many others.
Best of luck!
Amy
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It's not about the product you're selling. It's about the problem you're solving.
There's these little Charcoal bags that are blowing up right now. You put them in your house and they naturally remove odors. Sounds retarded.
But until you realize that bad smells are super embarrasing. And makes you look gross when friends come over. And come in all different places. Trashcan. Car. Pets. Dirty shoes. Dirty laundry. That this is a problem that millions of moms are constantly solving.
It's the problem you're stopping for people, not the product that's important. Focus on the problems.
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