How To Tell If Your Creative Business is Selling Viable Products

The hardest part about a creative startup is making sure you're creating something people want to purchase. A number of factors need to be considered when developing products for your business, rather than just creating them for a hobby. Here's how to get a better idea of your product's viability when you are figuring out what products your creative business should sell.

1) Is Your Creative Business Selling Viable Products?

One consideration that must be made before starting your creative business is to ensure your product's viability. Product viability is the likelihood that a product will be successful in the market. Making sure your product is viable is essential to the success of your creative business.

A viable product solves a real problem for your target audience. It’s one thing to have a cool concept and another thing to take that vision and make it into something that people will actually need, want to use and are willing to buy.  

So, how do you know if your product is viable? To determine if your product is viable, follow these tips.

2) Understand Your Product

When starting or growing a creative business, it is essential that you have a clear idea of what your product is before you can determine its viability. Understanding your creative product will help you to target the right audience and identify any potential problems.

Although you are creating the product, and likely know more about it than anyone, to ensure the success of your business, you will want to find out if your product is something that is marketable. Start by asking the following:

• What are the product's characteristics?
• Is your product unique?
• Does your product fill a need?
• Is your product likely to be purchased?
• Have you used the product before?
• Is the product too difficult to create?
• What is the cost of goods to produce your product?
• Can you produce your product profitably?
• Does the cost of your product make economic sense?

3) Solve Your Customer's Problems

Once you have a clear picture of what your product does, you can begin to consider how it will benefit your customers. Finding out how your product can solve a real problem will determine whether it is viable. If the customer has no need for your product, it is unlikely that they will purchase it.

Solving a problem that people don't even know they have is another way to create a viable product. When the customer realizes the new need, it is easier to convince them to purchase the product.  

If you can't think of a new problem to solve, consider improving on an existing product. This can be a more difficult task, but it is still possible. Just make sure you are solving a real problem for your target audience.

To ensure your product can provide value for the customer, it must be better, faster, or cheaper than the competition. If you cannot create your product at a lower cost, you may need to focus on creating a distinctive feature that your customers cannot purchase anywhere else.

4) Do Your Research

Before investing time and money into developing a product, it is important to do your research. Researching your product's viability means looking into the size of the potential market, the competition, what customers want and how much they are willing to pay.

Your product must be able to compete in the current market.  If there is no market for your product, it is not viable.

Target Your Audience.

Identifying the target audience will allow you to determine how many customers would actually purchase your product. If there is a small potential market, it may not be viable unless you can find a way to expand it.  On the other hand, if you have a large potential market, your product may be more viable, depending on the competition.  

When it comes to finding your target market, you want to find out:

• Is there an adequate market of people who will buy and use your product?
• Can you reach this market?
• What is the size of this market?
• What are the needs and wants of this market?
• What is the competition in this market?
• What are the barriers to entry for this market?

Once you have answered these questions, you will be able to determine if there is a market for your creative product.  If there is not a market, you may need to pivot your idea or find a new product that customers will want to buy.

Find Your Competition

To determine your product's viability, you need to research your competition. You need to know what the competition is doing and how your product can differentiate itself. See what your competition is doing better than you, as well as what they are doing wrong so you can capitalize on that. Initially, it is important to ask:

• Who is your biggest competitor?
• How large is their market share?
• Which resources are available to them?
• Is it feasible to compete against your competition?

You also need to look at the market landscape. What's the market potential for your product and how does your product fit into that? What are the trends in the industry and how does your product align with that? By determining how your product fits in relation to other products on the market, you will be able to better assess your product's viability. Want to know more about how to research your competition? Check out this blog post on how to effectively target your competitor's customers.

5) Compare Your Pricing

You also need to do some financial analysis. You need to know what it will cost you to produce your product. You also need to know what the average selling price is and what your margins will be.

You need to make sure that you can turn a profit on your product. It is sometimes difficult to calculate all the costs when creating products. To calculate the costs, you need to factor in the cost of materials, labor, shipping, and any other associated costs.

You also need to consider how much the customer is willing to pay for your product. If the cost of goods to produce your product is higher than your customer will pay, your product is not viable. You may need to reconsider your pricing strategy or find a way to reduce the cost of production in order to achieve a profit.

6) Survey your Target Audience

Having a conversation with people that may be interested in your product is a great way to see if there is potential for your product. Gauging interest in your product before you invest too much time and money can help you determine if it is a viable option. If people are not interested in what you're selling, it's likely not a viable product.

Create a Mockup

If you have a creative product that you're not sure is viable, you can test its potential by creating a mockup and test it with potential customers.

A mockup is a model of your product that allows you to test it with potential customers to see if it is something they would actually use. You can create a mockup by using materials you have on hand or by creating a prototype.

Testing a mockup with potential customers can help you determine if there is a market for your product. After creating your mockup, you show your mockup to your potential audience to gauge their interest and see if there is potential for profit. When you test your product before you begin production, you can be assured that your product is viable.

Friends and Family

You may also want to get feedback from friends, family, or colleagues who are not biased towards you. When selling creative items, it is difficult to find honest responses, but if you can do so, you will be  able to get a better idea of how people feel about your product.

Social Media

If you have an online presence, use this to your advantage. By posting images of your art or craft, you can see what reaction you receive.

Social media can also help you to connect with potential customers and get feedback about your product. By finding people who may be interested in what you have to offer, you can get an idea of whether or not your product is viable.

7) Identify Potential Problems

Are there any major complications with creating your product that are not worth taking on, considering the return?

You should consider whether potential problems with producing your product are worth tackling. To determine the viability of your product, you should take into consideration the potential return while balancing it against any foreseeable complications. The return on your investment may not be sufficient to justify the problems that may arise, creating an unnecessary risk. By considering all these factors, you can make a more informed decision about whether or not to pursue your product.

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