A quick article on why retailers need to do their research before expanding product lines.
Business is going great and you feel it’s time to reach a broader market by expanding your product lines. That’s all well and good and as it should be when growing your business, but first you need to take a realistic look at the current market environment.
Will those products you are thinking about developing or simply retailing sell? Is there a market for them and do potential buyers actually have the money to buy? Here are a few reasons why retailers need to research before expanding product lines.
Identify the Market
As mentioned above, it is important to take a good look at the market to see what is selling. The product lines you are considering may not be what the majority of people are spending their money on.
One of the best ways to identify your market is to use online tools that show you where people in the UK are spending their money. You can use an interactive guide to UK spending that gives you figures in real time indicating where buyers are spending, the amount and the frequency as well. This is an invaluable tool for market identification.
Set Realistic Goals
It’s an old and overused cliché but it is true nonetheless, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You may have hit upon a product line that will, in time, grow your business significantly but if you are expecting a boom overnight, that’s a bit unrealistic.
Understand that even the best marketing that has gone viral will take some time to take hold, so set goals accordingly. On the flip side, don’t despair if you haven’t cornered the market in a week or two.
By setting realistic goals with product line expansion you can better track your successes (and hopefully not failures). In this way, you can slowly funnel money into the expansion so as not to overtax your operating capital.
Developing Marketing Strategies that Work
Then there are marketing strategies to consider. As mentioned, even the best marketing campaigns take some time to reach the buying public. So, what do you do?
Take the time to plan out an effective marketing strategy based on your target audience and the types of media you wish to employ. What works in print may not work online, so develop marketing strategies proven to work in the media of your choice.
A good marketing firm can assist you here. Don’t be afraid to spend money on marketing because that is how you are going to let customers know you are expanding.
It’s as simple as that. Unless you go public, your new products might sit on the shelf ad infinitum.
Yes, it is a wonderful plan to grow your business through expansion of product lines, but take the time to do the research before jumping in full steam ahead.
It may not be the right moment in time to add one particular product you are thinking about but it may be ideal for something else.
Only through proper research will you know if the time is right. Once you have an analysis, it’s time to take it step by step with the expectation of increasing your bottom line. In the end, that’s what really counts.
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