Clair Kim — March 6, 2020 E-learning and online education industry is rapidly growing. Whether for the purpose of employee development or to serve more customers in various regions, many organizations are starting to introduce e-learning to their employees. It’s commonly being seen in schools, company training programs or even in self-serve help desks for customers.
Digital products eliminate complicated distribution systems. This means that customers no longer have to be in the proximity to the business in order to purchase and use the product. But how can businesses introduce digital product for their business? And more specifically, how can businesses pick the most profitable idea to run with?
Here are 4 tips from business owners who have successfully introduced digital products within their business.
Figure Out What Your Audience Wants
Like any other products, creating a digital product does take time and money. And as a business leader, it is imperative for you to ensure that the investment you put in for the creation of this digital product generates a strong return on investment.
Any initial launch of products can feel risky due to not being able to project possible sales. Susi Kaeufer, international mindset coach, suggests pre-validation to minimize this risk.
Kaeufer says, “when I decided to create my first digital product for my business, I asked my audience what they were looking for. Then I paid attention to what they were asking me again and again. Based on that, I created my digital product”.
By asking your existing customers and audience what they’re looking for, and observing where their needs are, you will have much better idea on what the digital product should include. This will significantly reduce the time investment in possible market researches and going through any revision process for the product.
Sell Before You Create the Product
The practice of pre-selling the product before the launch is slowly increasing. From how musicians announce their pre-sale a few weeks before their official album launch, to an aspiring start-up crowdfunding their project, pre-selling your product can provide many advantages.
Ellen Yin, the founder of Cubicle to CEO, suggests, “before you fully invest your time and money in creating the digital product, see if you can presell it to some of your existing customers. And let your customers guide you on what the product should look like!”.
The revenue generated from pre-sales can be used to fund your advertising and marketing. As well, if your customers are involved in the product creation process, they’ll provide great feedback on how to improve your product.
mohamed_hassan / Pixabay
Study Your Audience
For service-based businesses that are not familiar with products, creating digital products can seem daunting. It can be tricky to determine how to deliver transformations using products without human touch. Not only that, there is also a question of market’s receptivity towards a new product.
Jesse Penner, the Founder of Fixe Beauty, suggests a very simple solution. Penner suggests, “study your audience very closely. Don’t just dig into what they like about your service right now. Dig into their additional needs. Look at what the business is already doing well with, and where the gaps are”.
By studying the audience, businesses can cover new opportunities. Whether through new affiliate partnerships, subscription products or a new digital product, this practice will help to increase the offer value and connect to supporters of business.
Lean into Your Passion
Any advice related to finding passion or using passion as your inspiration might sound like it belongs on a motivational poster. However, this advice can be particularly helpful for business leaders or personal brands that are looking to infuse personality within their products.
Elena Brooking, confidence and mindset coach, cannot agree with this statement enough, “I had no idea what product I wanted to create. I just know I wanted to. So when I asked myself what I’m more passionate about, everything just came to me!”.
By leaning into your personal passion and interests, you will be able to more easily think of ideas that can eventually become a digital product of its own. If you love what you are creating, you will be able to approach the work with more enthusiasm. Such enthusiasm will also translate into customer experience and result in happy customers.
** Susi Kaeufer, Ellen Yin, Jesse Penner and Elena Brooking also contributed to this post.
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