| 288 Product Idea Elimination in Detail: Competitor Analysis

288 Product Idea Elimination in Detail: Competitor Analysis

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One of the biggest problems sellers face on Amazon is finding the right product. The key is to try and eliminate every idea you can and only pursue the products you can’t find a good reason to ignore. In this episode, I will go over my process of product elimination. This is just one lesson in my new course, Product Launch Process.

I am giving away ONE membership for the new course. For your chance to win, enter at amazingfba.com/contest.

Product Idea Elimination Overview

Pan for Gold: Look for Demand

Demand

Three common errors:

1. Only measure an “average” product
2. Units sold per month
3. Taking “Average” Revenue without stripping out top 2-3 products

Brand Depth  

1. Strip out top 2 sellers by revenue
2. Is there enough revenue left to divide up?

Brand Dominance

1. Is there a “Household name”?
2. Is there a Private label seller with several products?

ONLINE/Off Amazon Communities in Which to Look for Competitor Products

• Non-social Media Google
• Text search
• Reverse Image Search! Forums
• (Google search)
• Reddit – Subreddits…
• Social Media
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Facebook Profiles
• Facebook Groups

ASSESSING CURRENT COMPETITION

• Look for signals in the communities:
• Mentions of products/brands
• Adverts
• Look for advertising in own Social media user channels:
• Youtube
• Facebook
• Google retargeting
• Go and look at Online Store Sites for Specific brands/products

Reviews 

Noobie Errors

1. Ignoring 1000s of reviews for top products
2. Under-estimating how hard it is to get Reviews now
3. Over-estimating how many reviews you need in smaller markets

Check Competitor Listings

Competitive Listings Newbie Errors

1. Paralysis Analysis
   • Remember: The game is… Product Idea ELIMINATION!
   • Don’t BOTHER Analysing Details if the OVERVIEW tells you it’s a no-go
2. Skipping analysis
   • IF the market overview looks promising
   • Don’t SKIMP on Detail Before going ahead!

Don’t miss out on your chance to win a FREE membership to my brand new course! For your chance to win, enter at amazingfba.com/contest.

In-depth Analysis

Photos  Analysis

• In-depth Analysis
• Avoid analysis paralysis…
• Only do in-depth analysis If the market looks viable
• IF it does…Investigate the competition in great detail.

Main Photos

• Search Results photos and price points.
• Poor-looking products at a decent price? -Could you produce… a better product?
• (stronger, more user-friendly, etc.) …a more beautiful product?

Reviews  Analysis

• Rating = Average Review
• Most sellers undervalue this
• Beat 100s of reviews IF… 5* average
• Everyone 4.7-5.0 * average? EXCELLENT to compete or leave
• Everyone 3-4* average… Asking for trouble?

The Sweet Spot

• A few products have 3-4 star average reviews (Losing products)
• Many have 4.5-5 stars (Winning products).
• If the market looks over competitive, just walk away

Successful products

• Check products with high sales & High average review (4.5-5*)
• What do people like? (5* reviews)
• What could be improved? (1-2* reviews) Remember 3* reviews – more balanced

Less successful products

• Check products with low sales & products with low average review (3-4*)
• What could be improved? (1-2* reviews) Remember 3* reviews – more balanced

Point of difference

• What do consumers seem to WANT That is not being PROVIDED?
• You’re always looking for a GAP Between Demand (consumer wants) And Supply (available products)

In-Depth Analysis: Text

Words – 2 Aims:

1. Ranking (Algorithm) (get listing SEEN)
2. Conversion (Humans) (get people to BUY)

Ranking

• All about keywords
• Individual keywords e.g. copper, bracelet
• Keyword phrases e.g. “arthritis bracelet for women”

Ranking

• Check ranking for important keywords using tools
• Tools include: Helium 10
• CashCow Pro* Market Intelligence

Title

1. Is the title boring?
2. Is the title just stuffed with keywords?
3. Does it LACK important keywords?
4. Is the title easy to read?
5. Is it all features, no benefits?

Bullet points

• How many Bullet points? Skim read?
• Detail?
• Mostly features? Clear benefits?
• Keyword rich?

Differentiate or DIE

Differentiate – Base it on the BRAND!

• PAP- Person and Pain!
• PERSON: Who is under-served?
• e.g. Men, women, older etc.
• What Values are under-served?
• e.g. environment, spiritual
• PAIN: What pain is not addressed? • e.g. rheumatoid arthritis in ankle

Differentiate by  Function

• Similar to other devices, aim different
  • e.g. Massager but for arthritis in wrists
• Different looking design, same aim
  • e.g. massage device that looks like a bracelet
• Extra functions
  • e.g. has multiple speeds • Stripped down functions
  • e.g. only one massage speed (Feature) • but lighter, cheaper, simpler (Benefits)

Differentiate by Design

• Materials?
• Shape?
• More obviously “designed”

Summary of Differentiation:   Dig Deep!

Dig deep: REALLY get to know your customer • Hang out where they hang out

• Listen to the conversation

REALLY understand their choices

• Follow brands
• Buy products
• Use them & analyse the experience

You have until 18 November 2018 to enter to win a FREE membership to my new Product Launch Process course at amazingfba.com/contest.

Watch Product Idea Elimination in Detail: Competitor Analysis