Want to start your own business but have no ideas? While there are many ways to make money, the importance of ecommerce can't be overstated. Selling goods and services on the internet offers numerous advantages to aspiring entrepreneurs.
But have you thought about selling a product before you've even made it? At first glance, it may seem paradoxical, even risky... But this innovative approach has many advantages.
What if this “reverse approach” could help you propel your company to success?
Why pre-sell a product?
Less financial risk
Selling a product before manufacturing it considerably reduces financial risk. As launching a new product is an expensive process, it's best to make sure there's considerable demand before investing considerable resources in product development and production.
That's why you need to gather as many pre-orders or purchase commitments as possible. This way, you can be sure that your product meets an actual need and has already generated public interest! Logically, this approach minimizes the losses involved in producing a product that may not find its way onto the market after all.
Market-driven offers
Selling the product upstream provides a major opportunity to observe real demand. It's an excellent way to see the actual interest consumers have in the product and to measure it in concrete terms. If you find that demand is great, you will need to plan to create a lot. On the other hand, it's also possible that customer interest won't live up to your expectations...
This pre-sale marketing technique allows you to better analyze the situation and obtain reliable data. You'll be able to fine-tune your offer to meet consumer needs and increase your chances of success.
Prospect analysis is another vital step in this process: by knowing the needs and desires of your potential customers, you can adjust your product features to better meet demand. This knowledge also gives you a competitive edge, as it enables you to create solutions that are better adapted than those of your competitors.
Competition is fierce: such an approach is almost unavoidable. Successful companies are those able to adapt quickly to changing market needs. By having a clear idea of demand before you even start production, you position yourself for more achievable success when launching a new item.
Continuous customer feedback for real-time adaptation
Selling before creating the product necessarily means communicating well with the people in your target audience and also gives you the opportunity to establish an ongoing dialogue with customers. Ask them for their opinions, solicit their comments... This real-time feedback is invaluable for refining your choices when creating your products, and even before designing your offers.
It's the key to continuous improvement! What's more, trends change rapidly. Proceeding in this order therefore also allows you to capture the slightest fluctuations in consumer expectations, and avoid being overtaken.
To sum up, by offering pre-orders, you not only reduce your financial risks but also give yourself the opportunity to test and adjust your product in line with market feedback. As a result, you create more effective solutions and stay one step ahead of your competitors. You maximize your chances of success in an increasingly competitive business environment.
When is it better not to sell a product before making it?
In some cases, it will probably be more beneficial for your business to avoid offering pre-orders and encouraging people to buy a new product before you've created it. Here are two situations in particular where pre-selling generally won't be ideal.
Your audience doesn't want to or can't wait for the manufacturing of your product
If receiving products quickly is very important to the people in your target market, you likely won't be very successful in getting them to pre-order your product if they know that the delivery date is several months in the future. These shoppers may not be interested in waiting a long time for their orders because they like having their purchases in hand as soon as possible, but it also could be because there's a sense of urgency with the item in question.
For example, say that your small business sells car parts. If somebody's in the market for new spark plugs, a battery, brake pads, etc., they probably won't have months or even weeks to wait...no matter how great your offering is!
There's a lot of competition in your market
Pre-selling a product in a highly competitive market can be risky because it may force you to commit to specifications and prices early on, potentially making it difficult to adjust in response to competitors’ innovations or pricing strategies.
What's more, if competing companies launch similar products more quickly, consumers might lose interest in your pre-sold product, leading to decreased demand and potentially harming your brand reputation if the product fails to meet expectations.
Why is good communication key to selling a product before it exists?
Selling a product before manufacturing it is an even more demanding approach. To ensure success, it's best to leave nothing to chance, starting with good communication!
Selling an idea before a product: Impossible without a marketing strategy
In this context, the entrepreneur isn't selling a product as such. They're marketing an idea, a promise... If this is your situation, you must convince your prospects that your product will meet their needs, without them even being able to physically see or touch it! You need a great marketing strategy!
You will need to leverage numerous channels, such as social networks, email campaigns, explanatory videos... Your goal with this step? Create buzz around your product with the content you share to work on building as much interest as possible!
Communication to engage future customers with your brand
To help sell your concept more effectively, you need to bring people together! To engage your future customers around your brand, plan to communicate your values, your mission, your company's story, etc. through your marketing efforts.
You'll create a sense of ownership and an even stronger emotional bond with your audience. Your potential customers will be more inclined to support you and, who knows, maybe even become ambassadors for your company!
Use customer feedback to improve your catalog
To make progress, always be open to dialogue and gather as many opinions and comments as possible. Ask questions, carry out surveys, ask how much money shoppers are willing to pay to determine your pricing strategy, feed a blog with open comments... All these actions will enable you to understand the needs and preferences of your audience so you can improve your ideas and adjust your company's offer according to the current demand.
Why create a community before creating a product?
To get customers before you even have the product, you need to develop your network... We therefore advise you to take the time to create your community, where every person, every prospect, will feel involved in your brand's choices.
The importance of engaging potential customers
Creating an engaged online community is an asset, even a goal, for any company. But it's even more important in the start-up phase! By generating engagement and interest in your product even before it's available, you'll build a solid base of supporters and customers, ready to buy your product as soon as it's launched, and ready to talk about it to others, all to gain visibility.
Engaging potential customers isn't limited to the pre-launch phase: it extends to all stages of the customer lifecycle, from the first interaction to long-term loyalty. Sales plays an undeniable role in this process. An effective sales technique can turn a simple prospect into a loyal customer. But that's not all: after-sales service also plays a major role in maintaining this commitment.
Training your sales and service team is therefore an element not to be overlooked, as a well-trained team is better able to solve customers' problems, meet their specific needs, and, ultimately, keep them engaged. Proper training also enables your team to better understand prospects' needs and expectations, which can greatly influence their purchasing decision and help your company earn more money over the long term.
Creating a community around your product
Initially, don't focus on your product, but rather engage your community around a field of activity, a more global idea. Once you've taken this step, and you've gathered enough people around you, it's time to talk more frankly about the product itself. All you have to do is take advantage of various communication tools, such as social networks, live broadcasts, SMS messages, newsletters sent to people on your email list, etc.
To maintain the link, make sure you offer interesting, relevant, regular, and hard-hitting content. Also remember to respond promptly to your audience's comments. In this way, you'll strengthen the connection with your community.
Using your community to improve your offers
As mentioned above, always listen! Think of your community as a “think tank” for improving your catalog. Customers themselves are excellent vectors of innovation: it's by studying their suggestions that you'll improve yourself, make sure you know what niche products to sell online, and be able to fine-tune your product. As a result, your product may well be irresistible by the time it's released!
But what to do when problems arise? Responsive, competent after-sales service can make all the difference. Customers appreciate companies that take their concerns seriously and act quickly to resolve problems. You reinforce their commitment to your brand and create a positive experience that they're likely to share with their network, which in turn can generate new leads.
What are the different stages and methods of sales?
Let's get to the heart of the matter, to find out exactly how to proceed.
Development of your offer
First things first: you'll need to work on the development of the offer you'll use to entice shoppers to buy your product!
Whether you want to simply describe the item you plan to sell, explaining all of its special features and user benefits, or offer a gift or reduced price for pre-orders, your ultimate aim is going to be to gauge interest in your idea and determine if people will want to pay money for it.
For this, it's a good idea to build a top-notch landing page to present your offer.
A pre-sale landing page should be compelling and informative, designed to convert visitors into early buyers. Key content includes a clear, enticing headline, a brief description of the product, and a list of its unique selling points and expected benefits. When building your landing page, it's important to include high-quality visuals or prototypes to capture interest, and testimonials or endorsements if available to build credibility.
You'll also want to plan to add a clear call to action (CTA) like "Reserve Now" to prompt immediate engagement. To enhance effectiveness, ensure the page is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and uses persuasive language. Lastly, don't hesitate to integrate social proof and scarcity elements, such as limited-time offers or exclusive early-bird pricing, to accelerate decision-making.
Pre-orders
Pre-orders can be placed using your own chosen tools: a crowdfunding platform, an online form, a message on social networks... All these channels can be adapted to this type of ordering, provided that you manage to keep track of all requests after carrying out your market research.
Likewise, keep your customers clearly informed about your supplier's production and delivery times, and then make sure you keep your promises to the letter! And don't forget to communicate regularly with your new customers on the progress of product production, to keep your community engaged and prevent frustration.
Dropshipping and print on demand
Dropshipping and print on demand (POD) are sales methods that make it possible to market products without physically stocking them. With dropshipping, the supplier sends the product directly to the customer, while with POD, items are manufactured on demand according to orders.
These methods are very practical, and mean you don't have to commit funds unnecessarily to make a sale. However, they do require a solid network of partners. For your approach to be a success, you'll need to find serious, responsive suppliers or manufacturers who can also react to any acceleration in demand.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a participatory financing method used to validate market interest and raise funds to finance the production of a product. In this context, the entrepreneur must first choose a funding platform, such as Ulule or Kickstarter, and present the project they'll be launching.
It's best to create a dynamic campaign page, clearly presenting the product. To help encourage internet users to contribute, you also need to offer them a system of rewards, awarded based on the amount of their donations. Of course, you also need to promote the campaign in parallel.
If your initial financial goal, whether big or small, is reached within the allotted time, the crowdfunding platform will transfer the funds to you, enabling you to bring your project to fruition. In this way, contributors often become regular customers. Once again, keep them informed of the progress of your launch and delivery times every step of the way.
As you can see, selling before creating a product is an ambitious but promising strategy, especially for online entrepreneurs seeking to minimize risk and tailor their offering to the market.
