Competitor concern in a niche

[Paul David]

At what point would a competitor put you off entering a niche?
I've been working on a particular niche for a few months now with samples back and forth but now that the time has come to place an order for products i'm reluctant to pull the trigger.

There are a couple of reasons for this, firstly the product is somewhat 'seasonal', although it will sell all year there's definitely a period of the year when you'll sell a lot more.
Secondly there is one main competitor on Amazon, and another who only sells via their website at a price point that's expensive.

It's the competitor on Amazon that's concerning me, they have over 700 reviews, the brand has featured on Shark Tank but more importantly the design of my product is very similar to their's.
It's difficult to differentiate between what i'm offering compared to them. In fact we're both using the same factory.

There's always going to be competition in business which i understand but it's the lack of USP that's worrying me. Would this be enough to prevent you from entering this niche if it was you?

 

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[maverick]

What's your objective?

If you want to build a brand: why would you launch another me-too product (regardless of niche/competition).

If you're focused on quick money: what share of the market do you think you can corner? What will your margins be? If you multiply these, is this figure anywhere near what you're looking for?

 

[Paul David]

What's your objective?

If you want to build a brand: why would you launch another me-too product (regardless of niche/competition).

If you're focused on quick money: what share of the market do you think you can corner? What will your margins be? If you multiply these, is this figure anywhere near what you're looking for?

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Yes the objective is to build a brand, and its the lack of 'individual identity' with the design that's preventing me from sending a skype message and ordering my first batch of products.

 

[maverick]

So you want to build a brand.

Will you be dealing exclusively on amazon? If so: that's not really a brand. Design in itself is not a USP - unless you're Apple.

If you're looking at amazon as the main channel:

• How big is the potential market (i.e. search volumes)
• How many sales do your competitors do?
• How big is the probability that you will be able to snatch some of the sales?
• How are you planning on snatching sales?
• How long did it take your competitors to get 700 reviews?
• ....
• etc

Good article about this:
https://foreverjobless.com/my-4-step-process/

 

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[Megan Kay]

Can you go back to the drawing board and find a way to differentiate yourself? Value adding? Different target market? How does it look on eBay? What other markets can you focus on instead of the ones already filled?

 

[Paladin]

Having a single competitor is market validation not a reason for trepidation. It's a sign that people in this market want a product like yours to solve their problem.

That's far better than a product where you have to "educate the market"

If there is no way to differentiate your product from theirs, I'm a little confused on what you're doing.

Do they have any design patents? Because if they do, you're infringing.

If not, you need to find a way to stand out from the market.

You need a crystal clear answer to this question "Why should I buy from you instead of the other company?"

That answer will define your marketing strategy.

 

[Paul David]

Having a single competitor is market validation not a reason for trepidation. It's a sign that people in this market want a product like yours to solve their problem.

That's far better than a product where you have to "educate the market"

If there is no way to differentiate your product from theirs, I'm a little confused on what you're doing.

Do they have any design patents? Because if they do, you're infringing.

If not, you need to find a way to stand out from the market.

You need a crystal clear answer to this question "Why should I buy from you instead of the other company?"

That answer will define your marketing strategy.

Yes i'm going to have to go back to the drawing board with this. Absolutely zero point in bringing out a very similar designed product.

 

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[Paul David]

So you want to build a brand.

Will you be dealing exclusively on amazon? If so: that's not really a brand. Design in itself is not a USP - unless you're Apple.

If you're looking at amazon as the main channel:

• How big is the potential market (i.e. search volumes)
• How many sales do your competitors do?
• How big is the probability that you will be able to snatch some of the sales?
• How are you planning on snatching sales?
• How long did it take your competitors to get 700 reviews?
• ....
• etc

Good article about this:
https://foreverjobless.com/my-4-step-process/

No i don't want to sell just on Amazon. It has to be a brand that can be built to sell on various platforms, this is the reason why it's taken so long to decide. I don't just want to sell random products on Amazon.