Test a market with Instagram posts/ads

[rob223]

Hi. I have a source of products that I think I can sell and I want to test the market. The products homemade but high quality. I would be shipping them in a small box/large envelope.

I want to test the market by creating a quick landing page/web store and hopefully sending traffic there via Instagram. I have identified the niche (i.e. keywords/tags) I intend to target on Instagram. I think the simplest method would be to have a dummy web store that says we are out of stock but to sign up to a mailing list. I'm open to alternative methods though.

I'm thinking the solution is to get a Shopify store, link it to an Instagram business account, and monitor the performance/sign-ups. However, I've never done this before so I'm open to any suggestions - in particular what platforms/channels to use. I'm guessing this is a common thing... maybe there is a recommended approach. Any tips appreciated! Thanks.

 

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[Wouter]

There was someone on the forum the other day that made a mug and ordered a sameple. He sold this sample on Facebook Marketplace and noticed more people wanted to buy one. So I recommended he order 20 more and see how fast they sell. You could try a similar approach and see how big the demand is.

 

[MattR82]

How "homemade" are they? Is it you making them or someone you know, and is reasonably unique?

Maybe there's a better offer other than a raincheck in exchange for an email.

 

[Bekit]

Hi. I have a source of products that I think I can sell and I want to test the market. The products homemade but high quality. I would be shipping them in a small box/large envelope.

I want to test the market by creating a quick landing page/web store and hopefully sending traffic there via Instagram. I have identified the niche (i.e. keywords/tags) I intend to target on Instagram. I think the simplest method would be to have a dummy web store that says we are out of stock but to sign up to a mailing list. I'm open to alternative methods though.

I'm thinking the solution is to get a Shopify store, link it to an Instagram business account, and monitor the performance/sign-ups. However, I've never done this before so I'm open to any suggestions - in particular what platforms/channels to use. I'm guessing this is a common thing... maybe there is a recommended approach. Any tips appreciated! Thanks.

There are cheaper ways to validate demand. I probably wouldn't pay for Shopify right off the bat if all I was doing was market research. You could list it on places like Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, and Instagram leading to a free website with something like woocommerce installed.

I would also try to find a way to sell to people in person as a way of validating demand. Watch their facial expressions and their body language when they consider it. There's no better feedback than this. If people are bored in person, they'll probably be bored behind their computer screens online. The thing about being online is that you can't SEE if they're bored. So you don't know if it was that they ran into a UX issue, didn't understand the product, or were the wrong audience. You can see that much quicker in real life.

Maybe there's a better offer other than a raincheck in exchange for an email.

I agree. You won't truly validate that there is demand until people actually have over their money.

And if you go with the model of asking for email addresses, you might get reverse signals due to low numbers of signups, causing you to conclude that there's NOT demand, when maybe people would have actually purchased if the thing had been in stock.

Can you prepare a small batch, say 100 pieces, and offer those for sale on your Shopify site?

 

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