After doing your market analysis, you will already have a clear idea into who your target audience will be and what your niche product and market is. These two aspects walk hand in hand and must be done simultaneously to avoid costly mistakes in the future.
Generally, your profit would come entirely from understanding what your audience wants. That is why research becomes the ultimate part of the ideation process. If you do your research properly, you could:
- Tailor your print shopʼs product and services specific to your targeted audience
- Provide solutions to their problems
Your print shop can opt for either a direct-to-consumer model, where you provide your products and services to individual customers, or a business-to-business model, where you help various entities with their apparel printing needs. You could also opt for a mixed model where you take orders from regular customers and entities at the same time.
The better you understand and target your audience, the more successful your sales efforts will be.
What do you think is common between brands like Netflix, ASOS, and Sephora?
All these brands have customers at the center of their strategy.
Netflix uses curated recommendations for a better experience, ASOS centers itself around customer service, Sephora uses technology to deliver personalized shopping experiences.
In the same way, consider keeping customers at the center of your approach to drive better results.
The business model you choose will ultimately affect the other aspects of your overall business performance.
Individual Customers
Letʼs assume you are running a print shop that could also sell customised print T-shirts. You could take this into leverage and sell whatever is currently on trend and preferred to your audience.
Take for instance a millennial who just loves Harry Potter. If they stumble upon your print shop that sells cool, customisable Harry Potter merchandise that tailors to their preference, chances are word is going to go around and they will come back for more. Other fandoms from the Star Wars franchise, or maybe even Game of Thrones, will hear about this and want their fantasy world custom printed on their T-shirts, mugs, and tote bags too.
To find out these trends and patterns that could be used to your print shopʼs leverage, there are more ways than one that could help you analyse the market.
- Google Trends is a great tool to start searching for trends. The tool allows you to search for keywords, explore relevant searches, and compare any queries by sub-regions or your targeted marketʼs interests over time.
- Check out marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, you will get to know about thousands of products that are trending currently. This will help you see what is currently in demand.
Servicing Entities
If youʼre not targeting individual customers, you may be looking at helping various entities - from schools to universities, factories to corporations - get their custom printing done. If youʼre lucky enough, you might be able to sign a contractual agreement with them, ensuring that youʼre getting their business for a long, long time.