Less than a decade ago, only a handful of baby sling and cloth diaper retailers sold their products online. At the time, a brand new work at home mom could setup shop, tell her closest 100 friends on a message board full of moms that she was in business, and immediately be overrun with orders.
Today, you can search Google for “baby slings” and come up with almost 400,000 websites. Practically every popular parenting website already has baby sling and cloth diaper retailers advertising their wares. How can you possibly compete with that?
Here are a couple of ideas that have proven profitable for other small businesses:
1. Promote locally. Check out your local area for competition and for customers. Perhaps your city, if it’s large enough, your county, or even your state may be able to support your business during the startup phase. Research the area to find out how much interest there is in your product, whether it’s baby related, jewelry, or something else.
Even though there are tons of other sellers on the Internet, you can become the local expert, the hometown face that everyone associates with your product. Just remember, do your research and be prepared to get out of the house and meet people, at local events, at trade shows, at festivals and networking groups.
2. Do something different. One of my clients started selling pregnancy tests online. You’re thinking, seriously? Who would buy pregnancy tests online when you can get them down at the local pharmacy? Well, that’s the thing. Many people would prefer not to leave the comfort of their homes to buy the product. Not to mention, my client offered exceptional customer support with the product, She’d answer your questions via phone or email, any time. Much better than asking the pharmacy guy questions about peeing on a stick, right?
3. Partner with others. If you’re starting a bath and body store, partner up with the already established candle shop to promote each others products. Go to your local boutiques that cater to your target market and see if they will add your products to their shops. Not only will you benefit from their traffic and existing relationships, but their benefit from the extra sales.
The caveat to these three ideas? Do your research. Find out if your local market will support your business. Find out what your potential competitors do, so that you can stand out. And then find those partners who are willing and capable of working with you.