How to Test Products and Listings Before Investing in E-commerce
Are you hesitant to start an e-commerce business because you're not sure if your product will sell? You're not alone. Many people want to ensure their investment will be successful before they spend any money. In this article, we'll reveal a strategy that guarantees success and prevents you from wasting your money. We'll show you how to test products and Amazon listings before investing a single penny on inventory.
The Importance of Testing
One of the biggest mistakes new e-commerce business owners make is launching a product into heavy competition on Amazon. But you can get a good idea of whether your product listing will do well before you go through all the trouble of sourcing product, paying for an Amazon account, and listing your product online. All you have to do is pitch your product image and description against the other best sellers on Amazon and solicit feedback from real shoppers.
Using PickFu for Testing
The tool we recommend for this type of testing is called PickFu. PickFu is a tool that helps you conduct quick, unbiased online polls to gather consumer opinion from targeted individuals. It is super cheap to use. You can create a poll asking for feedback on two or more options. PickFu then solicits responses from its panel respondents, who are asked not only to vote for their preferred option but also to provide a brief explanation of their choice. Then it uses artificial intelligence to summarize the results for you into actionable changes that you can make.
How to Test Your Product
Let's say you want to launch a skincare product on Amazon. The skincare niche is one of the most competitive niches out there. Unless you can differentiate yourself from the competition, you shouldn't even bother launching your product. To test the viability of your product before you spend any money on inventory, all you have to do is create a mock-up of your packaging and pit it against the best sellers on Amazon and see what real people think.
The first step is to find out who your main competitors are on Amazon and then save their main product images to your computer. Do this for the top three or four competitors in your niche with the most reviews and sales. Then use PickFu to split test your product mock-up against these Amazon competitors in the same space.
Here's an example of a PickFu poll: I simply asked the respondents, "Among these images, which one would you buy?" If people aren't going to click on your product in a test environment, then they for sure aren't going to be buying it on Amazon.
The Importance of Product Images
When it comes to selling on Amazon or your Shopify store, the images you choose for your listing are extremely important. Even a small change can mean the difference between losing a customer or making a sale. The average conversion rate in e-commerce is about 2%. But let's say you can increase it to 2.5%. Point five percent doesn't sound like a lot, but proportionally, that is a 25% increase.
Here's another poll that I ran for PickFu for one of my Amazon listings that wasn't selling well: "If you were shopping on Amazon for linen napkins, which product photo is more appealing?" Within 15 to 20 minutes, I got both quantitative and qualitative results. When I switched the image from the poll to the winning image, my sales went up by over 200%.
The Importance of Website Design
If you're not getting the sales you want on your Shopify store, most of the time, your website is the problem. As an online boutique, no one knows who you are, so it's important to have free shipping, contact info, and store hours front and center on every page to build trust. The number one cause of small boutique online stores not making any sales is that the site looks untrustworthy or doesn't have enough social proof.
If you're new to selling online, you're probably too involved with your business to think objectively. Similar to my first Amazon product launch example, you should not spend any money on ads for your Shopify store unless it is a trustworthy site where most PickFu respondents are telling you that they would buy from your store.
Conclusion
When it comes to starting a successful Amazon business or Shopify store, you should be testing everything before it goes live. If you're not getting the sales you want, you can't just sit there and wait. Running one of these polls will be the best $25 you'll ever spend. Use the link beneath this video to get 50% off your first poll.
Highlights
- Use PickFu to conduct quick, unbiased online polls to gather consumer opinion from targeted individuals.
- Test your product mock-up against the best sellers on Amazon to see what real people think.
- The images you choose for your listing are extremely important. Even a small change can mean the difference between losing a customer or making a sale.
- If you're not getting the sales you want on your Shopify store, most of the time, your website is the problem.
- Running one of these polls will be the best $25 you'll ever spend.
FAQ
Q: What is PickFu?
A: PickFu is a tool that helps you conduct quick, unbiased online polls to gather consumer opinion from targeted individuals.
Q: How do I test my product before investing in inventory?
A: Create a mock-up of your packaging and pit it against the best sellers on Amazon and see what real people think.
Q: Why are product images important?
A: The images you choose for your listing are extremely important. Even a small change can mean the difference between losing a customer or making a sale.
Q: Why is website design important?
A: The number one cause of small boutique online stores not making any sales is that the site looks untrustworthy or doesn't have enough social proof.
Q: How can I get 50% off my first PickFu poll?
A: Use the link beneath this video to get 50% off your first poll.
Resources:
- PickFu: https://www.pickfu.com/
