Tangible products are more problematic because when you have to ship it, there are many considerations to be taken into account. Shipping charges are mainly determined by the weight of the product. Volumes are also taken into account because no matter which method you ship it, space is a limiting factor. Generally, the heavier and bulkier the product, the higher is its shipping cost.
. If your product is weighty and cost less than a hundred dollars, it is
not suitable for marketing through the internet.
. If the volume is large but priced below two hundred dollars, then it is
not viable for selling through the net.
. Products that can be returned for wrong sizes and colors should not
be considered as well.
There are of course other considerations as well, so you will need to
ponder over it before you embrace Internet Marketing.
You either make it whole or part or outsource it out to third parties.
Products that are simple in nature can be made with very little effort.
Consider your own capabilities first before you launch any sort of
manufacturing. You will need some sort of expertise. You also need
capital, a proper place and plenty of time. I would however
recommend that you dish out the manufacturing to a third party and
instead concentrate on the marketing aspect of it. In case you have a
product that is new, you will need to be careful as not to reveal it to
the third party before you made them sign a non disclosure
agreement. You might also have to look into product protection and
things like patents and trade marks. Filing Intellectual properties is a
time consuming and costly affair, so before proceeding, do a proper
research of it first.
When you are considering your marketing plan, you will need to take
into account the type of product that you have. First of, decide
whether you are going to sell it yourself or you allow others to sell it
for you. If your product has plenty of competitors, you will be better of
selling it yourself. But if your product is a new item that has got very
little competition, then getting others to sell it for you would be more
viable. You could then use an affiliates program or a franchise system
to market it. Which ever method that you choose will also have to
take into considerations like whether it is going to be a local or
international affair.
Locating your markets is an important part of any marketing
campaign. You will need to do a research study to determine where
your market would likely be. The more research you do, the better.
If you sell it through your website, then, your logistics will require
warehousing, packaging and administration. Setting up an
ecommerce site to do your selling is easy if you know a little bit about
computers. However, you will need to learn about basic HTML and
you need to do a research on other people's website. If you are
starting from scratch, you will need at least six months of preparation.
You could of course buy those ready made set ups and start of
immediately.
Delivery or fulfillment is very important and if you falter
along the way, or you cannot deliver what you promise, then your
internet reputation will nose dive. And bad news spread very fast!
Sometimes, it is better to set up a small brick and mortar outlet to kick
start your campaign, rather than to use an internet only business
Model. It really depends on the type of product that you have. Selling
to your local neighborhood might be easier as you will already have
known contacts there. You can deploy an internet setup later on
when you have gained some measure of confidence.