Whether you are a big business looking to expand or a small one looking for a new income stream, it’s likely that you are going to need to consider which new product you want to build out. Before you do this, you’re going to want to do some research so that you know there is a market for your new product and that you will have an audience out there who will buy it.

Here are some methods to determine what kind of new product can benefit your business.

Poll your existing client base

The first people who are going to be likely to buy your product or service are going to be the ones who invested in what you had to offer in the first place. You want to make sure that any new product you create will fit in with your base and makes sense with your brand. If you are a software company, then it might not make sense to offer physical products when customers are expecting more software.

Survey potential customers

Of course, your new product will be attracting new clients, as well. This is where sending out a survey report can be extremely helpful since it allows you to see the pain points of customers you haven’t worked with before. Also, if you are looking for investment money, then you are going to need to be able to point to evidence that shows that there is a need for your product that you are planning on creating. Surveys can be an invaluable tool and they are often super inexpensive to create, as well.

Look into the market

Once you have some information about whether or not customers are looking for the type of product you want to create, you’re going to want to double check and see if the market is oversaturated or not. Even if you think there is a need for what you want to make, if there are too many people trying to do the same thing, you might struggle promoting your new product or service. Likewise, if no one is searching for what you have to offer, you might not have a large enough customer base to make it worthwhile.

Scope out the competition

How many competitors you could potentially have can be a good indication if the product or service idea you have is worth pursuing. If you find that several companies have jumped on a similar idea, then you will need to weigh whether or not it is worth putting yourself out there too. A lot of competitors can indicate that there is a market for what you are trying to sell, but you will have to fight with them in order to stand out.

In summary

Doing research before you choose to create a product won’t guarantee its success, but it can go a long way toward making sure that your efforts are worthwhile. Before you dive right in, make sure to follow these tips so you are more likely to get the results you want.