Why would you need a strategy in order to find a product to sell? Surely no business begins without first having something to offer? Well, that used to be the case, but it isn’t these days. In fact, it is possible to set up business, with a specific brand and online location, without having yet decided on inventory.

True, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to develop an effective brand without at least having an idea of what our business is going to offer, the ecommerce revolution has made things much easier in this area.

The reason for this is that setting up a “store” can today involve nothing more that purchasing a domain name and putting up a website. A website can sell almost anything.

This was not so in the past when physical premises rather needed to be tailored to the things that were going to be sold in them and were a serious investment to purchase and set up.

Naturally, when an investment like this was required, businesses would be sure to have a clear idea of what they were going to sell, lest the premises turn out unsuitable for their business model and products.

Eternal Wisdom

But then, even for ecommerce ventures, there is still an eternal wisdom that applies here. Selecting products needs to be in line with an intended customer base and market niche. Better even than selecting specific inventory is deciding first who you are selling to.

Plurawl, an online clothing company offering Hispanic clothing aimed at the Latino community, note that their customer base and intended market niche was pretty set from the beginning, and clearly defined as the modern young American Latino community. Not all businesses target such a specific group of people, but you should be aware that having an idea about who your customers are is something of necessary first step.

The reason that this comes first is that intended customers isn’t the only factor in deciding what to sell, but it can narrow down the list. You also need to consider the cost of your inventory, how effectively you expect to shift it, what products are seasonal, and how you are going to price them. All ofthat might limit your inventory, but if you have a clear idea who you are aiming at, you can settle on exactly the right products before long.

Tips and Strategies for Selecting Inventory

Here follows some top tips and strategies for selecting inventory:

Consider Customer Pain Points

Deciding on who your customers are is only the first step, you next need to think what they want. This is a consideration of customer pain points. Paracetamol wouldn’t sell well if headaches didn’t hurt. Decide who your customers are, and then find out what they want but aren’t being given.

Appeal to Hobbyists

The advantages to selling products that appeal to people with particular hobbies are twofold. Firstly, you can expect them to be somewhat obsessive and likely to become repeat customers and, secondly, you have created a very strong niche that should make it very clear what specific products you should stock.

Go With Your Passions and Expertise

When you sell a product, it is important that you give over the best information about it. This is a lot easier if the product is related to your own hobbies, passions, or specific expertise. If you are the expert, you’ll be able tohelp customers more and managing an inventory you know a lot about will be much easier.

Ultimately, deciding on inventory is a process that begins with first finding the people who would like to buy it.