This is the second blog in this series of 12 Point Check List For Building An Online Business. If you didn’t read the first blog, go back and do read it. It will help make sense of this blog.
This blog has some affiliate links to products that I use. This means if you would make a purchase of any of the products, I may receive a commission but there is no extra cost to you.
To recap from blog number one I talked about your idea and getting it ready. This will be building on that point.
Week 2 – Point 4 – Take A Look Around
Continuing with the 12 point check list for building an online business, I am at point 4.
This point is like starting your competitive analysis and market research. Just look around with your idea and see what others are doing.
You will find lots of others will probably be doing the same thing. It is alright because ALL the ideas in the world started thousands of years ago.
I will hone in on how you are going to make yourself standout. It all starts with the research you will do.
Don’t get bogged down with this. A lot of new business owners think they have this wonderful idea. The new business owner has figured out the business model and so curiosity then takes over. As they start to look around and see so many others doing the same idea. This will discourage them and give up on their business and themselves.
Don’t get discouraged as stated before every idea is actually not new. The ideas all have been around for longer than we have.
What this means is basically your idea will work as it is working for others. This is a good thing.
Don’t Get Discouraged
Be intentional when you gather all the information, who they are, what they are doing, what’s their age. All this will be relevant.
An example is hundreds of books written and a lot might have the same title or it might be a little varied but it says the same thing. Each book is written by someone and no one speaks the same or sees the same angle or is talking to the same audience. The book becomes unique to the author. This is why you need to look around. You will figure out your uniqueness.
Remember, there is only one you and you will bring some thing new to your audience.
Be careful of the “scroll hole”. As you look, they might suggest go look further here. When you get to that info it will direct you to another place. Before you know it hours have gone by.
Trust me I have done it many times especially when I was learning. I didn’t want to miss anything. All I can warn is be careful!
Remember I said be intentional. This will help from the “scroll hole” if you remember to be intentional.
If you have a way that you like to gather and keep your information, this will help too. You know you have to fill in this spreadsheet or file. Whatever you use to stay organized.
Once you are done filling your sheets out start analyzing what you have. Here you might find yourself going back to get more information on something. This will help you figure out who the big players are
Point 5 – Analyze and Learn
Analyze what they are doing? Are they running ads? Do they give FREE gifts away?
You are looking for the strengths and weaknesses. This let’s you know a little more about their business model.
What this does it helps give you value and how you can transform some of the ideas and information that you want to do to draw your target market.
You see what they might have missed or just over looked. This is where your value comes in as you picked up on the value they left out. This leads to point number 6.
Point 6 – Uniqueness
This whole research and analyzing and understanding your competitors actually leads you to how you are now going to craft your unique selling proposition, your unique position in a seemingly crowded marketplace.
If you’ve done your homework well, whether it’s similar or the same product or same service you are going to find a way to differentiate yourself.
This is what leads to YOUR uniqueness. There is only one you. How you speak, how you communicate it is all unique to you.
Look at your competitors and see if you can find at least 5 things that you can do differently. This is your uniqueness.
Please comment below if you found value in this blog.
I would appreciate if you would share this blog to help someone else realize their uniqueness.
To Your Success,
Deb
4 replies to "12 Point Check List For Building An Online Business"
What a great point about being Intentional when gathering information. I know what you mean, about going down rabbit holes, and getting caught up in other things so easily, for hours on end. Really important to focus, focus, focus!! Thank you!
Diana, thank you for commenting. Yes, I believe it is so easy to get pulled away from what you set out to do. A person really does have to be focused.
Performing competitive analysis and market research is important because it can help you understand how your business compares to others in your industry. It can also give you insights into what customers want and how they’re currently being served. By doing this research, you can determine where there are gaps in the market that you could fill, and develop a plan to attract new customers. And all of this can result in more sales, which means increasing your bottom line! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Paul for commenting. Yes everything you said is so true about being successful when bring a business online.