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Lesson Info

Identify the Gaps: Student Example

Okay so now I want to go in and actually look at identifying some gaps in people's product offering so who wants to jump up here so we'll be brave you could do it but doesn't talk about you and if we could pull up the web sites again clear although you know have lots I know you have that that's what's actually gonna make this more fun because you have so many already so you have you have you do have an awful lot tell us about sort of what categories you're hitting right now um what do you mean in that category so like you have cards you have the laser cut stuff like what are the different types of products because you have so many individual designs within them more the types of products that you're selling right now s o I sell called uh those romans which okay key chains sketchbooks on up the penn's on up the why you have so many things I hear I do so much also there my whole so even if they're in your wholesale collection you get a pass on that one I'll give you that uh what else? My...

self pens pencils prince prince yes. Do you have any of those in here? Yeah should be what the cap print backto print. So is this your most expensive piece? Um or do you have anything that's higher than the eighteen dollars print? No okay business so thiss is actually a huge product gap opportunity right here and one of the things that so I just have to say like god bless you all who make stationary because this I could never handle this business model this is a lot of volume and you know that right? Right so one of the ways that you can solve that volume problem is by adding in a few more higher price pieces and a new york case we're not talking about anything crazy but I think that you've got some potential gap from life thirty to fifty dollars market even the twenty five dollar market that you could be hitting so do you feel like there's anything in that price range that you could be producing well actually when I do in person sales I do sell framed prince okay but I'm not dealing with glass shipping no. What about other are there any other categories that you could move to with your illustrations and your designs that could hit you at that price point? Well, what I actually did around the whole days is I bundled some products together so I bonds old like a sketchbook a pencil and a total together is a right um while sitting here I thought about ways I could get beyond that thirty to fifty what do you what do you got? Well, going back to what I started acting start out doing fine art okay, and then some somehow end up sewing and then somehow I ended up doing doodling and deposited ready well on it was like, oh, cars that's much easier than hand sewing little based on so, you know, to go back to doing like some original pieces on a large scale yeah, because I used to sell them for zeros the extra zeros air really? Yes. And then that actually gives you the opportunity to go up to those really high zero's and then take some of that and bring it back down and to say that, like, thirty to fifty dollars range to so that I think is definitely a good price gap opportunity. Do you also see any gaps in terms of imagery or designs or anything like that that you are seeing people asking you for? I regularly do like event in an event in l a every month on for me, that is, you know, the best kind of customer feedback because I will literally design something the day before prince it, test it, take it to market go and I'll be like, I'm so excited about this product I just made this yesterday and then someone by that, like you're the first person to buy it, but yes, that's a drip drip and there is no launch no, um but, uh the belt tell me like I didn't have any hanukkah card, so someone was like, yeah, I don't think you know what I don't I will fix that. Yeah, um, yeah, yes. So I think for you, right? There is an opportunity to just think about how you could be slightly more dramatic with your designs because that's going to make it easier tow launch so might be holiday, right don't need monica cards that's, that's a good example, but it also might be like I'm going to dio anew. I like woodland friend siri's or, like animal animal, our food food is friends or whatever it is like, can you both, like, kind of a few things around that theme one you design. So I think that could be an opportunity for making a little bored launch and a little less drip. Yeah, because I have established collection so rare is the really birthday siri's. And there is the food punch cards and there is the film cards on, so I just keep on kind of adding those collect. Yes, but I don't kind of launch them as a as a set. I did the national stationary show it's like, ok, this is the set, but then I like how this I should add this to the set, and so right, so I think, yes, singing a little bit more thematically, but I think for you, because you're really good at consistently bringing out new illustrations, the rial gaps are in product category. So where can you, where can you kind of go from here? And the other thing that I want to kind of point out to you guys were thinking about identifying these gaps is that I want you, teo, think really broadly and not edit here that's really important. So in your case, I would sit down and think about all of the different things that you could put an illustration on all of the different things that you could leave, so you might be like, ok, I could do tote bags, I could do t shirts like a new mugs I can do this, I don't care if it's not really where you want to go. The idea here is to brainstorm and iterating, so really start to make those lists without editing right now, here, all of the gaps that I'm seeing, and then the same thing if you're thinking about the things that you laser cut, so okay, I've got pins, and I have that key chains, but what if I make signs, and what if I make a door knockers, and what if I make I don't even know you could literally make a million things right with your laser cut stuff if I made clocks to hang in babies rooms and so really this identifying the gaps is an opportunity to brainstorm everything you could be doing on dh then later on we'll call it down to what makes the most sense right now makes sense it does the inventory management is so I'm gonna because you know I understand that, but we're not going to worry about it yet we're absolutely going to worry about it leader but right now we don't want to edit out we just want to reiterate ideas what would you say is a good number? What what can you call the collection for things? Six things I think you can get away with four to six as long as you make a big deal about it, it doesn't have to be huge it's more like the idea of making it a collection than it is the number of things in it but definitely the thirty to fifty mark is a really hard, hard it's not yeah have a stationary yeah it's kind of a sign it is, but I feel like because not a lot of people are hitting it it's worth at least thinking about how to get there especially if you know I walked the station and show a number of times and I always feel like the people that the boots that you really well that have the most energy are the ones who aren't just selling the cards but they're hitting a couple other price points because a lot of the stores that are shopping there are gift stores and they might sell stationary but people are coming in to buy the card and oh yeah right I guess I should actually buy them a thing to give them with the card and so for a lot of that gift price point thirty to fifty retail is really a sweet spot for those source if you can have something in that category it actually will help you stand out amongst your other stationary competitors okay we'll get to awesome all right we're gonna make your left I'm pulling that up here really fast tio since you you were hesitantly volunteering now you're going there and picked on all right? So let's talk about a few of your gaps so where do you think you're another one of the price point gaffar you potential there? I know I've noticed I think it's because the nets yeah we've seen they've been more expensive stuff that I tried doesn't seem to sell all that well and so I kind of trying to keep my stuff in a in a price point where I can you know, make them and not but I also feel like yeah, I'm definitely not in the art jewelry category, I priced myself under it, and I really want to get back up to it because I'm not charging for my design or, you know, I'm just charging for materials basic like making a profit, but not right, and I just want to interrupt you, so I know you know, two things one you are thinking about making a move off that see and having your own branded space too, but just because you don't tell a lot of him doesn't mean that they don't sell, I've sold three hundred dollars necklaces on etc it is not impossible at all, and I've sold multiples in like the two to three hundred dollars range. Yeah, so it's not an impossible price point and see it all it's not you're not going to the volume that you're going to do here, but I wouldn't rule that out just because it has worked in the past. Okay, something price point is one opportunity for you. What else do you feel like our gaps in your product line? I think that I could do more bracelets. I know I've sold some bangles and stuff and they seem to sell pretty well, I know stacking rings are huge and I don't have a lot on because it's tv is to make him, but I feel like I need to sit down and make a bunch because I have tons of stones I'm kind of a stone corner so I really there'll be one way to use up a lot of stones I have is make stacking rings and sell them you know? Yeah, yes the thinking about kind of like what is really on trend right now and how can you without changing what you're your own aesthetic how can you tap into that so that's a really good opportunity a certain stones like laboratory sells really well, you know, even that lappas rank same thing like I get interested people you know, they don't message me and say I want to get it but you know I can't afford it yet, but I you know, they seem they inquire about it, but I think the steps don't sell like they used to be so still a lot of stud earrings I really don't anymore. So I'm thinking maybe I need to impress moriri that alright for enough dangle earrings and I want to start making more of this because I was that's what I pretty much where only you don't even wear studs because no one can see him, so I just want to make more dangle earrings stuff that I could make a repeat of, you know? Yeah, so it looks like I mean, you really have a lot of opportunities to expand your product line because you are you're missing like kind of whole categories of things you're missing a certain type of hearing you really are missing a price point and I think what's interesting tio is that you know this is something where this ninety nine dollars ring as the most expensive thing is this mostly claim something in your shop right now I think so I think my thanks so yeah I think it is let's find out see shall way uh oh wait things which hasn't hasn't so I think I sold I sold one of the laboratory it rings and that was it yeah so so even though this is not exactly about product development I just want to touch on it for one second and that the way that you've structured your shop with the majority of price point happening and that thirty to sixty range and the fact that all of these higher price point things are buried down on page two you're not setting an expectation for your customer that there are higher price point things in your shop so that is probably one of the reasons that you're getting that price resistance and again we can go back to our good friend anchoring on and if you start putting things that are higher price point then that could absolutely make that seem more reasonable and I know because I done my market research that there are shops on etsy selling you know, big chunky rings in the one hundred to two hundred dollars range that are absolutely selling well, ok, so there is definitely a market there. So I think in this case, you really have a lot of opportunity to expand in a lot of different ways and the same thing, I think even, you know, it's one of those things where bracelets are good to add, you can never go wrong with any more necklaces, I think. Well, I mean, that is an area where I see big gaps for you. Yeah, because I love I love making rings, and so I, you know, I put a lot of them up, but I really want to make more money because they're also the sizing with brings the pain, right? Right. And the other thing is that you can also, you know, when we talk about gaps, are you offering things in certain materials that could also be offering and other materials? So this ring is your best seller? Yeah. Is it only available in starling? Well, I can make it. It's made out of metal clay that's on. I've been trying to get away from middle class because it's it's a lot more expensive, and plus it's, you know, it's not some yes are out doing that. I want to grow beyond that, but I do sell a lot of them and it's easy to make, and I could make it in bronze or copper. You can't make it in gold. I offer it with kia with gold leaf on it. But that's it. So I thought about african bronze because they do make bronze. Clay. Yes, I would absolutely. I think there's some material choice could happen. Bronze brass yellow metals are very in right now. So there's, I think, a lot of people, and what I would honestly say is that I think that that could be sixty eight dollars and bronze, and it could be higher in silver. So lets you play with that as well. So I think there's a there's, definitely some opportunity for you to experiment with material to in terms of product line expansion, you've got a lot of places, you can go that's. My problem is, I have so few places I can go, and I end up getting like, I want to this, but I want to be, oh, so we're gonna we're gonna rain all of that as we move through this system, but for now, I do actually really want you to kind of make that list without any without editing ok, every potential thing that you could possibly dio we're going to write it down ok? The other thing that I think is when you write all that stuff down then it kind of becomes a check list so I can like if you write make whole list and you're excited about all of it, you don't have to feel like you have to tackle it all right now because now you've got a list that you can come back to the next time you need design a collection on the next time ok, so this process that we're doing right now becomes sort of like the field that you could mind again and again as you're developing new collections in the future okay, cool are perfectly sit down, okay let's, go back to our slides here so I just want to kind of remind people again as we're going through these exercises, this is a place we're doing it without judgment, the ideas really idea generation more the more you can get down here, the better think about all of the potential gaps in your product line really write those down and don't worry if it's feasible and as we talked about with the net, you know you don't have to make them all right away, but just having them written down as a resource for you we'll let you come back to them again and again