Is product selection a gamble? Let’s talk about how to select good products suitable for Amazon operations. I hope to get more and better suggestions...

In the past work process, I often encountered this situation: Development said that the operation skills were not good enough, and the operation said that the development product was too bad. It seems that development and operation are born to be a pair of enemies.

For a long time, most companies have separated operations and development, not participating in each other's work, and even deliberately isolating information to prevent one person from becoming proficient in both and starting a business. This is due to historical reasons. This has resulted in operations being unfamiliar with product development skills, and being unable to choose the right product based on their own skills, and can only find the direction through constant trial and error. If operations do not know how to select products, it will be a hazy gamble. Gambling is probabilistic, and generally speaking, the probability of success is not very high.

1. Relationship between Operations and Development

I have a point of view: development is a preview of operations, and operations are the realization of development. The two complement each other. The two positions need to work closely together to create value, but we often blame each other, which is wrong. At the same time, I have always advocated that operations should learn how to select products, which is very important for a qualified operation. Because the capabilities of each operation are actually different, we all have the highest probability of success when we do things within our capabilities.

2. Two types of operational capabilities

Let's talk about operational capabilities first. I divide capabilities into two parts: one is general operational skills, and the other is the accumulation of operational experience in specific categories. Would anyone say there is a difference between the two? Yes, general operational skills are what is often said in the market, such as how to write listings, how to edit pictures, and how to run advertisements; category experience accumulation is the accumulation of product knowledge, how to write listings for this type of product, and how to run advertisements for this type of product.

So, are people with strong general abilities more likely to succeed in a specific category? In theory, yes; but as more and more sellers delve into categories and become more specialized, this theory is hard to say. I have seen an operator who has built BS in multiple categories fail to do as well as an ordinary operator in a new category. It seems that people who delve deeply and have achieved results and accumulated experience are gaining more and more advantages.

Therefore, it is not about whether a certain operation is good or not. It is more accurate to say whether a certain operation is good in this category. It is inaccurate to talk about operation ability without considering the category. On the other hand, we should not be obsessed with operation masters. If we cross categories, we should be careful. The topic has gone too far, so let's get back to the main topic.

The ultimate goal of individuals and companies is to be able to make stable profits, and the operation will get generous commissions, and the company will also benefit. Therefore, the ultimate goal of operation is to make profits, and the basis of profit is to choose good products that suit you. So how do you select good products from the perspective of operation? In other words, what kind of products are good products for operations?

3. About the selection of categories

(1) Prioritize products that are familiar and have achieved success. Copying is the fastest method with the highest success rate. Of course, some people will point out uncertain factors such as the passage of time, first-mover advantage, and system algorithms, but the same is true for other products. At least copying reduces variables and increases the probability of success.

There are also people who think they are gifted and have extraordinary talents, and always want to blaze a unique path. This is undeniably worth promoting, but in the early stages it is recommended that you follow a safe path, because when various new things come out, the education cost is extremely high, and it takes time for people to adapt from familiar habits. It is possible that you will not be able to wait for that day.

(2) Modify or make micro-innovations based on the original successful product. This type of product may be the best choice. Since there is a deep understanding of the original product and a large amount of customer feedback as a basis, adding some new popular elements or functions/performance can greatly increase the probability of success. Perhaps it is one of the best choices. Differentiation avoids direct conflicts (such as price issues) and is equivalent to iteratively upgrading the original product. There is no need to educate customers, and the acceptance rate is higher.

(3) The next step is to choose similar products or peripheral products. These products can serve as reference for familiar products and have a higher chance of success than unfamiliar products. However, compared with familiar products, they still increase risks and there may be some unknown pitfalls to step into.

(4) How to choose categories that you are not familiar with? You can only judge the probability of profitability, which requires research on CPC, unit price, conversion rate, return rate, and less competitive data. The conversion rate may not be accurate and can only be roughly estimated. In the most extreme case, when all the ads are flyers, can you make a profit? If you can make a profit, then there is a high probability that the product is feasible. In addition, when choosing a category, don't just focus on a small category. Consider the scalability and relevance of the category so that the product does not become narrower and narrower. For example, scenario-based and serialized thinking can prevent you from feeling that you have no products to make after making one or two. Try to have a preliminary plan for these before entering the category.

4. Determine the selection criteria for specific products under the category

(1) You can promote variants, iterative products, and derivative products of stable and profitable products yourself. This method has the highest probability of success because you have already experienced the product promotion process (and may have experienced it many times) and are familiar with the methods and rhythm of listing presentation and product promotion. But at the same time, you must clearly distinguish what your success factors are, whether it is difficult to replicate, what changes have taken place in the current competitive environment, and how to successfully promote products.

(2) Go through the steps in point (4) above to see how likely you are to make a profit. Try to choose products with a higher unit price, lower CPC, higher CVR, and lower return rate. You can get a rough idea of ​​the intensity of competition by dividing the market search volume by the number of sellers and comparing it with the situation of your previous successful products.

(3) Differentiation: Products with obvious differentiation are preferred, especially those with differentiation in appearance and function. If both are present, the conditions for sufficient differentiation are basically met. Differentiation is not random or weird. It is best if it is evolved from best-selling models (clear competitors) and has data support.

(4) The capacity should be a little larger. Look at the approximate sales volume and amount of competitors and estimate the situation of your own products. If the capacity is too small, you should give up because the input-output ratio is not high.

(5) Clearly benchmark competitors. Why do we need to benchmark best-selling products? Because best-selling products have passed the market test, benchmarking them is more likely to gain market recognition, which is equivalent to saving some time and costs for testing. If there is no clear benchmark, then we can only try and make mistakes in small quantities. Again, copying is the fastest and most successful method, no doubt about it.

(6) Trend judgment, choose products with an upward trend. Lei Jun said: There are many people who are more hardworking and smarter than you, but only a few of them succeed. Only those who know how to go with the flow can succeed. I won’t say much about this. It is difficult for an individual to stop a trend. Going with the trend is the right path.

(7) Risk assessment: Patents, bad reviews, returns, low conversion rates. I won’t go into detail about these, as they are relatively simple. I would also like to mention that you should not chase hot topics. Many people choose products because they like to see a new hot product come out, and then they follow the trend. As a result, they end up with a lot of inventory and have to exit at a loss. Avoiding risks is actually far more important than profit. Success is not about being good at taking risks, but being good at controlling risks. We should try to avoid risks on the product side, and things will go much more smoothly later. Big risks are vetoed, especially big deterministic risks, such as patent infringement, which should not be touched. Products with very poor reviews also fall into this category. Don’t think about making up for the reviews later, as the risk is extremely high. A gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall. Try to stay away from risks. Of course, for some products with small risks or unknown risks, if you really want to do it, then try a small amount of trial and error, and failure will not affect the overall situation.

The above is my personal understanding, I hope it will be helpful to everyone, and at the same time I hope to get more and better suggestions.

"Wonderful Reply"

Lost Uncle • Shenzhen • 2024-05-17 10:50

Well said. You are a practical person with rich experience. I am inspired by you. Quick positive and negative feedback, choosing the right direction are very important, and the vision of a businessman are all very important. Regarding the vision of a businessman, can you expand on it or give an example? I feel that I don’t understand this part thoroughly. Thank you!

Matcha Milk Jelly • Hangzhou • 2024-05-17 10:57

@迷途大叔: Or from the perspective of an investor, any category we operate involves consideration of initial investment (product cost + operating manpower), expected benefits, and market prospects. This will quickly align goals within the organization. Of course, this will also involve another topic of human resources: whether the setting of responsibilities and rights can effectively motivate operations and development to view a category from the perspective of a company's development.

Lost Uncle • Shenzhen • 2024-05-17 11:20

@抹茶奶凝: Thank you for your explanation, it is now clear. I didn't expect that Matcha is also a person who loves reading. We will have more opportunities to communicate in the future.

Lost Uncle • Shenzhen • 2024-05-17 10:40

I understand this. You really need to have a keen insight into selecting categories. One of the methods I know is a systematic and scenario-based approach. The relevance of a single product is still a little lacking. I think there are other different methods. Welcome to add to it.

Anonymous user • Yichang • 2024-05-17 10:59

@失途大叔: I'd like to share a method I've figured out, but it may not be correct. First, find a basic keyword and then expand around it. For example, the word bread can be expanded based on the application scenario (the tools needed to make bread, then store it, slice it, etc.). This method is clumsy and time-consuming.

Lost Uncle • Shenzhen • 2024-05-17 11:24

@Anonymous user Yes, this method is good. We have also used it. It is to integrate products for a scenario, and there is a strong correlation between them. When some customers place an order, they will place several orders at the same time, which will drive each other. But when deciding to enter a category, you should also check whether the related categories are easy to enter. Thanks for sharing!

The next pig on the vent • Hangzhou • 2024-05-17 11:36

@Anonymous user In fact, it is also possible to select products or categories from keywords in reverse, analyze the specific customer needs behind the keywords, and the trend or direction of keywords represents the trend of user needs. Some keywords are in a steady growth period at the beginning or generally, indicating that the market demand of the category is also expanding. I have made a product before with new keywords (there are risks, some keywords are short-lived), but later launched a hot product and it has been relatively stable in the past two years.

Lost Uncle • Shenzhen • 2024-05-17 15:20

That's right. The cultivation of this intuition requires a lot of observation and experience. After you are familiar with a category, especially after you have accumulated a lot of experience in success and failure, you will form a feeling. Sometimes, as long as you take a look at a product, you will feel that your eyes light up, and this product will most likely have good sales. At the same time, this also requires a good understanding of the company's operational capabilities and a good cooperation.

1. Good operation, but the product development is not good, and the back-end supply chain cannot support it, so this product will not be successful.
   
2. Good operations, product development is achieved, but the backend supply chain cannot support it. This product may be successful. The key is to find a good supply chain.
   
3. With good operations, product development, and back-end supply chain support, this product has the highest chance of success.
   
4. General operations, product development is not achieved, and the back-end supply chain cannot support it, so this product cannot succeed.
   
5. General operation, product development is achieved, but the backend supply chain does not support it. This product needs to struggle to succeed. Compared with "2", it can be said that it depends on Buddhism.
   
   
   
6. With general operations, product development, and back-end supply chain support, this product also has a certain probability of success (this is a test of whether the operation has a refined operation strategy)
   
   
   If you don't understand this logic, it's a matter of probability. Everyone thinks they are the best, so success often depends on the cooperation of a team. Even to a very detailed level, precise point to surface. Operational capabilities can be replicated. Supply chains can be replicated, product research can be replicated, and what you can do, others can do too. But the team is private property. An excellent team must go through a long period of running-in and actual combat before it can be formed. It is difficult to be replicated. Why is it more successful to work alone? Because you are in all three roles, and you know yourself best.

Lost Uncle • Shenzhen • 2024-05-19 17:34

Haha, thank you for your support. Your strategy is right. Choice is more important than hard work. First, survive in the cracks, strive to make profits for each product, and then change from quantitative to qualitative. After you have a better foundation, you can enter the red ocean.

Sugar-fried watermelon • Shenzhen • 2024-05-22 22:19

@失途大叔: I am indeed very lucky, but I still feel that there are many things I don’t understand and I am slowly learning. Now I am slowly developing other derivative products in the same category. Even if there is a temporary loss, we can accept it. At present, there are many old products that are supported by profits. . We can even compete with peers in price. By the way, I would like to ask what level it is for a new store to achieve a profit of 200,000 yuan per month in one and a half years, almost two years. .

Lost Uncle • Shenzhen • 2024-05-17 15:25

It is indeed difficult to search for products with a wide range of categories. At first glance, many categories do not seem to have much of a chance, so in the end, deep cultivation is basically an inevitable path.

I suggest you start with categories you are familiar with, and look at some complementary and related products, such as related products in the same usage scenario; in addition, you can get information from various channels, such as categories that you have heard someone has done well, and compare more; in some categories with long-tail distribution of sales, it is easy to find opportunities, and you can intercept one of the consumer groups to do it. I personally tend to start with familiar categories and do better, and I have also tried the long-tail segmentation method, which is still OK. For reference.

Lost Uncle • Shenzhen • 2024-05-17 20:51

Yes, with the saturation of the market and the intensification of competition, not every category can be easily successful. Only by conducting in-depth market research, segmenting the population, and finding a small number of people to meet their needs can we, as small sellers, survive.

Monthly income of 1.8 yuan • Shanghai • 2024-05-18 10:05

Simply put, start from the big categories and then break them down vertically. If you are not sure about the big categories, use software to look at the overall ranking of keywords, and then analyze them slowly.

Lost Uncle • Shenzhen • 2024-05-18 15:37

Simply put, competitors refer to other people's products, which will directly affect your sales. They are products that look similar to yours, have similar functions, and are close in price range, and are highly substitutable. This should be viewed from the user's perspective. If you are a buyer, you will choose between you and your competitors.

HelloExaggerated • Xuzhou • 2024-05-18 22:01

@失途大叔: OK, thanks for the guidance!