Developing a Digital Product for the first time

The Market Research Process

Beginning to think of a product is both an exhilarating and overwhelming experience. There are a plethora of avenues and directions you can take which is why having an organized process is so important! The five primary steps I took while documenting my market research was developing a Product Landscape Summary, Competitor Analysis, Target Audience Hypotheses, Product Idea Brainstorm, and a Preliminary Validation. Getting a feel of what sort of products lived on various platforms was a great place to begin as it gave me a familiarity of the types of digital products being sold at various marketplaces such as Etsy and Notion Marketplace. This research also gave me a sense of what products are available to be purchased currently as well as the type that might excel more on Etsy than Notion.

After figuring out the key differences and trends between the landscape, I then researched a few competitors to see how they excelled in this market. I found 3 competitors: one was an Action Sound Pack developed for video editors to add in sound effects, the second was a simple Wedding Bingo Board that was printable to serve as a fun game while guests are waiting, and the final product was an Apartment Hunting Dashboard template which helped people that looking for an apartment organize their search.

After researching competitors, I then developed two personas that would match the target audience of my potential products. If I was going to develop a product, I had to focus on who exactly might be interested and if there really was someone that would be interested in something like this.

My favorite part of the process was the brainstorming phase. As I began brainstorming potential digital products. I wanted to focus on ideas that I could implement quickly within these seven weeks, while also meeting the real needs of a potential audience. I landed on a Wedding Bingo Board catered to Asian American weddings, Gen Z Meme Sound Effects, and a House Hunting Tracking spreadsheet. Although these ideas are still in their early stages, it’s been a great experience working on what was once just an idea, to now a potential product. Finally, in order to have any validity in these digital product ideas, I had to ask real people what they thought about them. I surveyed a few friends and family and found good constructive feedback that I plan to take with me as I develop my product even more. 

Three Product Ideas

After beginning my preliminary brainstorm session, I came across three primary ideas that I thought would fill a gap in the current market. The three primary niches I wanted to explore are culture/event-based games (Asian American Weddings), Digital Entertainment Tools (Discord Soundboards), and Productivity Templates (Finding a House). Focusing on these niche audiences allowed me to observe a gap in a potentially untapped audience, share solutions that have worked for me in the past to solve a problem as well as utilize the current popular trends to increase reach. 

The Target Audience

After thinking about the reality of implementing one of these products, my current skill set, and how much fun it might be to create a product like it. I finally landed on the Discord Meme Soundboard. I thought about the target audience for this and imagined those who typically hang out on social platforms such as Discord, Reddit, and TikTok. Another potential audience I envisioned could be content creators or video editors that need a sound effect that is not only catchy but trendy with the times. 

Next Steps

Next week, my goal is to figure out the real “need” for products like these. For example, I will continue to look into if games like Bingo are suitable for this demographic or maybe a more culturally appropriate game could be even more suitable. Also, I will need to gauge the longevity of each meme sound since trends come and go relatively quickly.

See you next week and the full report is available below.