Poorly thought out websites or products can be found everywhere you look. Often, they are too difficult to understand or they aren’t solving a real-life problem. Releasing a successful website or product requires careful research, an understanding of the needs and wants of the marketplace, and timely development and support. So before you even attempt to bring your product or service to market, you’ll want to read these tips to help you be successful with your next launch.

Before you even start developing a new product, it’s important to research your market and determine if your potential customers would have enough motivation to buy your product. A pitfall that many entrepreneurs fall into is thinking that customers will purchase their product simply because it exists. If you want your product launch to be successful, ask yourself these questions:

What’s in it for the customer?

In order for customers to use your product, you must be solving a real world problem that is costing more to the customer (in terms of money and time) than the actual cost of your product. The customer should feel that you are providing value for the amount they are paying.

Who are your customers and are there enough to sustain the product?

We cannot stress this enough: you must know who your customers are and how many there are.

Let’s use a plumber as an example. Building an app that focuses only on helping local plumbers find new customers is probably not sustainable. OK, I know what you’re thinking: “But there are several hundred plumbers in my city!” That may be true, but you cannot count on 100% of the plumbers in your city actually using your app. So broaden your horizons and include all skilled tradespeople in your customer base. Here is where we add one caveat: be careful not to make your customer base too large as your product will lose focus and value.

Are your customers facing a crippling problem?

Do you want to create an app that brings tradespeople together with potential customers? You will need to look into the current solution that is in place, like online buyer/seller boards or phone books (seriously, people still use those). Tradespeople have been able to find work using these solutions for a long time now, so is there really a problem to solve here? The solution may be outdated or ineffective, but steer clear of problems that already have an established solution; it will be difficult and possibly cost prohibitive to break into that market.

Is the problem severe enough that customers would pay in order to solve it?

How much money are tradespeople spending on the current solution, or how much money are they losing from it? Considering the fact that typical online buyers and sellers boards are usually free or have a low cost associated to them, it is unlikely that tradespeople would suddenly want to pay money for a similar service.

What is the value of the problem?

Chances are, you will be charging money for your service – so how much would your customers be willing to pay? They must see value and potential profit that comes from using your service. If the fee you charge is too low, you may never be able to turn a profit, but if it is too high then customers will see little value in using your service. Finding the right price for your product relies on having an in-depth understanding of your customer base, who your customers are and what their expectations are. Price also requires understanding your competitors, the cost of operating, and the state of the market. Product pricing should fall in line with the value it provides the customer.

The key to pricing is asking for money when the customer needs the product the most. Trying to charge someone $5 for a bottle of water when they are sitting comfortably at home would be very difficult, but trying to sell a $5 bottle of water after the person has just hiked up a hill is much easier.

Now that you know the basics of how to determine the value of your new product, it’s time to start rolling up your sleeves. First, register your domain name so you can get your product’s home online locked down.