How To Find A Gap In The Market And Capitalize On It

Finding a gap in the market and being sharp enough to fill it with your product or service is every entrepreneur’s dream. Consumers can get complacent in their everyday routines and it’s the savvy entrepreneur that can spot a space where efficiency can occur, a tweak can have massive impact, or addition/deletion of features could make a big difference.

“The best way to identify and capitalize on a gap in the market is to solve your own problems,” says Kasey Jackson, co-founder of FlutterHabit. FlutterHabit is an answer to women who wanted eyelash extensions that were better than drugstore brands, but not as expensive as long-lasting salon extensions.

“FlutterHabit was born out of my own irritation with the eyelash market, which, at the time, was split into two very distinct categories. On one end there were expensive but long-lasting luxury lash extensions and on the other end were cheap strip lashes that required daily application. But I wanted something between these two options. After searching the market for a hybrid product that would allow me to get the natural look and long-lasting ‘wake-up-and-go’ convenience of professional lash extensions and coming up empty, I decided to create the solution for myself.

“Admittedly, the gap I stumbled upon was a notably big one—the quick success of our brand was a testament to the dire need for a product to bridge the gap in this space. But to successfully meet a need in the market, you don’t always have to have a ‘blue ocean’ idea. Sometimes, all you have to do is take the next incremental step building upon a solution that already exists.” 

Here’s Jackson’s advice on how to successfully identify a need that will resonate with your future customers.

Pay Attention When Shopping 

Oftentimes the best ideas are not built by developing a product from scratch, but instead by incrementally improving aspects of existing products that are falling short. “The next time you are shopping for something and have a little difficulty finding exactly what you were hoping for, take note of the options that are available,” suggests Jackson. “What’s missing? How could you improve them? How could you remix, rebuild, or rebrand this solution in a way that would make it attractive to shoppers like you. Pay even closer attention any time you can’t find any products that fit your needs at all—this is where the magic happens.”

Open your awareness to your everyday routines to see what annoys you or something you wish you could buy. This will give you insight into what could be innovated upon.

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Follow The Life Hacks

Have you ever noticed how obsessed people are with life hacks? “Solving minor annoyances in a novel way will always appeal to the human mind. One good way to identify a need in the market is to pay attention when you discover a ‘hack’ that makes life easier for yourself. If enough people find this same hack useful, you may be onto something. Now you just need to find a creative way to develop the hack into a tangible product,” notes Jackson.

Do your research when you happen upon, or see someone else use a hack. Ask around, develop a system or prototype and get some test subjects. If you get some traction, you’ll know you have something on your hands worth pursuing.

Keep A Running List 

“In the Notes app on my iPhone I keep a running list of my ‘next big ideas.’  For some of them I even have sketches of prototypes in a separate journal. They’re not all winners, but that isn’t the point. I keep a running list close to me and revisit it often because I want to develop and reinforce a habit to consistently keep my eyes open,” says Jackson. “It’s far too easy to turn that part of your brain off, so for me, I’ve found the most success by forcing myself to write down any new ideas that come to me immediately and then revisit the list regularly. Almost nothing will be actionable immediately. Most times you need more time to let ideas marinate or discover complimentary ideas of use cases. But keep at it, you never know when the pieces might come together.”

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