Finding your next best seller

Hello!

It is COLD here in Auckland today. Luckily, this newsletter is heating up… (I’m sorry – it was there for the taking.)

I’ve been having lots of conversations about loyalty programmes lately, so I thought I’d share some of my findings today, along with a few market research strategies.

Here’s today’s newsletter:

Tactics
🔍 How to find your next best-seller

Resource
📖 Choosing the right loyalty programme for your brand

🚗 New Roadmap feature
Introducing Reviews

🔍 TACTICS

How to find your next best-seller

When looking to expand your product range, it’s not always easy to know what will land. The longer you’ve been in business, the better you know your customers – that counts for a lot but what if you want to diversify or reach a new audience entirely?

Here are some tools and strategies to carry out market research and spot trends before they take off.

Google Trends
If you haven’t used this tool before, I highly recommend it. With the ability to search by topic, location and timeframe, it’s a user-friendly way to see what people in your market, or overseas are searching for at any given time.

Social media
Keeping an eye on social media trends is a great way of seeing what’s resonating with people, particularly younger audiences. Following relevant influencers within your industry can reveal a lot, as well as looking at the trending section on YouTube and the top videos on TikTok. Meta has also introduced AI powered search, so it’s even easier to see what is trending within your industry.

Google Keywords
Using Google Keyword Planner for SEO purposes is great, but you can also use it to spot product opportunities. Terms with a high volume of monthly searches (over 1,000) but low competition indicates a gap in the market.

Etsy, Amazon and yes, even Temu
Looking for best sellers on other platforms can be a good indicator of trends. The goal is not to replicate the same product but instead take learnings from what people are buying. For example, digital products are amongst the best-selling items on Etsy. Could your brand offer digital products too? An online course, a digital download – turn your expertise into a commodity.

Customer reviews
When you’re researching trending products or competitors, take note of the customer reviews. Good reviews tell you what people love, but negative or constructive reviews tell you where the opportunities are. Improving a product is a recipe for a best-seller.

📖 RESOURCE

Choosing the right loyalty programme for your brand

From VIP clubs to good old fashioned stamp cards, loyalty programmes have diversified considerably over the past couple of decades. So, how do you know which model is best for your brand?

According to this article, looking within your industry is the best place to start. Certain programmes are synonymous with certain industries. Rather than bucking the trend, it can be helpful to lean into it – that way you can meet customer expectations and utilise existing behaviours.

I’ve outlined a few examples of this below.

Programme: VIP tiers
Product matches: Beauty and fashion

VIP programmes like Mecca’s and Sephora’s allow customers to climb the loyalty ladder through frequent purchases.

Since increasing cart values is a key element of tiered programmes, they’re suited to industries like beauty and fashion which encourage customers to experiment with different products, cross-promoting and upselling between categories.

“Need a primer to go with your new foundation?”

“How about a scarf to pair with your new coat?”

Programme: Points
Product matches: Repeat or low-value household items, food and beverages

A points-based system (without tiers) can be applied to most industries, but it’s particularly powerful for high-frequency items where customers can see their points accumulate quickly.

Programme: Referrals or reviews
Product matches: Baby products, pet supplies, medicinal/wellness products, high-value one-off household items

For industries requiring a high level of trust or investment, referral programmes are a great way to drive loyalty while attracting and converting new customers.

When choosing the right loyalty programme for your brand, it’s also worth considering what stage your business is in.

New businesses can benefit from referral programmes to grow their awareness and credibility, whereas established, well-known brands could foster advocacy with a VIP programme.

🚗 NEW ROADMAP FEATURE

Introducing Reviews

Reviews are live! Watch this video to see it in action. 

Historically, review solutions have been super expensive – so we thought we'd do something about that.

This first release will mirror the soon-to-be-delisted Shopify product review app, complete with Klaviyo integration.

If you’d like to talk about adding reviews to your website, reply to this email to set up a chat.

❤️ REFER A FRIEND

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Until next time.

Alex Murton
Managing Director & Co-Founder
Studio Almond