Researching Related Products
Once you have your keyword list, it’s time to go to Google and search for products related to your keywords. This will give you a real-world view of the available products. Write down the price ranges, the number of items reviewed, and the products related to your item. Pay attention to anything you like or dislike about the product. Is there a new spin or anything you could do better?
Product keywords:
- Greeting cards
- Cat greeting cards
- Funny cat cards
- Cat birthday cards
- Cat get well cards
- Thank you cat cards.
Event and service based keywords:
- Cat shows
- Cat kennels
- Cat care
- Cat clubs
Demographic keywords:
- Cat cards for grandma
- Cat cards for Grandpa
- Cat cards for a sister
- Cat card for a brother
- Cat cards for moms and dads.
Here are some of the products I found when I searched my keywords.
While you are researching products, use the chart below to keep notes.
Use a new chart for each one of your products and find at least 5 products that relate to your product idea.
After you have researched a few products that you think could relate to your ideal customer and you have some ideas on improving or developing your own product, it is time to refine the list. This is important because it will distill the quality of the products you researched and any other observations that help improve your product. Use the chart below to filter your research products into their best assets.
Now, you should have a good idea about your new product.
This is what you should have at this point.
- What is the product?
- What can I charge for the product?
- What makes my product better than other similar products?
- Who am I selling to?
- What is the size of my audience?
- Where to market?
New Anchor Product Form
This new chart is for your product. Add images or drawings of your prototype as well as the name of the product. This is helpful because it brings your product to life. Write down your product price or price range. You may have developed a product that could be produced in different sizes or some other iteration.
Next, write out the benefits of the product.
Most people usually find this difficult; instead of benefits, they write down the product’s features. The benefits are the things that will positively impact your ideal customer’s life. My example of cat greeting cards would look something like this.
Benefits:
- People don’t get as much fun mail as they used to. This card will bring them joy.
- I will have popular breeds of cats on the cards so that they will look similar to the recipient’s cat, making it a more thoughtful gift.
- The card can be displayed on a shelf for friends to see, increasing their status with other cat enthusiasts.
- The purchaser of the card will feel special because they are savvy and found a cat lover the perfect card.
I will go into more detail about benefits in the next chapter.
Look back to your ideal customer persona. 
Who is the person that will be buying and receiving this product?
Please make adjustments to this perfect customer, as you may have discovered more information about them during the research process. Answer who they are and what their life looks like. This will help you build your product to cater to their needs, demographics, barriers, goals, and hobbies.