The Design Startup Show

How To Spot Your Gap In The Market


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Hey design starters. There is one thing that I find is so important in building and growing a startup successfully is to be able to spot gaps in the market. So instead of creating something super original or something unique, you spot something that is not provided within. A big industry. So for example, when it comes to design service, how many designers do you know are out there providing something similar to you?

There are, there can be millions, right? I mean, you can go fiber, it can go 99 designs and I've worked in, you can just see, there are so many designers out there which is also good. Because I feel that it means demand is out there. People are still looking for the right one. Right? So in that case, this means that there are gaps, but do you find it tough, you know, to kind of pick out which area you should really hone into and kind of niche down to focus on.

Because I, I had so much trouble with that for the past five years and I finally figured it out for myself. So, so today I just want to quickly just give you four key areas where you should look at to be able to find this gap and fill it. All right. So the first step is to figure out and to really point out what are you good at?

You don't, you can say that there are gaps here and there, and you can say that, Hey, you know, in the design field, there's nobody who can provide this certain service, for example, but are you good at it service or is it just a gap? If you, you, yourself, you're not good at it. It's fine. So long you can find somebody who is expert in that to probably partner you and become someone in-house in your company.

So, if you are good at it, that's the best. If you're not, it's also fine. Just look for the person to feel that look for the expert to come kind of, kind of join hands with you and provide that service to fill that gap. So for example, if it requires some coding, it requires some technical skills or, or technology skills that you may not have, and you are probably better at.

Something else that you lost vision, then you need somebody with coding skills to come into your company and work with you full time to help with this. So do not do not create this business or build this business without these expertise, if you want to fill this gap. Okay. You know, because there are many other people with probably with such such expertise.

And if you don't do this right, They, they can just simply copy you and provide the same thing at a lower price and provide a better service to the customers. So you got to get this part right. The second way is also a second step is to ask yourself in the market that you have selected, right. Is this something where you think.

Is missing this little point just to get people to go where they want to go. It may not be a very big problem, but it's just a very little piece that can help people to reach, to go from point a to point B. For example, when it comes to hailing a cab and getting a CA uh, a taxi, if. You once you want to get from point a to point B quickly, you need to hear the cat.

Right. And what are the problems when hearing a cap? It takes time for you to find one. Sometimes when one comes it's occupied, you know, sometimes one comes, it's not occupied, but it's probably going to change its shift. And in between looking for one, you'll be waiting for. Maybe 20 minutes, 30 minutes and that's time.

So you wouldn't want to do that. So what do you do if, if the market has this problem, is there somewhere where you can provide a faster solution? So what comes out was Uber and how the Uber come out is because that's a technology that is serving this. This gap. So, so you need to kind of marry the problem with, with the current solution that is already already in place and existing.

If you want to solve a problem without an existing solution, it's really tough. You may not be able to quickly. Bring it to market soon enough. And soon enough, I will meet within the next seven to seven days to a month with the prototype. You got to get that up already. So if you don't have that, it may take awhile.

Right? So you want to, you want something that you can use current existing solutions to cover this problem. So Uber is an example and the next one, so this is a third one. Where you can figure out how to find a gap or kind of nail a gap for yourself is how about something that already exists? Okay. This solution exists already.

So it's not something that you want to do it again, but can you improve and make it better? So instead of looking different, how and what can you do to make it better? Okay, can you replicate or model other businesses and then you do it better. So there is also different already. You're not trying to be different, but you made it better and that will position yourself as somebody better.

Would it be customer service? Would it be quality of the work? Would it be the, the, the type of process that you add to the business? What is it? You don't have to tell your customer that your quality is better because of course, the customer will think that you will, you will think that your quality is better.

Who, who wouldn't right. We are all biased. So it's not something that you're going to market and promote your business about, but you need to first first have this point and actions that, uh, delivered with when you are serving your customers already. It's not just for you too. Say it and think that people will believe right, but you need to really do it in real, in real life.

Right? So for example, if you are a noodle store that provides better noodles, because there is no MSG, for example. So that helps hourly folks and children with healthier food because there's no MSG. Then you don't just say that you don't have MSG, you must really not put MSG in your food. Yeah. I mean, by the time people wouldn't be able to taste it, so you can't lie about that.

So it has to be an honest, genuine move to be better. Right. You don't put things like, Oh my, our noodles are healthier. You don't, you don't say that in your marketing message. Right. Because everybody will say that. Yeah. So what you. You may want to say that there is no MSG and that is the truth and that's fine.

Right? So it's something like that. So this step is about making your service better than the other one who seemingly in the S in the S in a seemingly similar industry and a similar design service that you have. The last one, which is the fourth one would be, are you able to give a estimate or even a good, accurate data of the demand that is existing?

So your idea may not be original or unique, but your idea may be something that only a small handful of customers will want. You will never know. But you need to find out because it could be too, too, too difficult for someone to use, for example, or it can be something that nobody really find that it's useful enough for on a daily basis or recurring basis.

So it depends where you're getting at and whether people will want to be an early adopter of your solution because sometimes people will look at it with. Some skep skepticism, right? They may think, is it worth for me to pay money, to, to get to that, to buy that product, to buy that service because they wouldn't want to regret spending the money.

So it has to be something that they know it's worth getting, even if it does solve their problem, because there are also other ways to solve their problems. So. Does it help and does it help so much that people will want to demand so much of it? So you need to find out, is there a way to gauge this demand, to know the estimate, to be accurate enough so that you can keep producing this service or product for this demand and to serve them?

So these are the four steps. These are the four ways where you can, um, figure out your. Gap. Right. So get down to it. You can finally find it I'm sure. And if you have any issues or problems and challenges and struggles with this, do do just, um, reach out to me. You can just email to [email protected] anytime.

And I'm sure to answer you as soon as I can. Bye.

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The Design Startup ShowBy Marilyn Wo