My first question here, Will I found help?
Hello Everyone, I've been thinking of building a platform to Bulk edit Images for E-commerce stores,
Remove BG
Enhance Image
Crop Images
Up-Scale Images
Add watermark to Images
Compress Images
So why I chooses this niche? I started it because I want to build my platform and link it to a platform in the middle east with a good number of clients and their is no App in App store providing these features or services,
But I found that soon I can start linking my platform to Shopify and publish a Shopify App, Why? the answer is Why not?
If everything is ready.
The issue their is that their is alot of competitors providing same features,
So do you have any idea how I can compete with them?
Thank you :)
You have three choices:
Maybe only the first two are interesting. But if you can claim to fall into one of the first two, it will come out over time.
Thank you for sharing your pov,
regarding the first point this is already considered in my plan, For the second point this is also doable and I can improve it but with time as I can't have huge resources with a quite small number of customers,
The 4th point, seems hard and not doable for me.
Thanks again :) and Welcome to Indiehackers
Then being cheaper or for free will be a good approach when your no. customers reaches a mentionable size you can start charging and evolve your product more.
And thank you for welcoming me. I hope I could help you further.
:)
Well, you have answered this question by yourself already, didn't you:
Why not? Because there is already a lot of competition. It is already a red ocean. So, why compete there? What is the expected benefit? Most of the time red ocean competitions are just resource drains and headaches.
Do you really want to compete in that context?
If so...
The options florianxolf provided are not really options, unfortunately. I see why they listed them because it is the basic competitive options. But the basic competitive options are generally non-options.
If you try to compete on price ("be cheaper"), you will create a race to the bottom. In those instances, the players with the most resources win. Also, you push the product towards the commodity.
If you try to compete on features ("be better/faster"), you will create an arms race. In those instances, the players with the most resources win.
If you try to compete by trying to become a monopoly ("buy all competitors"), you will create a buying spree. And in buying sprees, you guessed it, the players with the most resources win.
So, what do you do?
You try to create a blue ocean by:
Thank you @gokceozantoptas for your reply, It is more helpful than you think.
of course, what you said is totally correct and I totally agree, that creating a blue ocean is by itself a win, but how you can create a blue ocean is the biggest question,
Focusing on a niche is good enough but if you don't know in such business what really matters is the bulk processing of the profit/image is not that much, So focusing on a specific niche or narrowing my audience to a niche in order to create a blue ocean at the cost of competing others yes but maybe even with a lot of competitors the chances to have more images processed will be more.
So what do you think about this?
For me, If my business was for example fixed features provided/monthly subscriptions may be focusing on a niche even with a lower number of subscribers is better than competing.
I am trying to be helpful, really. So I hope it is helpful. Otherwise, I pretty much just spent 30mins+ for nothing.
Blue ocean is hard. That's why it is a blue ocean. But competing in a red ocean is harder. Can it be done? Sure. But not to a market domination level without significant resources. Can it be profitable? Somewhat. But depending on the barriers to entry, competition will increase over time and some of those new players will try to initiate an arms race or a race to bottom.
To be able to switch to a blue ocean mindset, you need to look at the solution from a different perspective: if you insist on the technical aspect of it, again, you are opening yourself to be pushed to be a commodity. For example, a milkshake is some milk, sweeteners and some flavour ingredient. But it solves different problems for different people.
Any number of different framing can be used to create a blue ocean. But it is important that changes correspond to something in your client/customers' minds. Which requires a lot of research. So, that's generally what I advise: ask questions. Try to understand the context of these people. Understand the exact problem that they are trying to solve.
I am sure their problem is not "bulk image editing".
Thanks again and again, Be sure 100% that you didn't waste any second for nothing, I'm talking about your ideas and thinking about them in my head more than once.
For me this is the list of problems I'm thinking I will be able to solve:
• Having different Image sizes on the store and going manually to crop them
• Increase a little bit the store speed by optimizing images
• converting images to Webp which is better than jpeg
• Improving image quality and colors of the products automatically for all the products
• and other issues like removing Bg and others ...
Look, these are not "problems" that customers have:
These are technical approaches for a solution to multiple problems like:
These are assumptions though.
You should understand your customers' point of view before you are thinking about technical approaches. What they are trying to achieve when they hire your solution? What is the alternative? If they don't hire your solution what happens?
You are not in bulk image edit business. You are in the business of helping shop owners make more sales by helping them with their product images.
And don't forget the best way to understand the problems are through talking to customers.
ohh I read your comment twice and I will read it again, It is a different way to look at problems from the customer's eyes or POV, this will allow me also to rethink twice about how I can help them even more.
Bro. I still have a question to ask, as I mentioned if you still remember I started the business on a platform in the middle east because it is a "Blue Ocean" with no competitors but a quite small audience.
For me, it is a good place to start with them improving, But regarding "the best way to understand the problems is through talking to customers." This technique I always use, I reach customers via groups, FB, Telegram, Whatsapp, and more... The issue that I have even that I'm trying to know what they want but they are not responding well and they are not giving me enough info or time and most of them don't even reply,
Even the new subscribers that I recently have after publishing the App on the platform I mentioned I contact them after registering to ask if they need any help and What we can do to improve, But also they barely answer,
Do you have any suggestions?
If you have experiences with customers in Europe or America is this situation the same? Is it because in the middle east customers aren't habitual to this kind of question ?!
Yup. And that's actually great. That's how you eat a whale -- a bite a time.
You should start from there and then use that as a foothold to further markets.
There is multiple stuff here.
First, not all "talking to customers" are equal. You have to be Deliberate, targeted, oriented and structured. I think I will write a post on this as I seem to talk about this a lot. Stay tuned for that.
Regarding the "they don't wanna talk", I wrote about that here briefly:
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-do-you-actually-get-people-to-do-customer-discovery-interviews-494421d032?commentId=-NBCN9mjPejICa3EE_kP
I am from ME as well and unfortunately my experience in the Global North is in a completely different sector, so I can't speak about that.
But, I believe people are try to be helpful if you approach them and if they have something that incentives them.
Thanks a lot man :)
I appreciate every minute you spent and I hope to improve my self and my business more and more.
GoodLuck in your life as well