WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF A PRODUCT? 

All our choices are dependent on the various criteria we consider before making a decision. Deciding a product for your business is an important step, yet selecting the right product requires knowing of all the different criteria, as your single product would involve a heavy investment and act as a major factor for the future of your business. Let us have a look at some of the significant Criteria.  

• Production Cost and Profit Margin 

  The primary goal of any business is to earn profits. Good profits help to run the business smoothly and also aid for expansion goals; hence the selected product should help you earn good profit over the production cost. Along with production cost, it is important to have easy access of the raw materials and the resources required to form the product, as it can help to avoid miscellaneous and unnecessary expenses. 
   
  

• Consumer Demand 

  An important criteria is, to figure out if your selected product has a major demand in the market. While some entrepreneurs are known for creating a demand for their product, for some of us who are aspiring to be one, it’s wiser to play safe with a product that already has a demand. However, the endpoint is to measure or analyse the intensity of demand for the selected product.  

• Competitive Market 

  Does your selected product belong in the game of competitive market? Or is it lesser known among the people? It would be unwise to choose a product or an industry which is heavily competitive, as it would decrease your chance of standing out among other well-established entrepreneurs. Unless you have a good marketing strategy or some uniqueness to go with, stepping into a competitive market is risky, it’s better to select a market where the competition is less or average. 

• Objectives and goals  

  As an entrepreneur, it is mandatory to achieve some personal as well as public objectives and goals. Personal objectives are for self-satisfaction and achievement, whereas Public goals are very important as it pertains your organization’s image to the society. Hence, your selected product should match this criterion as well. Few examples of public goals could be the safety of the environment, the production process of your product or the product itself should cause no harm to the environment at any stage and the other example are the government rules and objectives which are to be fulfilled strictly. It is advisable to choose a product accordingly as it is important to maintain your image and goodwill.  

• Affordability and Quality 

  In one of the above points, we talked about the criteria of making good profits, however, the product as a whole should be affordable for the consumers, as the price is an important factor which can overturn the demand of the consumer itself. A high price can cut the target audience belonging to a middle-class family whereas the opposite can gain a wider audience. Product should be affordable for all, along with the quality. Stepping in consumer’s shoes, helps us realise that the quality of a product should never be compromised. Which is why affordability and Quality count as an important criterion.  

•  Safety  

  What exactly does safety mean? Some hazardous products or products which are to be handled with care can cause a lot of disadvantage for the business in an unforeseen manner. In some circumstances, it could also result in a form of damage to the consumer, which can be harmful. It is recommended to deal less in such a category of products, as they could turn to be risky and not profitable.  

• Innovative and Uniqueness 

  This goes without a say, the product selected should be unique, it should have an element that sets it apart from other products out there in the market. A stand-out product would also build a reputation for your business. There should always be room for innovation, as the future is always uncertain, the product selected should adapt with the ever-increasing and changing demand of the consumers, which would help the business in the long run! 
   

CONCLUSION 
 
Planning for a business requires a huge investment and immense dedication and effort. A product act as the root to any business and it also accounts as the only tangible value or a connector between a business and a consumer, hence it acts as the first step of success for any organization. The above points can help you analyze and select your product accordingly.