Digital products are goods or assets that can be delivered electronically and over the internet, in other words, they are intangible products. They can be anything from a mobile app to an e-book.
Intangible products do not have a physical nature as opposed to tangible ones that are physical goods, or objects.
Examples of digital products include;
- Mobile applications,
- Online games,
- Software, and other downloadable assets.
If you subscribe to a platform that has online streaming services, you have bought a digital good, etc.
The meaning of digital products is not limited only to the intangible things that we buy and sell.
Digital goods don't have to be distributed purely for profit. They can be given away without restriction in exchange for an email address or other type of information, or they can be completely free to support an already-existing physical good or service.
Examples of Digital Products
Digital products basically are considered to be all forms of assets that can be sold and used connected online via the internet or products that are run locally with no need for an internet connection.
Here are some examples of a mixed group of digital products;
- Ebooks,
- Photography,
- Various audio and video content,
- Courses,
- Digital arts,
- Software,
- Website templates,
- Email templates,
- Extensions,
- Plugins,
- Mobile apps,
- Video games, etc.
With the advancing technology in raise new digital products are brought to market. One of the recent digital products that came as a result of technological advancement is NFTs, (non-fungible tokens).
According to Wikipedia, NFTs are;
A non-fungible token is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership.
The same is traded and valued as goods based on community assessment they give to a specific digital product.
Benefits of creating Digital Products
Although there is no guarantee of a profit from digital products, they are in general simpler to convert and sell than physical goods.
Again, generally speaking, the required initial investment may be significantly less than for physical times, operating expenses and unexpected costs are easier to predict and monitor, and typically they are not expensive, and the product won't get damaged and devalued in cases if it doesn't sell for a while.
Another factor that makes digital goods easier to market is their;
- Ease of distribution,
- Durability,
- Duplication,
- Regular ease of update,
- Optimization,
- Customization depending on customer wants, and
- Feature enhancement.
Additionally, you may automate a large portion of the marketing and sales process.
Digital product development - Steps not to skip
Every project has its own objectives which are aimed to be achieved, otherwise, there is no sense in wasting resources in creating something with no purpose in mind.
On contrary, products are built to solve a problem, ease a process, and update an obsolete technology.
In turning a product into a successful one, there are steps that need to be taken into consideration before starting to create the product.
We will enlist a few steps that are fundamental grounds before starting a product and other steps that you consider taking into consideration other than these below will only enhance it further.
1. Ideation
Understanding the "lock" and trying to design the key, or figuring out whether the problem and the solution fit, are of utmost importance during this phase.
Instead of starting with a solution that might not match the problem after spending the time necessary during discovery to thoroughly understand the issue, you should start brainstorming several ideas that could serve as solutions that fit the problem.
The ideation stage of the development of a digital product aims to come up with a plan for how to design a product that would be a user-acceptable solution to the issue found in the discovery stage.
2. Research
In order to successfully understand the "lock" and coming up with a “key”, we must put ourselves in the customer state, try to think as he does.
Because you never know which idea might turn to be a solution, many proposals and ideas need to be included in the list of related future possible solution
Now it's time to continue with the research when you've chosen a few of your favorite ideas.
Methods that you can use to gather further information include; Running an analysis on market gaps and customer demands, researching on your competitors, running surveys, use social media and other channels as a source of information.
3. Prototyping - MVP
With prototyping, the idea is to establish the initial and most basic version of the product with its core requirements.
Creating the prototype or the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is to get the first impression and overall feedback of stakeholders and potential users. This is your product development step where you generate visual concepts.
There are two types of prototypes: low fidelity (lo-fi) and high fidelity (hi-fi).
Low-fidelity prototypes include a greatly limited user interface and navigation (if any). Due to their lack of visual detail, they may be produced fast.
Hi-fi prototypes, on the other hand, are significantly more advanced, with additional interactivity, colors, and branding. In the next phase, we talk about them.
4. Design & Development
The design process entails activities performed by the entire team to collect all previously obtained data and important facts and use them in the product design process.
When the model is completed with its design, the team development will continue to do the job. You need to remember that the design might need to change or adapt due to the development possibilities.
The development of the product might be iterated in a few phases, such as for Alpha testing, where the product can be tested only by a small number of internal individuals for the sole purpose of testing functionalities and design experience.
If there are issues that need to be addressed, this phase helps to reduce drastically the errors and flaws that help avoid building a bad reputation for the end user.
After taking care of the bugs and flaws of this phase, then the product can be released in the Beta version for public testing.
In Beta testing, real users have the chance to test a product in a real-world setting before it is released to the public in order to find any defects or problems. The last round of testing before making a product widely available in beta testing.
5. Launch
No matter how sophisticated your product you think it is, still there are issues that can be enhanced and optimized the functionality.
Therefore the product launch comes after completing the development of all the designed parts foreseen in the early phases and testing if everything is working correctly.
Extra reminders here;
Don’t go from dead silence too -We’re live- without creating any kind of buzz.” Kyle Maurer
Models for Digital Product process development
Every stage of the development cycle for a digital product is carried out in accordance with a predetermined workflow model. A chaotic design and construction process might increase costs.
As a result, various working models are created to aid teams in putting tasks in place, managing them, iterating on them, and tracking their progress.
Common models include Waterfall Development, Agile Development, and Lean Development.
Final word
Remember;
"If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late." Reid Hoffman
Having this said, take into account the above-mentioned steps, launch your product, and let the world know about it. 🚀
