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Selling commodity products – items such as office supplies or pet food – online is no longer a novel proposition. There is a vast array of different stores across Southeast Asia – many of them selling the same things. In fact, the market in Southeast Asia is getting pretty crowded. A small business will have a tough time breaking in, especially if they are selling easily available products at the usual market prices. They will easily be outplayed by established businesses that already dominate the space with a loyal customer base, big marketing budgets and a highly visible online presence. In order to compete, new small businesses need to differentiate and target more niche markets.

 

There is an opportunity for niche players: They are still not as numerous as they are in other parts of the world. As the Asian economy continues to grow and hunger for new products and services, there's a big change for small businesses to get into the e-commerce game. So if you're looking to start a small online business, how should you approach it?

 

The secret to a niche positioning is being unique. You have to sell a product or service that a mainstream merchant can't offer. Being different distinguishes you from the competition and gives the customer a reason to seek you out.

 

For example, it would be very hard for a small business to enter the high-end, branded handbag market. Established businesses have already cornered the area. What incentive or value are you adding? Why should you buy a branded product from you rather than a slicker, larger, more established player?

 

However, what if you served up something a little different? Perhaps you could sell high quality bags with a unique creative design from a local designer. That way, you are offering me a one-of-a-kind product experience the competition doesn't have. In a busy marketplace crowded with products, you are standing out with a unique value proposition.

 

When New Delhi-based Jyoti Bansal was deciding to open up her online shop she started by researching shopping trends to see where she could find her niche. Discovering that global consumers had an interest in vintage embroidered items, she started exploring old Delhi markets to buy vintage fabric to sell to shoppers abroad where such items were unique. Since founding Sanskriti in 2011, the interest coming from foreign countries (which accounts for 95 percent of her sales) has allowed her to build a staff of fifteen and sell over a hundred items a day to people as far away as Russia, the United States and Australia.

 

Leveraging unique, local goods for international sales is a great way to expand an existing business or kickoff a new venture.

 

In a saturated market, getting noticed can be more than difficult. Selling everyday products online is next to impossible without significant investment or an already established offline customer base. A small business needs to sell something that the competition can't. What is that exactly? Figuring that out can be a challenge, but the rewards are potentially huge.

 

These key points will help you to get started:

 

Usually, niche products focus on a specific target group. That is why it is crucial to know your customers' needs and preferences. Who are the people who buy your products? What income do they have? Consumers are more individualized than ever. They are looking for special products the mainstream market will not offer them. So, if you adjust your product and marketing to these specific needs, you will be able to develop a loyal clientele.

 

Consumers are increasingly demanding authenticity – a connection to the real world and a move away from the mass-produced "sameness" that currently dominates the market. Selling products that come with a local flavor often deliver this – especially for an overseas market. Maybe you can sell products featuring designs from local illustrators or designers. Perhaps you can sell tours to little known attractions in your area. Think about what your audience likes and then think of something local and authentic that they may be interested in.

 

Large online businesses make their money by leveraging economies of scale. Everything must be done on a mass basis for their revenue model to really make sense. By contrast, depending on their model, some small businesses can afford to offer more individualized products and services. Think about a product that you can easily customize for a group of consumers or even individual customers. For example, you could print customized kids' storybooks featuring their and their friends’ names, or you could produce custom Chinese chops or seals to order.

 

Do you, through contacts or by virtue of where you live, have access to items that are out of the ordinary or hard for your consumer to find? Use this to your advantage, and sell those cases of unsold 1980's Thai Boxing Championship t-shirts or vintage Asian spectacle frames.

 

It's hard to escape the vintage, hipster trend that seems to be taking over all corners of most big cities in Asia. I sometimes think I'm living in Brooklyn when I walk down my street. This is just one of a number of trends that are catching hold in the brick-and-mortar world, but still has some room to grow in the online space. Here are a few areas to get you thinking: Old school shaving products, high end coffee and tea products and accessories, small batch / artisan perfumes, designer products for pampered pets, indie computer games, interesting card and board games. Trends come and go, but if you stay on top of them, you could win big.

 

A good museum isn't just a bunch of pots and paintings. Museums employ people called Curators whose job is to create interesting exhibitions by assembling selected artifacts in a specific way in order to tell an interesting and enlightening story. You too can be a curator. Small, independent bookstores thrive by curating and selling a limited but highly selective range of books – often with a theme such as photography, cookery or design. Some retailers create and sell boxes of different products – items that individually might be considered a commodity – but together form a useful and interesting collection. What can you curate?

 

Unless you have a large existing customer base, or a significant investment, you'll need to focus on standing out in order to be competitive. You'll need to be unique. Be cost efficient, be interesting, be relevant and provide uniquely excellent customer service and you will have the formula for success.