Follow a step-by-step guide to launch a digital business in one of the popular destinations in the world. Read article to know how to convert your ideas into reality and earns money
Industry Insight/ Ascent Partners
A digital business uses technology in its core and everyday activities. In laymen’s terms, a digital business is one that uses technology and digital platforms to run.
Some of the popular digital businesses in the world include names such as Netflix, Facebook (Meta)and even AirBnB.
Are you looking to start your own digital business in one of the world’s most technologically advanced cities? Then this article is the right one for you.
Check out this step-by-step guide to kickstart your digital business in Dubai.
Step 1: An idea
This might be the hardest step in the process of building a digital startup. The idea is what determines the success of your business. To start off, you must analyse your interests and find your niche and do a thorough market research for the requirement of your product. This could help narrow down your search for an idea.
Step 2: Idea evaluation and development
Once you have come up with an idea, it is imperative to evaluate it. One of the many reasons most of the startups don’t see the light of success is that they fail to evaluate the idea.
While evaluating the idea, you must look for the requirement of the product in the market, as also mentioned in the point above. As the well-known proverb goes, ‘Necessity is the mother of all invention.’
You should study the idea before building a digital business. The idea created needs to solve a problem that consumers face. If it is in no way solving an issue, it is likely that the target audience might be limited.
If your product is almost fulfilling the requirements of your audience, your research will help you perfect it till it is ready for its launch in the market.
Step 3: Market research
This point has not been emphasised enough. Once you are sure that your idea is solid and foolproof, the next step begins.
Market research in the context of starting a digital business includes studying your competitors and researching the existence of any products that are similar to your idea which are existing in the market.
If a product similar to your idea exists in the market, you need to state what sets your product apart.
A detailed analysis of the market is highly recommended, and this step should not be overlooked.
Step 4: Select your target audience
It is important to identify your target audience in order to build your digital business. This will help you direct all efforts in the right direction by marketing your products to those who have a need for it.
For example, if you are building a digital business that acts as an interface connecting tutors and students all over the world, where students can take private or group lessons on various subjects from competent and skilled tutors, the target audience of such a business would be professors, schools, universities and others involved in the education industry. Therefore, your target audience must be identified articulately.
Step 5: Get feedback
Before diving head-first into the development of the idea, getting some feedback on the same would be helpful as it would provide you with the understanding of whether people would be interested or not in your digital business.
Getting feedback from your audience is a good idea as that would be unbiased, truthful and useful. One of the ways to receive feedback is by sending surveys over emails to contacts in your inbox.
Step 6: Select your selling platform
Choosing the right platform for sale of the product/service is also dependent on the investment you are putting into your digital business. The platform needs to be chosen carefully as this is where the income will be actually generated from.
If your digital business startup idea is one that requires you to develop a mobile application, for the execution of the same, you would want to look into ways to develop an app. If you do not know how to code, there are several websites which provide you with templates and ways to design applications without coding.
Step 7: Monetisation
This is one of the aspects that determines the growth of the business in the long run. AdSense is one way of monetisation that can be used. This tool places ads next to the content on your website. You then get paid for publishing the ad of an advertiser on your site. There are several ad-related tools that help you receive an income from the website.
Advertising is a huge part of monetization. If the idea is one that creates content, then giving customers a VIP membership is one way to ensure loyalty as well as a tool to monetize.
You will need to strategically decide which monetization tools suit your digital business idea the best and follow through in that direction.
Step 8: Building relationship
Customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty, so it is important to build a foundation and a relationship with the customers using your product.
Once the e-mail id is registered, a ‘welcome’ email could be sent to the customer. A personalized message from the startup business owner makes the customer feel valued and will be the beginning to building a relationship with the customer. Over time, this relationship has to be maintained as well so as to not lose potential customers.
There are several steps involved in the process of taking an idea and making it a product. From coming up with an idea to actually executing and launching it, it feels like nothing less than a rollercoaster ride.
The only difference between any ordinary person and a business owner is that the business owner takes action towards the unsure path of success and works towards making it big. With determination, skills and a great idea, nothing is impossible.
Industry Insight is contributed by the Dubai-based business consultancy Ascent Partners. Views expressed by the consultancy are it’s own and do not reflect the policy of the news website. Get in touch with us to know more about how you can start your business in Dubai. Contact us today at ask@ascentpartners.ae or at 04 422 7339.
