The advent of the digital era has led to the rise of digital products as commodities. Digital products are among the most disruptive elements in the digital age, potentially revolutionizing global commerce.
According to one industry report, the digital transformation market size stood at USD 731.13 billion as of 2022. Moreover, the report’s trend analysis projected a 26.7% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in the burgeoning industry between 2023 and 2030.
Digital products are at the heart of the digital transformation market and present numerous opportunities for individuals and businesses. So, keep reading to learn why digital products are here to stay, why you should invest in making them, and the benefits of selling such products.
What Are Digital Products?
Understanding the benefits of digital products begins by identifying products that fall within the category. So, digital products are intangible assets or creations that take no physical form. Given their intangible nature, digital commerce or selling digital assets for a profit entails using networks like the Internet and other information technology infrastructure.
Typical digital products include software-as-a-service, apps, cloud services, platform-as-a-service, streaming services, online courses, electronic gaming, self-publishing platforms, and infrastructure-as-a-service. As stated earlier, the digital transformation market presents immense potential, meaning the digital product list above is anything but exhaustive.
What Is Digital Product Engineering?
Digital product engineering entails using data and information technology resources like embedded systems to design, develop, and deploy digital products. The multi-phase process encompasses everything from idea conceptualization to product testing and deployment.
A digital product’s primary purpose is to facilitate a seamless end-to-end user experience. Therefore, a user-centered approach is essential for delivering successful digital products.
The characteristics of a successful digital product include personalization based on past and present consumer behavior, value proposition, consistency across devices, intuitive, user-friendly, reliability, mass appeal, and trackable features.
Therefore, a company providing digital products engineering services oversee product development by ensuring the product meets the above characteristic checklist with each phase.
While product specifics may vary, digital product engineering phases are consistent.
Below is an overview of digital product engineering phases and their role in deploying successful digital products.
- Ideation
Ideation entails pitching the concept for a digital product. Project managers and team members evaluate ideas for a value proposition, mass appeal, potential intuitive features, and scalability.
Therefore, data insights and feasibility tests are crucial in ideation to ensure long-term product success and return on investment. Also, project managers use ideation to create a digital product engineering project roadmap, including room for continuous discovery and roping in stakeholders.
- Design
Product design and user experience go hand-in-hand. Therefore, project managers leverage expertise and resources, including software, hardware, and operating systems, to develop innovative prototypes and features.
Besides prototype features, the product design elements, including color, navigability, and logical element placement, is crucial for a seamless user interface and user experience prototype.
- Product Development
A successful prototype sets the tone for product development. Project managers utilize timely yet cost-effective digital product development solutions to save resources and minimize time-to-market durations. Priorities during the development state include user experience and a robust backend framework for data security.
- Testing
Stringent product testing protocols ensure a hiccup-free customer experience against diverse scenarios. Project managers leverage testing techniques for software non-functional elements like usability, performance, and reliability. Moreover, they utilize functional testing to ensure the product can receive and execute commands, creating a seamless user experience.
- Deployment
Product deployment entails creating a robust marketing strategy to generate hype around the product, accommodate high traffic during the launch, and collect user feedback.
- Maintenance
Digital product maintenance and user support are crucial to sustained user interest and a seamless user experience. Maintenance entails using customer feedback to improve the user experience. The maintenance process also sets the stage for product re-engineering.
Benefits of Selling Digital Products
Digital products offer immense potential for individuals and businesses. Below are some benefits accrued from selling digital products.
- Expanding Services
As a business, selling a digital product expands your service portfolio. Moreover, the newly-launched service allows your brand to gain more customers due to enhanced service delivery, generating stronger brand influence. Also, expanding your services allows your brand to reposition itself based on prevailing market trends.
- Revenue Growth
Digital products empower businesses to expand their online presence and reach a wider target audience and target high-quality leads. Second, digital products primarily generate regular income via subscription models. According to one report, eight out of ten businesses sustain growth via a subscriber base.
- Accelerated Business Growth
On the one hand, selling a digital product facilitates revenue growth, focusing on a business’s bottom line. Additionally, digital products have the potential for business growth. Business growth transcends profit, including revenue channels, customer base, expansion potential, and overall business health.
- Competitive Advantage
A digital product’s primary purpose is enhancing end-to-end user experience. Positive user experiences strengthen brand reputation, giving a business a competitive edge within its market niche or industry.
Conclusion
Digital products have become essential in the digital transformation era, shaping customer behavior and delivering unparalleled experiences. Businesses can stay ahead in the digital revolution by designing and selling digital products.
Embracing digital product engineering empowers companies to adapt to changing consumer needs and reap the benefits of expanded services, revenue growth, accelerated business growth, and competitive advantage.
