It’s every entrepreneur’s nightmare. You put so much time and money into developing your products, then they don’t sell. One of two may fly off the shelves, but part of you is convinced they were only bought by supportive family members. The rest stay in your inventory and collect dust.

Why is this happening? Why aren’t your products selling? Every business is different, but here are a few reasons your products might be struggling to sell.

They Don’t Work as Well as They Should

You’ve advertised your products to do a specific thing, but what if they don’t do this? Someone may have bought them, then realized how poor they were. Word spreads quickly – thanks to online reviews – and everyone knows to avoid your products. If this is the case, you need to spend more time developing and testing the product to ensure it works correctly.

They Break Far Too Easily

Again, this is a product development issue that can be solved by taking more care when making your items. I find this issue is most prevalent when your products have lots of moving parts or joints. Here, you can use something like heat staking machines to create more durability around the joints. Work extra hard to analyze your products and spot any potential weaknesses. Don’t let the out into the world until you’re certain they’re durable enough.

Other Products Are Better Than Yours

The chances are you will face very close competition for your products. As such, yours may struggle to sell because there are existing products that are better. In instances like this, you’ve got to make sure that your items have something special about them. Ensure you develop them to have a USP that sets them apart from others. This way, people are more inclined to choose yours because you offer something different.

Your Pricing Is Way Too High

Many times, products don’t sell because they’re far too expensive. If other products in the same category as yours are way cheaper, then you’ve priced yourself out of business. If you’re going to try and sell yours for an extortionate price, then you better have something special to warrant this. Otherwise, people will go for the cheaper option every time. This issue sometimes stems from costly manufacturing processes. If it costs too much to make your product, then you’re forced to sell it for a high price to ensure you make a profit. As such, it’s worth figuring out the approximate cost per product before you manufacture your items. This lets you see how much you can sell them for, while still making a profit. If the cost per product is too high, then you should work on reducing it.

As I said in the beginning, the reasons for your lack of sales can differ from company to company. So, I tried to choose the reasons that relate to businesses across all industries. No matter what you sell, these four problems can exist. Figure out what’s causing your lack of sales, then fix the issues!