Digital Platforms or Digital Products | An Entrepreneur’s Dilemma

The ever-changing trends and consumer tastes are a powerful harness for any business to grow and evolve its business model. When it comes to the same, recent technological advancements have paved the way for businesses to understand how they can go about harnessing it.

The two prominent variables that strike any entrepreneur in their search for answers are digital platforms and digital products.

They both provide added value to any business and acquire a unique stand in the industry; this is a major reason why the debate on digital products vs digital platforms becomes all the more evident.

There exist a fair range of differences between the two, and if you are someone who understands the workings of the industry, is a part of it, or is even aware of the jargon, then you would be left scratching your head trying to figure out the same.

However, in a nutshell, platforms stand for communication whereas products stand for production.

An In-Depth Understanding of How Digital Platforms Differ from Digital Products

As an entrepreneur looking to expand your business, you would understand how the creative process goes beyond what mainstream media usually depicts in movies or tv shows. Good ideas don’t come from brainstorming.

It requires in-depth research as well as expert advice to realize what strategy would tailor to your business needs. For the same, it becomes very important that every individual involved with a business understands the fundamental differences between digital platforms and digital products.

What Are Digital Platforms?

In layman’s terms, it would be safe to say that a digital platform is a collection of several platforms that allow users to exchange pieces of what may be labeled as information or sometimes goods, but mostly, these are platforms where one exchanges services.

In a practical sense, it is the community that operates on these digital platforms, connecting two or more is what provides true value to it. The community in itself is imperative for the steady and organic growth of digital platforms for marketing.

The Internet, as we know it today, is more than a recreational platform. It is an opportunity for people to expand their understanding of particular concepts as well as general knowledge. The internet has many uses.

It may be used for recreational purposes, academic research purposes, or for promoting a particular brand or business. The latter is the most popular.

Digital platforms and digital products are both ways an entrepreneur or brand may use to reach a wider audience and expand their client base in particular.

While adopting and implementing the two simultaneously requires large-scale capital investment and extremely high running costs, simply using any one of the particular is affordable, practical, and profitable for a business as well.

However, the decision to choose between either does not come easy to any entrepreneur. It is an extremely subjective decision with no textbook approach to right or wrong. There are multiple factors to take into account. This article offers a detailed explanation of the same.

What Are Digital Products?

The concept of a market and mutual exchange of goods is a tale as old as time. The modern age internet has done nothing other than build and evolve the same phenomenon to a point, where the original one seemed to fade.

A majority of businesses, that do not operate solely in the tertiary sector, provide physical products to their clientele and consumer base. For many firms, these products start as nothing more than a digital print before they take the shape of a physical product.

This digital product vs digital platforms, print, or the product that a person sells, without the physical product being presented, is what is known as a digital product.

Respective Advantages and Disadvantages of Digital Products and Digital Platforms

Now that we have understood the fundamentals of what digital platforms and digital products are, we must also understand how a business determines which one of them will help them boost its sales and allow them to achieve sustainable overall growth.

Advantages Of Using/Selling Digital Products

• They do not call for a physical storage unit, thus saving capital expenses.

• If one is well versed with the of the product they sell, they would never face a shortage of stock.

• Unlike physical markets, entry into the market of digital products is not and cannot be restricted.

Disadvantages Of Using Digital Products

• The main problem that arises with any digital product is its tangibility. Since the products cannot be physically felt by users and consumers, a certain paranoia of scams always exists in their minds.

• Due to the lack of any significant capital investment, it becomes increasingly difficult for a creator to perceive an apt and justified value of their product.

• The entire process of creating a digital product is not only extremely tedious but also ridiculously time-consuming.

Advantages Of Using Digital Platforms

• A digital platform is a one-stop solution for consumers that allows them to execute multiple tasks simultaneously.

• The process of communication and transaction becomes easier and smoother whenever a business uses a digital platform to interact with its user base.

• As the renowned author Ahmad Asadullah writes in his study, digital platforms allow for communication between multiple users who are distinct but interdependent.

Disadvantages Of Using Digital Platforms

• Many people and a few business owners have major privacy concerns when it comes to using these platforms.

• The gaining popularity of such platforms leaves their users susceptible to cyberterrorism.

• Since a digital platform requires constant monitoring, the person overlooking and supervising the task feels socially disconnected.

How Does a Business Decide What’s for Them?

You might think that simply being aware of how these phenomena and terms work does not help businesses understand what would help their entity and promote growth.

Before we dive into understanding how a business or an entrepreneur chooses between digital products and digital platforms, we must understand what is meant by growth.

What Is Meant by Growth for A Business?

For a business, merely conducting sales cannot be the definition of success. While increased sales are a primary focus of any business, they are not the entirety of it.

Any entrepreneur wishes to build their brand value, acquire a loyal client base, and build a reputation that beats their competitors in the industry.

How Should a Business Manoeuvre Growth?

To do so, it becomes important for the owners and the core team members of any business to understand how consumers of the market perceive and interact with the product or service that they are providing.

One cannot find whether using digital platforms or selling digital products would benefit their business more. It is a practical trial-and-error method only.

Some Major Influencing Differences Between Digital Platforms and Digital Products

As an entrepreneur, when you are presented with a digital products list and a digital platforms list, with their pros and cons listed, how do you choose one system to apply? The answer is simple; you have a look at the major differences between the two.

DIGITAL PLATFORMS	DIGITAL PRODUCTS
Primarily focuses on integrating smooth communication between consumers and firms, as well as between different departments of a firm.	These are products or services that businesses sell or offer. They may be tangible or intangible.
They are often used by developers to create a strong sense of communication in a physical form.	They are used mostly by entrepreneurs looking to start a business with little to no capital investment.
A platform focuses on its users creating multiple potential revenue streams through various channels.	A product is meant to be sold and provide its owners and creators with a singular sure revenue stream.
One can expand their social horizons and create multiple networks through the use of these platforms.	One creates an extensive client base and market reputation with the trading of products.
They take a circular model approach which is mainly process oriented.	They follow a linear model approach which is result oriented.
When it comes to networking, digital platforms provide multiple networks not restricted to any genre.	A digital product creates two types of networks, direct and indirect.

Wrapping Up

In their own unique way, both digital platforms and digital products can be classified as business models. To a great extent, they boost the various aspects of a business.

However, when it comes to the workings of these models, they differ vastly. Even the results of each and every step taken during the implementation of these models also differ from one another.

The Marketplace Today

The economic purpose of any business venture is to fill the positive gap between the demand and supply of a commodity or a service and make a profit in doing so.

Although markets may not seem to be even remotely similar to what they were back during the time the barter system prevailed, the principle certainly stands strong even today.

The Impact of E-commerce on the World

Constantly evolving trends and new innovations allow business owners and entrepreneurs to always have tricks up their sleeves to focus on promoting any of the multiple aspects of their business.

In times like these, which are extremely technology-friendly and people turn to the internet for all their shopping ventures, ranging from something as small and cheap as a needle or something as large and expensive as a home, it would be simply foolish of a business owner, to not utilize the internet and make it their businesses ally.

Upon its introduction and the early stage of a boom, many business owners started viewing the internet and e-commerce platforms as their competition.

However, as people got more familiar with the concept, and began to step out of their comfort zone, they soon began to harness the power of the internet instead of fearing it.

Digital platforms and digital products are both weapons to do the same, and just like weapons, one is not superior or more powerful than the other, it is simply a matter of the battles that are to be fought and, in this case, the results that are to be acquired.