Picking the right market for your business is important. Who do you sell products to charge up your profits? If your product’s not a good match for them, no way they’ll buy it.
Before creating something new to sell, take a hard look at who needs it. You don’t just assume but actually study what groups want. Seeing the full picture is the first step, but it’s one a lot of business owners race past.
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It is better to slowly figure out the #1 right audience that makes sense. When your thing solves real problems real people have, it’ll fly off the shelves fast. Knowing precisely who desires your creation builds trust that converts to sales.
Identify Your Target Audience
You first need to identify who your customers are. You look at age, gender, location and other concrete traits. Also, consider mindset and values. Ask:
- What problems do they have? What do they need most?
- What do they like and dislike? What matters to them?
- How do they shop? Where do they spend time?
Really get to know your audience and analyse what makes them tick. This will help you create a product that fits their lives.
You can tailor it to relieve their frustrations and make it with features they find essential. Price it within their budget and market it where you know they will come across it.
The more precisely you can understand and describe your ideal customer, the better you can position your offer to resonate with them. A vague “anyone could use this” approach won’t work nearly as well. You need to have a very specific user in mind.
You can focus your efforts on consumers who need what you have to offer. That way marketing to them and converting them will be much easier.
Research Market Trends
You need to study your industry and keep an eye on new developments. Useful places to look include:
- Trade publications – These detail trends and new products. See what people in your field are talking about.
- Analytics tools – Google Trends and more can give valuable data on search volumes and interest over time.
- Social listening – You can check discussions on Twitter, Facebook groups and elsewhere online.
- Reports – Marketing research firms like Mintel publish in-depth reports on opportunities.
Key things to analyse:
- What sectors are growing or declining? Future forecasts?
- What buyers want more choices or better solutions?
- What technology, regulations or competitive forces are disrupting the industry?
- What niches are underserved? Too niche risks low demand, but a well-matched audience can be very loyal.
You can aim to ride waves early rather than having to fight for visibility in established markets. Has growth stagnated in current hot areas while newer territories gain steam? Research will reveal openings to tap into.
Analyse Competitors
To complete your market research, closely study existing solutions. You can search for the main players in the segments you are exploring. You can ask:
- Who leads the market? Look at their product, pricing, promotions and more. Where do they excel or fall short?
- Are buyers happy and loyal, or do reviews reveal unmet needs?
- Might less dominant brands serve subsets better through specialisation?
- How mature is the market? Is there room for growth or disruption?
You can consider not just direct equivalents but indirect substitutes. Also, assess if solutions could emerge from other industries.
You can analyse to what degree target users rely on existing options. Can you win them over with a superior or niche offering? Would a hybrid combination of features help stand out?
You can identify weaknesses across the board to position your solution as one that fills frustrations. But also recognise genuinely beloved brands for a good reason – their strengths inform innovation, too.
Thorough competitor insight balances realism and creative possibilities. Know what you are up against and where potential gaps exist for something fresh.
Evaluate Market Size and Growth Potential
You need to realistically assess demand for your offering. These useful data to analyse include:
- Industry market value, segment sizes and historical growth. You can research firms and trade groups that publish useful statistics.
- Growth forecasts. Is the market expanding quickly or maturing? The future outlooks predict where opportunities will lie.
- Competitor sales figures, if available and popular products, demonstrate consumer appetite.
You want to estimate both the current market size as well as projected expansion in coming years. You can calculate the total addressable market for your solution. You can analyse if broader developments like technology adoption or restrictions could impact accessible consumer pools.
You can consider scalability too. Could you expand globally or to adjacent segments over time? Options like private money lenders in Ireland provide funds to enable growth. A small niche with limited upside may not merit focus despite a lack of competition. Target a substantial base of buyers with room to capture more share over the long term.
Align with Your Business Goals
The ultimate test: does this market align with your capabilities, resources and objectives? You can assess your business model and priorities before finalising a direction. These important questions:
- Can you deliver what this audience wants profitably?
- Does the opportunity fit your mission and values?
- What investment would be required in production, people, and marketing?
- Are there future possibilities beyond the initial offering?
Also, you can examine sustainability over the long term. You can see that trends do not indicate a bubble will soon burst. You can consider balancing a low-risk established segment as your bread and butter alongside a higher-upside emerging space. But limit pursuing too many targets at once.
Do the hard thinking upfront before devoting major efforts to a market. Set clear metrics for what success looks like. You can avoid gravitating to the shiniest new idea without grounding it in your concrete situation and numbers.
Conclusion
Carefully evaluating markets before developing or releasing products prevents wasted efforts. Base choices on more than hunches – let data and analysis guide strategic decisions. It maximises the likelihood you resonate with buyers.
You can rush, which leads to assumptions that may prove false down the line after you have already invested significantly. It is better to verify demand exists and understand exactly who needs what before fully committing.
Spending this time now allows smoothly tailored positioning later. So, do diligent work first before confidently entering the right market for sustainable rewards.
