You should conduct a market analysis before launching new products, services, or businesses. What exactly is market analysis? Simply put, it is a detailed description of your business target market and the competitive landscape in your industry. In this article, we prepared a checklist to help you quickly analyse the market!
1. Understanding your business
Implementing a new idea for a business usually makes you feel excited and motivated. However, before celebrating success, think about the fundamentals of the plan. Set up objectives and goals for your company! Why do you think your business has a chance to succeed? What changes can you bring into the market? Specify your expertise and target audience. Then, you will understand what answers you wish to find in the market analysis and what to prepare your business for.
2. Gather data and research.
Once you know what you are looking for, start researching for some numbers and statistics. Analyse the market size and its requirements. This is a time to understand your services' needs, how big this industry is, and the chances you will fill the gap. You can consider primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are based on your research and observations – such as surveys, interviews and focus groups. The secondary encompasses existing reports, publications, and any other reliable statistics. This step will give you a general understanding of the market landscape and your future customers’ needs and behaviours.
3. Who are my competitors?
You have probably realised that you are not alone – there are others! The market consists of plenty of similar businesses offering almost the same services as you. Identify who they are and what role they play. Here are some questions:
· What are the top companies in this industry?
· What are their strategies?
· What are their prices/services/ offers?
· Who is my biggest competitor, and why?
· What are they good at, and how do other businesses engage with their customers?
· What can I learn from my competitors?
Try to examine others as detailed as possible; a good observation will positively impact your company and help you avoid others' mistakes.
4. Why is SWOT analysis critical?
This popular framework will identify and analyse your organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is a tool created to help you understand what your company does best now and your prospects. Detailed SWOT analysis will help you develop a strategic plan, make decisions, predict risks, and summarise your market knowledge.
5. Why have a target market?
Now you know your industry, the market size and competitors, your strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to meet your clients. A target audience is a specific group most likely to be interested in your product, service, or message. It’s a way of segmenting people by common characteristics, demographics, interests, or needs. We listed a few reasons why you should always identify a target market:
· If you know your target audience, you can create a brand identity that speaks directly to them.
· It helps you to create an effective marketing strategy.
· Improve customer experience and satisfaction.
· Promote brand loyalty.
Once you know your audience, you will learn how to communicate successfully!
6. Identify the risks.
After an in-depth market analysis, you will immediately recognise potential risks. Encourage brainstorming with team members to identify, analyse and address predictable dangers for your business. Think through the weaknesses and threats you identified for SWOT analysis. How can they affect your strategy? Consider your competitors and their actions – check their clients' negative reviews and think about what they could do wrong. Knowing risks will allow you to prepare for contingency and develop ‘plan B’ much faster.
Conclusion
Hopefully, the above steps will help you better understand your business and surroundings. Remember, nowadays, the market and its needs keep changing. Therefore, you should update your findings and strategies regularly. Once you know the market and all the related to your business factors, you can develop an effective business plan and improve your place in the market.