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SHA Metrics can help you define or redefine the needs of your customers. Here, we share helpful insights about the importance of market research and how you can conduct a market analysis. We also highlight how you can apply these tactics to strengthen your marketing plan.
Topics covered include:
•How to conduct market research
•How to identify your ideal customer
•How to complete a competitive analysis
•How to use this information in your marketing plan
Marketing success requires timely and relevant market information. Market research is critical to identify trends that will affect your sales and profitability, identify risks and opportunities, and keep up with competitors’ market strategies. To be successful, you need to learn all you can about your customers, your competitors, and your industry.
Market research is the process of determining the viability of a new product or service and analyzing market data will help you understand what is in demand and how to be competitive. Market research can also provide valuable insight to help you:
•Determine who your customers are and where to find them
•Identify the right opportunities to pursue
•Stay relevant in the marketplace
•Find your competitive edge
What is a target market?
A target market is a subset of the total available market (TAM) for your product or service, often referred to as a company’s serviceable available market (SAM). The serviceable obtainable market (SOM) refers to the SAM that your organization can successfully capture. Targeting this segment of potential customers will help you plan your marketing efforts for the right audience.
To begin, you’ll want to establish the need for your product or service, focusing on what problem it can solve. Define or refine your target market by identifying who has bought your product or service already. This includes demographics, audience type, and all attributes associated with your target customer. If your product or service is brand new, you may want to look to your competitors to gain additional insights.
Collecting actual data is crucial. As tempting as it is to fill in the blanks, you must engage with your potential customers and conduct as much research as possible. As your business grows, you should continue to engage with your customers and evaluate your prospects. Your target market is dynamic and is always evolving and changing. Knowing who you’re talking to and targeting will ensure you stay on the right track.
How to identify your target market
When thinking about starting your business did you ask yourself these questions?
•Is there a need in the market for my product or service?
•What problems will it help to solve?
•Who are my competitors?
•How does my product or service compare?
•How big is the market I’m about to enter?
•How do customers feel about products or services like mine?
If you did, high-five! If you didn’t, you should pause here and determine the answers to these questions in order to gain a deeper understanding of the marketplace and your prospective customers.
Consumers in the market for a specific product or service generally share similar characteristics. Identifying these shared traits will help you fine-tune your tactics to attract, capture, nurture, and convert. Prepare a customer profile that includes demographic and psychographic data about how the target customer behaves. Start with the criteria below and layer in any other information that will help you see the total picture.
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Whether your business is B2B, B2C, D2C, there are countless online resources available to help you create customer profiles and buyer personas, and yes there is a difference.
Market research fundamentals
The fundamentals of market research start with outlining your research objectives. These objectives are a summary of statements detailing the categories of data you want to capture. Some examples of objectives for market research purposes could include:
•Brand awareness •Consumer perception •Buyer behavior •Product satisfaction •Consumer experience •Intent to purchase behavior
Market research framework
The foundation of market research is built by aggregating data from multiple sources. We’ve compiled a list of resources to help you get started. Just like any other worthwhile investment, this process takes time. If you are tackling this project alone, plan to spend at least 3 weeks gathering actionable data.
Reference Government Sourced Market & Industry Data
Reference Trade Groups, Business Magazines, and Academic Institutions
International Market Research
International Trade Administration
Competitive research
Competitive research is critical to your success. It gives you the ability to quickly identify industry trends and respond to competitor campaigns and strategies in order to stay competitive and gain market share. Start by following these steps:
•Identify your competition – Cast a wide net and categorize starting with direct competitors.
•Map their customer’s journey – Where are their calls to action, what is the buying process?
•Identify their market position – How do they differentiate themselves, what makes their product unique?
•Review their pricing strategy – What are customers in this space willing to pay?
•Understand their delivery method – How are they delivering their product or service?
•Read their reviews – What are their customers really saying, what can you learn from them?
•Explore their digital footprint – Are they in the news, what are they saying on social media?
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Stay informed by setting up Google Alerts. It’s fast and easy. Google will send you email updates based on keywords. Setting up alerts for your competitors in addition to your own business will help you keep up with any news you need to know. You can also set up alerts for industry terms to monitor new market developments that could affect your business.
Marketing plan
Your research will inform how you create and execute your marketing plan. A successful marketing plan hinges on things like defining your target audience, knowing where to find them, and learning all the ways they’re consuming content. The most important part of your plan is understanding your customer’s pain points and knowing how to talk to them about why your product or service is the best solution to solve their problem.
Your marketing plan is something that will evolve and change over time. Introduce new tactics that support what you’ve learned regularly. Continue to test, measure, refine, and repeat. You will begin to see patterns emerge and will accumulate actionable data to prove what works and what doesn’t.
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Content is king! Create a content calendar, create and share content frequently, create content for every stage of your sales funnel, create content you know your customers will love, and create content that speaks to how your product or service can solve their problem.
Marketing management
Although it may seem overwhelming, there are resources that can help. Use the internet to your advantage, educate yourself, and know when to call on help.
Remember - there is a specific segment of people out there who need you and what you have to offer, you just have to know where to find them.