Secret to knowings your Market

Business survival can only be equated to better sales and increased market share. Many problems in a business can be solved by improved marketing.  But as much as marketing may be what your business needs, it presents a special problem which can only be understood by first understanding your market. If you are facing challenged with your market, you are not alone. In Kenya, there are over 1 million small business owners sharing your same predicament. Below are some parameters to use and which will help your evaluate your business and know your market trends before they happen. The following information will get you ahead of your competition as soon as you are done reading.

Business success is not one dimentional statistics, they are human stories with faces, names and voices.......John Assaraf (and now from me to you :) with love)

One may be a solitary figure, but look beyond the number and you will see infinite possibilities. Many minds come together harmoniously to become one. One is significant and just the beginning. One is universal and like a new born child, completely unique.  The business you are operating now, your business idea or concept and you are one. You are the cause of the success and failure in your business. This is one fact you have to get clear if you are going to understand this article. As an individual, you have infinite possibilities which you draw from different sources and here is one place you can get as much information you need regarding your market and market behavior.  Be informed and act out of facts rather then speculation and desires.

Any business person should be able to know how the market behaves. Just like Forex trading, you need to know how certain behavior affect your sales. Below I explain how you can examine your markets without seeking the services of any professional agency. This is a do-it- yourself guide and you will save money while maximizing your profits. It does not matter whether you are one of the 80% SME business owners or the over 50% Kenyans who are looking to start their businesses. This information is right for you and you don’t have to be worried of joining the statistics businesses which close their doors within the first year of operation.

Every business owner has to systematically analyze the market in question using some fundamental market evaluation criteria.  Before investing on any marketing action, you have to determine if the market you are after makes sense for your business or not. Doing what I call a “PASS/FAIL” test on your targeted market is very important. Weigh all the attributes of any given market and this will help you figure the direction your company or business is taking. Here are some market attributes you can make use of, they will help you know who your market are, what they are after, how you can out perform your competition and other related issues.

The mentioned attributes cover a number of business sectors and therefore feel free to use what applies to your business.

PRODUCT/SERVICE ATTRIBUTES:
• Can you identify the need of the market in regards to your product application?
• The market allows for effective competitive advantage for all businesses without segregation. What is your competitive advantage?
• The market will offer opportunities for both product and service which sell benefits. What is the benefit dose your products have?

• Markets dose not require large number of products/services to effectively compete.
• Your market share will be depended on the product /service value.
• Do you know you can legally protect your product or service to avoid people stealing your concept and ideas? (seek legal guidelines on this issue if you have new ideas)
• The market offers every business relatively consistent purchase loyalty. So if you can build a loyal customer, your business will be on its way to setting the right base.
• In this day and age, markets do not require extraordinary distribution requirements.
• Your market is dominated by well known competitors and suppliers. Do you know them?
• A behavior about market you have to note is that markets have reputable competition, a quality image and history and so you need to keep up with your brand image.
• Barriers to entry will always exist in most markets, that will bring you to the question, are you worthy of the market and can you overcome such shortcomings?
• Markets have proven history of growth; can you identify your growth rate?

Being able to apply the stated attributes with respect to your industry should provide you with adequate data of your market. You will be able to identify your competition, market participants, their market share and involvement.  Evaluating business opportunities should be well though out, straight forward and iterative process. The more effective your analysis is, the greater your probability on maximizing your return on investment.

If this was helpful to you, spread the word and lets harmoniously be ONE.