Market research and competitive analysis are vital components in understanding the dynamics of any industry. Market research helps you find customers for your business. Competitive analysis helps you make your business unique. Combine them to find a competitive advantage for your business. Through market research, you can gather relevant information about their target audience, competitors, and industry trends. It helps them identify customers’ preferences, needs, and purchasing behavior, enabling them to tailor their products or services accordingly.
Additionally, competitive analysis involves assessing competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, and strategies to gain a competitive edge. This analysis assists businesses in identifying niche markets, developing effective marketing techniques, and staying ahead in the fiercely competitive business world. Consequently, market research and competitive analysis serve as crucial tools for companies to make informed decisions, achieve market success, and foster long-term growth.
Use Market Research to find Customers
Market research combines consumer behavior and economic trends to confirm and improve your business idea.
It’s crucial to understand your consumer base from the outset. Market research lets you reduce risks even while your business is still just a gleam in your eye.
Gather demographic information to better understand opportunities and limitations for gaining customers. This could include population data on age, wealth, family, interests, or anything else that’s relevant for your business.
Then answer the following questions to get a good sense of your market:
Demand: Is there a desire for your product or service?
Market size: How many people would be interested in your offering?
Economic indicators: What is the income range and employment rate?
Location: Where do your customers live and where can your business reach?
Market saturation: How many similar options are already available to consumers?
Pricing: What do potential customers pay for these alternatives?
You’ll also want to keep up with the latest small business trends. It’s important to gain a sense of the specific market share that will impact your profits.
You can do market research using existing sources, or you can do the research yourself and go direct to consumers.
Existing sources can save you a lot of time and energy, but the information might not be as specific to your audience as you’d like. Use it to answer questions that are both general and quantifiable, like industry trends, demographics, and household incomes. Check online or start with our list of market research resources.
Asking consumers yourself can give you a nuanced understanding of your specific target audience. But, direct research can be time consuming and expensive. Use it to answer questions about your specific business or customers, like reactions to your logo, improvements you could make to buying experience, and where customers might go instead of your business.
Here are a few methods you can use to do direct research:
- Surveys
- Questionnaires
- Focus groups
- In-depth interviews
Use competitive analysis to find a market advantage
Competitive analysis helps you learn from businesses competing for your potential customers. This is key to defining a competitive edge that creates sustainable revenue.
Your competitive analysis should identify your competition by product line or service and market segment. Assess the following characteristics of the competitive landscape:
- Market share
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Your window of opportunity to enter the market
- The importance of your target market to your competitors
- Any barriers that may hinder you as you enter the market
- Indirect or secondary competitors who may impact your success
Several industries might be competing to serve the same market you’re targeting. Important factors to consider include level of competition, threat of new competitors or services, and the effect of suppliers and customers on price.
Conduct a SWOT Analysis
SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Conducting a SWOT analysis allows you to look at the facts about how your product or idea might perform if taken to market, and it can also help you make decisions about the direction of your idea. Your business idea might have some weaknesses that you hadn’t considered or there may be some opportunities to improve on a competitor’s product.
Most entrepreneurs spend more time on their products than they do getting to know the competition. If you ever apply for outside funding, the potential lender or partner wants to know: what sets you (or your business idea) apart? If market analysis indicates your product or service is saturated in your area, see if you can think of a different approach. Take housekeeping, for example—rather than general cleaning services, you might specialize in homes with pets or focus on garage cleanups.
