It’s easy to dismiss the importance of market analysis. After all, we are trained throughout our life to think in solutions. And -based on experience or intuition- we tend to already have a pretty clear idea of how our problem should be solved. We’re so focused on delivering results – we start making and selling our products or begin improving our processes- that we start running before even determining what the correct direction is. Running in the wrong direction takes you twice the distance to correct! The only way we can ensure that we are not running blindly is to validate our assumptions.
Validate
Time tends to give us a tunnel vision. Making us unconsciously ignore changes and look at our own plans through rose-colored glasses. For instance, you can save a lot of valuable time and money by checking in advance if there is even a demand for the new product you intent to create. This can be done by testing new designs and products on a smaller subset of your audience to see if the change would be welcome. Or by finding out why customers are not making repeat sales. The more input you analyze, from different contributors, the more reliable the outcome.
Market analysis can provide you with valuable input
Market analysis means assessing the external market and all its factors that influence your business, and your approach, so you can determine your market fit. This analysis can not only save you time and money, it can also improve your overall results. By helping identify new business opportunities. Or design marketing campaigns that will directly target the interest of your potential consumers and so increase your sales. A strong market analysis means gathering insights via market research:
Primary research is research you conduct yourself or hire someone to do. It involves going directly to a source – like customers – to gather insights. Not necessarily in person though. It can also be a survey form on your website or details from your systems: the effectiveness of sales, customer satisfaction or approach of your competitors.
Secondary research has already been compiled, gathered, organized and published by others. It includes reports and studies by government agencies, trade associations or other businesses in your industry. It can usually be obtained faster and more affordably –often even free of charge- via Google or for instance, articles in magazines, trade journals and industry publications, or from industry associations or trade organizations.
Set Better Goals for Your Business
As we can only oversee part of the factors that influence our business success and therefore have ‘biased’ points of view, our assumptions –and goals based on them- are not always reliable. You might want to double sales by the end of the next quarter. But are you sure the size of your target market is more than twice the size of your current customer base? Without knowing for sure, you’ll be setting arbitrary goals.
Market analysis validates your intuition
Market analysis allows you to validate your assumptions. It will provide you with all the necessary insights to determine the best direction. Whether it is to grow, consolidate or manage a turnaround for your business. It will show you both your quick wins and longer-term opportunities and help you set realistic goals. Allowing you to make calculated decisions rather than resting the fate of your business on ‘guesstimates’.
Not sure which factors to include in your market analysis? SpotOpp organizes, digitizes and visualizes all relevant data showing you your market-fit and sweet spots. Clear interpretation and results for strategic success. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to know more.