Few Businesses keep tabs on competitors, yet such knowledge can give you a distinctive competitive edge. Building a file on them, looking at everything from the customer's viewpoint and asking suppliers and employees what they know about them can be worthwhile. Keeping a jump ahead of the competition means knowing precisely what they are up to. Here are some tips to help you stay one, if not several, leaps ahead.
Step 1
Get clear on your marketing mix
You will often here someone on the website refer to the marketing mix. This refers to the five P's of marketing. Product, Place, Price, Promotion and People. Any Business who combines the 5 P's effectively will be successful.
Who is Your Customer?
In order to tailor your marketing and advertising strategies to appeal to the tastes and interests of your market, you must first identify your customer. In order to do this, you it is necessary to conduct thorough research of the consumer marketplace. Keep in mind, the more information you have about your target market, the better able you will be to develop a successful marketing plan.
A market profile typically uses primary and secondary sources to answer key questions about a potential market. A profile is a picture or an outline. Information that makes up the social profiles of the people in your target market is called demographic information, and includes:
age, usually given in a range (20-35 years)
sex
marriage/partner status
location of household
family size and description
income, especially disposable income (money available to spend)
education level, usually to last level completed
occupation
interests, purchasing profile (what are consumers known to want?)
cultural, ethnic, racial background
A clothing manufacturer may consider a number of possible target markets--toddlers, athletes, grandparents (for grandchildren), teenagers, and tourists. A general profile of each of these possible markets will reveal which ones are more realistic, pose less risk, and which are more likely to show a profit. A test market survey of the most likely market groups, or those who buy for them, such as parents for babies and toddlers, can help you separate real target markets from unlikely possibilities.
The Right Product
What are your customer's needs? What do they expect to get when they buy your product or use your service? The right product is the one that best fits their requirements.
People who eat in restaurants want more than a good meal. They might expect quick service, a reasonable price, a vegetarian menu, a children's menu, entertainment, a drive through window, or to be identified with a trendy crowd. It becomes a difficult and probably an unprofitable venture trying to satisfy everyone's needs.
If you have identified your customer and listed their expectations, you can design your product or service around their requirements.
The more you fulfil your customer's expectations, the better the quality of your product. Think of your product or service as more than just what the customers pays for. When you are planning your Business consider how the whole transaction meets the customer's needs.
It is important to note that developing the product or service COMES AFTER you have identified the customer and their need. If you have an idea you think might be worth pursuing, develop the concept only when you have determined a genuine need and interest in the product.
Then let the market help you develop it and strengthen it. Most small Businesses fail because the market was not enthusiastic about their idea and the entrepreneur was too vested to listen to the market early in the process.
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