Nowadays, the international market is like a huge “Universe” with different “planets”, where the first thing is an attempt to obtain new knowledge, and the second to get new connections.
If companies want to be in step with current market trends and to maintain their competitive positions, then conducting regular market researches is a global challenge.
Irrespective of whether your goal is to open a new business or to expand it, you need to research in order to: understand your target audience, increase sales, and stimulate business growth.
However, many people consider analysis as a global “problem”.
As it is a difficult task. You are completely immersed in the search for new market opportunities with the goal of “staying afloat” among dozens of rivals and not to “lose face” at the moment of launching a new product or service on the European market.
What is the market analysis?
Professional information accumulation in order to:
- identify external factors of influence on your business. From the industry and the market itself.
- make a detailed profile of your potential customer and also to consider negative factors.
- examine profiles of your competitors in details. To identify the strongest sides and their advantages over you.
Why do you need it?
We have to adjust to changes in trade policy, innovative technologies in order to find additional income – a guarantee of success of any organization, brand or public personality.
Hence the search for new sources of profit or investment, as well as new “brick with cement” in order to survive moments of risk and times of stagnation.
First: how to choose loyal customers?
What is the demographic data?
You need to know by sight your target audience for this.
Demographic data can help you to understand:
- Who are your customers?
- Where they are located.
- And what are their needs?
What’s important is that people who have the same demographic profile usually have the same behavior while shopping.
As a result, demographic analysis is an important component of marketing. And it is especially useful when marketing managers do not have sufficient information about the market. Knowledge of demographic analysis basics can help them better serve clients.
The main 3 points of analysis
Age preferences
Customers have different preferences and needs at different stages of their lives. Also, the purchasing power of different age groups can vary with time.
For example, teenagers have an enormous purchasing power and can potentially influence the habits of «family» group buyers.
Seniors spend more than a generation ago and are more economically active.
Life Style
Since 2014, the new marketing strategy “Performance marketing”, which is tied to business indicators of customers (quality, quantity, time, ease of usage, money), is gaining special popularity. The main purpose is to cause an action from the client.
Accordingly, Social Media Marketing puts emphasis on the style of consumption of goods/services and level of life (consumer demand, consumer behavior) market analysis.
For example, the new direction of Eco Lifestyle is becoming a very popular trend in Europe, and the solutions to its problems are important for marketing managers. And it is important for customers to know that these products are environmentally friendly.
Ethical norms
Also, it is important to take into account the individual differences between clients and to avoid stereotype errors. Stereotyping is a broad generalization of a group of people because of knowledge lack. This is unethical for business. Managers should take into account ethical norms (customs, values, educational level) while conducting of demographic analyzes.
For example, the statistics assert that customers whose values coincide with the values informing the “ideological brand” of product/service, quickly and confidently make a purchase decision.
Second: How to Understand Your Customers
A friendly attitude towards the client is at the heart of every successful transaction.
Brian Tracy
The key issue is that a persistent attempt to understand your customers’ point of view can take a lot of time and sometimes cause nervous tension.
You are trying to “catch” the surface and to “feel” the real needs of customers.
As a result, you can expect two unpleasant outcomes:
- A potential client may not open to you. Because your product/service does not have credibility.
- And you can lose a regular customer, without having “heard” his\her wishes.
It can upset you.
How to simplify understanding of customers?
This problem can be compared with the solution of the Rubik’s cube. You must become a client, skip everything through your entrepreneur’s consciousness.
In order for the cube to come together in a color scheme from all sides, you will have to do each side in detail.
There are secrets of how to make your clients open to you, to give you more information and to contact you.
Tip № 1: active listening
In many cases, the problem is that we are not able to listen and to listen attentively to the client. Once you become a good listener, you will get much more valuable information.
So there are several tips about active listening:
- Maintain visual contact.
- Do not listen in order to the answer, listen in order to understand.
- Try to imagine what your client says.
- Listen to all the customer’s wishes, in addition to your product offers.
Tip № 2: trust building
If you want to establish a profitable long-term relationship, first establish a contact based on a mutual understanding with the client. Why? Because people buy from people they know, love and trust.
Find common themes with your client. Perhaps you like the same sports teams. Or you have the same preference in the musical genre. Or you like the similar cuisine and dishes of the restaurants. Anyway, use this for your own benefits.
Tip № 3: use humor
Humor is one of the most effective tools. You create a comfortable environment for positive emotions. In the book, “Talk Like TED: 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the World Minds,” author Carmine Gallo points out how important humor is when you try to imagine an idea. He discusses how humor makes you cuter, which means that your client will be more likely to agree to conduct business with you.
Try to tell a story that is related to what your company is releasing an offering.
Third: the real goal for business
In the future, there will be two types of companies – fast and dead.
David Weiss
In fact, finding and setting the best goal for a business depends a great deal on organizational indicators, along with an understanding of customers.
It is important for you to build the “boat”. At the same time, do not rely on the efforts in rowing and the rhythm of the oars. Because if the boat starts to leak, it will become an endless attempt to fix a hole.
You can determine the real goal for your business, increase business profits only after acquiring new information about the target and existing clients.
What is a business goal?
This is the result of successful business management and the basics of business planning.
7 effective recommendations
The main thing is to maintain profits by controlling financial costs for production and cash operations.
- Your goal is to maximize employee productivity (training), technical equipment (acquisition, upgrade).
- Customer service. Permanent income comes from satisfied clients. The client will remember more of what you do, and not what you say.
- Main values. It is necessary to build a positive corporate culture and to develop a product/service according to the ethical standards of the potential audience of clients.
- Change management. The market is developing. The client will want something new soon. So your company has to grow fast and grow and a new market analysis will be needed in order to cope with all changes.
- The dynamic pyramid of business directly depends on the successful engagement of customers by creating an advertisement that “exactly strikes the goal” (understanding purchasing trends and the need to improve product share).
- Competitive analysis. The most important business task. It helps to define the level of your product/service on the market by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of sales.
Fourth: Three Business Strategies
Business strategy helps to achieve your desired goals. In other words, this is a long-term business planning for a period of 3 to 5 years.
Most of the basic business ideas and strategies are classic on the European market. However, over the past couple of years, technology and excess of information changed the landscape for business. Now we can analyze our audience in almost every corner of the world.
More communication: mobile strategy
Beginning in 2014, statistics show that 60% of communication with clients is due to the use of communication through smartphones and tablets. 2017 surprised us with an unexpected leap – about 2.97 billion (91%) users use mobile Internet.
If your site does not support a mobile phone, it’s time to take advantage of mobile and local marketing initiatives.
Improved service: satisfied customers
Andrew Reid, founder, and CEO of Vision Critical said:
“Customers are starting to realize that their true value for companies goes far beyond wallets. This is the level of an authorized client when one complaining to social networks can cost millions of dollars to business, and an online review can affect the restaurant’s advertising, reviews can significantly affect business solutions «.
Such essential details can increase the general level of service for customers. Some of these strategies include:
- Get Personal – to contact customers personally, listen to their reviews.
- Build Clout – remuneration of regular customers.
- Entertainment – affects the improvement of brand awareness, attracts and saves customers.
Investing: learning and education
According to the data, “In 2017 USA spending on corporate training rose by 15% to over $ 70 billion.” As Josh Bersin notes in Forbes, this is a “very good indicator of economic activity.”
Companies must train team members. For example, how to use operating devices efficiently and safely is a problem company Sony once faced with.
If your employees are not aware of the latest technologies or strategies, how can you expect them to develop new business strategies next year?
Fifth: How to Solve a Business Problem
Starting and managing any business is a solution to customer problems
Some people are good at it, while the level of knowledge of others may not have sufficient IQ and any academic background.
As a rule, there are two main problems: emotional and material. So, we all work on mastering the discipline of problem-solutions. We analyze the market and everything connected with it.
Tips by Brian Tracy:
- Take time in order to clearly identify the problem
In all cases, real clearness will accelerate the way forward.
- Look for alternative ways
There may be situations that you can not manage with. But often what seems like a problem first, in fact, is an opportunity.
- Conduct analysis in detail
The more ways you can identify a problem, the more likely you are on the way to a better solution. For example, “small sales” can be the result of the influence of strong competitors or ineffective advertising.
- Assign a responsible person
People who are well versed in business problems are called “smart people,” and their advice is even more appreciated than “smartbooks”. The best entrepreneurs have both.
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