3 Questions to Jump Start Market Opportunity Analysis

If you want to launch, grow or diversify a business, then you need to spend some time – a LOT of time – researching and understanding the potential market opportunity. Having tremendous talent or a really great idea just isn’t enough. You need to do some digging to answer the following questions:

How are people meeting this need today? Remember that not all competition is direct. Let me give you an example. I worked with a client who designed a new fastening technology. There was nothing quite like it on the market, so the client believed there to be no competition. In fact, there was a lot. The competitive offerings may not be a direct comparison, but people are fastening things down somehow. Really open your mind and consider how you attach and fasten things. We use bungee cords, rope, zip ties – and the list goes on. So, the question is not whether you have competition – because you do. The question becomes how people are meeting that need today, and whether your offer provides enough value for them to consider changing habits and potentially paying more for the solution.

Is someone else already filling this need? Now that you’ve considered how the need is currently met, think about your competition. Is someone else already doing this? If so, are you able to do it faster, better or cheaper? If not, then you need to consider how you can, so your offer is differentiated. Sometimes this means walking away from an idea as well. If it’s just not feasible and viable for you to make your offer faster, better or cheaper than the competition, the market opening may not be big enough for two (or more!) of you. Keep in mind that customer experience can be a huge differentiator, and your ticket to winning.

Is the opportunity financially viable? There is a lot more than product cost to be considered when determining price and profit (or loss). First, you should price your product or service based on the value it brings to the market and what people are willing to pay for that value. If you try to price based on the cost you have into it, you will likely be priced too high or too low for the market. Too high, and you’ll price yourself out of the market. Too low, and you’ve left money on the table. When considering financial viability, look at your total business costs. In addition to product costs, consider labor, equipment, utilities, buildings, marketing, tax obligations, supplies – everything. Do your homework to understand how much you have to spend to make and market your offer. If you look at just the product or service cost, you will end up with an unpleasant surprise when all of the other expenses add up.

Now that you’ve vetted your opportunity, you can make an educated decision about whether to continue into the strategy phase or go back to the drawing board. Marketing Flexibility is available to assist with your market research and analysis needs. Visit us at www.marketingflexibility.com or email kris@marketingflexibility.com for a free consultation.

What Does a Marketing Consultant Do?

I’m often asked to explain what I do. As a strategic marketing consultant, the work isn’t something I can display as easily as, say, an agency which creates advertisements. Here’s the best explanation I can offer; I help businesses find vision, clarity and direction, backed by solid plans for success. I ask really tough questions, force really tough decisions, and develop a roadmap for success. Here are the questions I ask and the answers I develop with business owners and managers:

What Is Your Best Market Opportunity?

The world is full of opportunity! The challenge is discovering current and future market needs which aren’t already being met. If someone else is already meeting the need, then how are you different? Can you do it faster, better, or cheaper? If not, we’ll explore better opportunities or discuss how you can differentiate yourself to compete.

What Do You Know About the Opportunity?

You have a great idea, and that’s a great place to start! Now, it’s time to be honest about what you know about the market and opportunity. This is your situational analysis, and it’s a lot of work. During this phase, we dig into market research and explore all of the things which impact your potential success. We look at your company structure and capabilities, your potential collaborators, your potential customers, your competition, and the context – or the world – in which you’ll need to do business. The context includes political, legal, social and economic factors which can impact how you do business.

What Does It All Mean?

Once we’ve uncovered the necessary information, we conduct careful analysis. It’s a lot like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. There’s a lot of data laying in front of us. We figure out how to piece it together to create a logical picture and make sound business decisions.

Where Do You Go From Here?

This is the fun part! Once you have a clear picture of the best market opportunity, we develop a strategic plan. This plan becomes your roadmap to success. In the plan, we clearly define the following:

·         Vision and Mission

·         Situational Analysis

·         Market Segmentation

·         Objectives and Goals

·         Positioning

·         Business Model Strategy

·         Product or Service Offers

·         Price Strategy

·         Place Strategy (how your offer goes to market)

·         Promotional Strategy

·         Key Risk Factors and Control Plan

·         Budget and Forecast

·         Success Metrics

How Do You Get It Done?

Implementing your plan is hard work. I’ll work with you to ensure you have the business processes, organization and key contacts necessary to successfully implement you plan.

If you have more questions about what we do, or just want to bounce some marketing questions off from me, visit www.marketingflexibility.com or email me at kris@marketingflexibility.com.

SEO, Social Media, Web Design - Connecting the Dots

Businesses often outsource pieces of marketing, which makes sense when gaps in expertise or capabilities exist. The key to success in working with marketing vendors is knowing which questions to ask and results to expect. Here are some commonly outsourced services, and common pitfalls to avoid.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art and science of selecting and optimizing keywords. The most common pitfall I see is excellent SEO in terms of driving traffic to your site, but in not converting those visits into paying customers. There is a science to selecting keywords which will actually convert visitors into customers. Likewise, content on your website should be written to provide a positive visitor experience, which pulls visitors through the buying cycle. If content is written only for the sake of saturating the site with keywords, it will not drive sales.

If an SEO provider is driving traffic which does not generate viable leads, you should reconsider.

Social Media

Social media is all about the number of followers you can generate, right!

 

Wrong! Just like SEO, the sole purpose of social media is to drive sales. If your social media provider is only measuring the number of likes, followers or posts, you should look elsewhere. A good social media provider will build a social media strategy which supports your business objectives and, ultimately, supports your sales goals.

Web Design

Web design and SEO go hand-in-hand. If you interview a web design provider who does not ask about your business objectives, online goals, target audience, key messages and SEO needs (at a minimum), you should reconsider. Beautiful websites do not sell products and services (although they should look great too!). Online strategy coupled with effective content, website architecture, compelling calls to action, and great SEO do.

There are many agencies which provide excellent SEO, Social Media and Web Design services. We would be happy to provide a recommendation or simply some advice on the types of questions you should ask when looking to outsource those services. Drop me a line at kris@marketingflexibility.com.


Marketing Flexibility, LLC
www.marketingflexibility.com

 

 

4 Types of Market Segmentation

If you looked at my Pandora radio playlist, you’d see a pretty eclectic mix of music. My stations include The Police, Bon Jovi, Pink Floyd, Sugarland, Nickel Creek and Crosby Stills & Nash. Like most people, I never paid attention to the occasional ads that interrupt my music stream, but something caught my attention this week. Some days, I heard ads from water parks and Chevrolet, and other days I heard from Mercedes Benz. And it occurred to me that each playlist was streaming ads appropriate for the expected listening audience. In marketing terms, Pandora had segmented their listeners into market segments, based on the typical demographics and interests of Bon Jovi versus Crosby Stills & Nash fans.

The goal of market segmentation is to separate the general market into categories, which can then be targeted and marketed to most effectively. There are four general types of market segmentation:

1.    Geographic segmentation separates a market into different geographical boundaries which can impact the marketing mix of product, price, promotion and channel to market. For instance, you may not sell many down comforters in Arizona, but the market in Michigan is pretty good. Ever been to Hawaii? The price of goods is substantially higher than the continental United States. And the way you promote and sell a product in southern California will be quite different from Vermont.

2.    Demographic segmentation separates a market by demographic indicators including gender, age, household type, education level and income. Simply put, the type of products we buy, how much we spend, and how we buy them are largely determined by demographic factors.

3.    Psychographic segmentation separates a market by lifestyle as well as values and beliefs. There are large target markets which fit psychographic segmentation, such as outdoor recreation and fitness.

4.    Behavioral segmentation separates a market by shopping and buying behaviors. Are you an online shopper or do you prefer to handle products in the store? How often do you shop? Do you research a purchase carefully before making a decision, or do you tend to buy on impulse? All of these factors determine how consumers are segmented and marketed to.

If you’re a critical thinker like me, you may be wondering about those people who fall in between, or are made up of a combination of, those segments. My experience on Pandora is a great example. Am I the Chevy or Mercedes demographic? Although market segmentation isn’t a perfect science, it will certainly get you closer to understanding your target audience and increasing your marketing return on investment.

 

 

 

For more information about Marketing Flexibility, visit www.marketingflexibility.com.

6 Ways to Retain Customers

Sitting at home on Sunday, browsing the newspaper, one offer in particular caught my attention. $10 off haircut and style – new clients only. I had been to this particular salon in the past, so I wasn’t the new type of client they were looking for, and I couldn’t help feeling unappreciated. As a marketer, I also wondered if they knew customer retention is cheaper than new customer acquisition.

Studies have pinned the cost of acquiring a new customer at five to 30 times that of keeping current customers happy and engaged. The cost of new customer acquisition varies by industry, but in any case, it’s in the best interest of a business to keep current customers coming back. Here are six tips for customer retention:

1.    Deliver consistently on your promises. Business promises come in many forms, including not just specific product or service deliverables, but also consistent business hours and customer experience.

2.    Don’t get too comfortable. It’s easy to get comfortable and complacent with long-term customers, mistakenly thinking a missed deadline or less-than-stellar experience will be overlooked. It won’t go unnoticed.

3.    Invest in your customers’ happiness. Whether you’re selling advice or hardware, be committed to your customers’ success and happiness. When a customer feels cared for – as in, I care more that your sink is leaking than how much you’re going to spend to fix it – they will be back.

4.    Listen! We’ve all heard that feedback is a gift. If you’re lucky enough for a customer to express their concern, rather than simply walking away, take advantage of the opportunity to make things right.

5.    Invest in your employees. Often, relationships are formed between customers and individual employees. When a key employee leaves, there is serious risk that customers will leave as well. Invest in your employees and reduce turn-over to maintain a consistent customer experience.

6.    Appreciate your current customers! It’s fine to create an offer to draw new customers in, but don’t leave current customers feeling left out and unappreciated. If they can’t take advantage of your weekly deal, they may go someplace new – where they can use the coupon too.

It can be exciting to sign a new deal or kick off a shiny new project. Just remember to appreciate and care for your current customers while welcoming new ones.

Can You Substantiate That Claim?

As marketers, we make a lot of claims about product or service performance and how we make customers' dreams come true. Let's face it, it's just more fun to write marketing copy without worrying about the legality of it all. But the truth is, careful steps need to be taken to protect yourself and your company from legal issues caused by claims made in marketing content. I spent four years leading claim substantiation efforts at a large, global corporation. Here are some things I learned:

 

• Claim Substantiation is the process of proving and documenting that the claims you plan to make are true. You must have reasonable proof and appropriate documentation in place before you make a claim.
• Some claims are explicit, meaning you have directly said them. Other claims are implied, meaning you didn't say it directly, but a reasonable person would assume it based on other statements you have made, or images you have used.
• Marketers and lawyers generally have different agendas. A marketer's job is to sell products or services, while a lawyer's job is to protect the company. When in doubt, run claims by your legal counsel. If they have a concern, listen!
• Marketers often make claims without realizing it. A claim is any statement you make about your product, service or business in an effort to generate sales for your company.
• You may be called upon to provide substantiation (proof of evidence) by customers, the government, or your competition.
• The level of required substantiation may be dictated by the level of risk associated with your product or service offering.
• Claim substantiation is required by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It is not optional.
• Businesses should have documented Claim Substantiation processes in place to ensure claims are tested, documented and reviewed before being published.

For more information about FTC requirements, visit the Truth in Advertising media center.

 



 

 

Kristina Marsh, founder of Marketing Flexibility, spent four years leading claim substantiation efforts at a large, global corporation. To contact Kristina with questions or to schedule your business process review, email kris@marketingflexibility.com. 

Looking for Some Holiday Sales Inspiration? Take a Tip from Major Retailers.

The holiday season is upon us, and shoppers are looking for more than a place to spend money. They want a holiday experience.

The major retailers have done their homework to determine what drives holiday traffic, sales, and the customers’ perception of the shopping experience. As a small business, you can leverage that insight to create a holiday experience your customers will enjoy, which means more dollars spent. Here are some tips:

·         Consider hosting a holiday open house as a way to welcome the community into your business. Set the stage for an enjoyable holiday experience with music, refreshments, holiday lighting, entertainment and special offers.

·         Create a holiday atmosphere, where customers can enjoy a leisurely shopping experience throughout the season. Music, lights, sparkly displays, and fragrance put shoppers in a nostalgic mood, increasing the spirit of giving (and spending).

·         Consider coordinating and promoting a charity collection point at your place of business. This will bring traffic into your location, and strengthen your position as a member of the community.

·         Increase traffic with limited time, seasonal offers. Consider new product launches, trunk shows, and product demonstrations as a way to generate excitement and get your event booked on shoppers’ calendars.

During the holiday season, shoppers are looking for personal connections and memorable experiences. After all, shopping is part of their overall holiday experience. Create a warm, enjoyable holiday atmosphere where they can linger, experience and reminisce.