Understanding your marketplace
The starting point for any business should be to ensure a good, up-to-date understanding of its target market.
You need information about:
• Your overall market (size,trends etc)
• The market segments you serve
• Your own sales performance in these segments
• Your customers
• Your competitors
• Distributors or agents you may use
• People who introduce business to you
• Your suppliers
Information about your customers is critical. You need to know, for example: who and where they are; what they value when they buy your type of products/services; how they buy; their problems and aspirations; and what they think of your products.
Think too about your competitors. Check you know who they are, what they offer, which types of customer they serve, and what are their strengths and weaknesses compared to what your business offers.
Also, think about the broad trends and developments underway in your market. What regulatory, economic, legal, technological and social issues are likely to affect your future business ?
OM2 has the expertise and range of research and information tools to help you really understand your market place. Major tools we work with include:
• Consultation meetings and visits
• Qualitative research, including focus groups and 1:1 interviews
• Surveys - on-line, telephone and postal
• Internet and library desk research
• Published sources – e.g. directories, press articles, company accounts
Get to know your marketplace with OM2. Remember, better informed, better prepared !
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