LMDTFY News

How does your business landscape look? If you don’t know, find out!

The economy is in a state of flux at the moment, probably more so than for decades. Consumers are consuming differently and markets are shifting and morphing, leaving some businesses suddenly high and dry, pitching others into a state high visibility and even higher demand completely out of the blue.

What’s going on in your market? If you don’t know, it’s time to find out how the land lies or you risk being caught unawares.

If you don’t have time to carry out market and competitor research yourself, why not outsource the project? Outsourcing might even prove to be a much better idea than doing it yourself because an outsider isn’t as likely to fall foul of confirmation bias, where you conveniently ignore information that doesn’t fit your pre-conceived notions.  You need someone who isn’t so intimately familiar with your business and market, who can deliver exciting, unexpected and valuable commercial insights. Someone like me!

Here’s just a few of the common sense questions to ask about the current state of your target market and the business landscape you operate in:

Your target market

• Is your target market growing, shrinking or changing?
• Are there any niche markets where strong growth is predicted…
• … or where a collapse is on the cards?
• What is the typical demographic of your customers?
• What about psychographics, in other words their lifestyle and beliefs?
• Where do they hang out?
• Do your solutions match their needs effectively?  

Your competitors

• How many direct competitors do you have?
• How many indirect competitors do you have?
• Are they expanding or cutting back, and why?
• Is competition increasing or decreasing, and why?
• Are there any new products, services and innovations causing a stir?
• How do their products and services compare with yours?
• Are your prices competitive or do you need to lower / raise them?
• What are your relative strengths and weaknesses?
• How do they market their products and services?
• What do they do better than you?
• What do you do better than them

If you need support with market research and competitor research, it costs nothing to talk. Just get in touch to explore the possibilities.