The Importance of a Market Analysis (hint: saves time and makes money!)

When running your own business knowledge is definitely power, but most of us don’t have enough of it to throw the knock-out punch!

If you feel like you are flapping in the breeze, without a proper handle on what’s going on in your business and around it, I highly recommend you take some time to do a market analysis.

This may not be the bright shiny bells-n-whistles stuff that draws you in and keeps you wanting more, but this is the stuff successful businesses are built on.

A market analysis will help you get a proper handle on…  

• who your customers are;
• how many of them are out there;
• what stuff they usually buy, how much for and where from;
• where they hang out;
• how they make buying decisions;
• who else is paddling in your pond – aka the competition.

Okay, so ‘market analysis’ sounds uber daunting and formal, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Just think how it would feel to have total clarity on all that stuff – you’d save loads of time and money by

(a) developing stuff they actually need and

(b) knowing exactly how and when to market to them

(c) understanding what sets you apart from all the other ducks out there!

What’s not to love!?

I’m gonna be helping a small group of driven, passionate and committed business owners create their market analysis as part of my 10 week Group Coaching Programme – Your Business Playbook.

We get started on 13 January and essentially it’s everything you need to crank things up, get your business working for you, and live a happier life.

If you want to join us, I’ll pop the link below.

If you’d rather have a crack at creating your own market analysis, here are the top 4 things I recommend you include:

1. Environment

Take a gander at what’s going on in your industry – what are the trends, what’s working, what isn’t.  Research what’s coming down the pipeline so you can jump on it before it becomes the next big thing. Factor in stuff that may impact your business – like the economy and politics (sorry!). The more you know about the place you operate in, the better.

2. Market

This is about understanding who your customers are. It’s a chance to really think about the stuff you offer, and who it will be most relevant for. Take a look around – whose buying the kind of stuff you offer? Is there a particular niche who seem to love it? Understand who they are, where they shop, what keeps them up at night, how many of them are there out there, how many people are coming up behind them. This type of deep ideal client market analysis will help you focus and save you tonnes of money in the long run.

3. Competitors

Time to take a proper look at who else is out there – what are they doing well, what seems to be working? Pay attention to how their style and approach makes you feel. Pull as much info as you think is relevant into a Table so you can easily see how they compare to each other, where you fit, and what you can offer to set yourself apart. How are they serving their clients. Now – don’t fall down a rabbit hole here (aka spend hours scrolling the socials seeing just how fabulous they are!).  This is not an opportunity to beat yourself up or make yourself feel less-than. It’s an analytical exercise that is crucial for you and your business, and I recommend you revisit this at least once a year.

4. Projection

It’s time to take a few educated guesses based on the info you’ve gathered so far. Based on the size and value of your market – how much of it do you feasibly want to hold? How much will that be worth? How will you need to price your offerings to make the money you need from that market share? Be realistic but optimistic.

You see…the boring business stuff ain’t that bad!

If you do fancy joining us to work through this and all the other elements of your Business & Marketing Plan here’s the link where you can find out more, book a call, or enrol on the programme: