The Modern Rules of Understanding Your Market

At White Media Agency we know that finding out about your market and the competitors you face is key to developing a successful business or product launch.  It’s not about copying what others do; rather, it’s about evaluating the landscape and being in-tune to opportunities.

No one succeeds long term with a “me too” or copycat strategy.  Even services or products that are similar have some sort of unique aspect that makes them rise to the top of mind for clients and potential customers.

If you really want to research your market and determine if you are offering a unique angle, explore your market using these easy techniques:

Read trade publications and websites

Outlets like Creative cover trends for a specific market or industry and have their pulse on what is going on in the industry.  They will normally cover what your competitors are doing, exploring trends and downfalls in the market, and provide valuable insight that you can use to gauge your own business.

Visit or shop competition

Get up close and personal!  Visit a competitor, make a purchase at competitor’s stores or attend an event they host or sponsor. This is an excellent way to get feedback from people in the room or store, assess why their customers or clients like or dislike the brand and see firsthand what they are doing well that clients/customers praise or complain about.  There is no substitute for real-world experiences in the marketplace.

Review advertising

Where competitors advertise tells a lot about who they think their market is and what message would appeal to that market.  Do you want to reach that same demographic or economic category?  If advertising is too expensive for your budget, what can you take away from competitors advertising that you can turn into an advantage?

Follow or view social media

There are so many social platforms out there but your competitors are using them for awareness and sometimes actual sales in the market.   Take a peek at your competitors on those platforms.  What are their followers talking about, how many followers do they have, what comments or images get the most “likes” or ‘favorites”?   All of this information can be used to assist you in your own business.

A little bit of research goes a long way when determining if you are sending the most effective message about your product or service.  If you want a deeper dive than you can do on your own, you can hire marketing firms or freelance experts to do the research for you.  Either way, understanding your competition and the market through a detailed study of the market will yield high results long term.