In today’s market environment, every business needs to go the extra mile to remain competitive. We all need to figure out ways to deal with and adapt to new challenges, such as technological advancements, labor shifts, declining economies, social upheavals, political unrest, and so on. One of the tried and tested approaches to market longevity is a consistent emphasis on competitive analysis and market research.
Market research and competitive analysis are two different approaches to market dominance that have more in common than most of us may assume. They both work by providing more detailed and useful information to help guide marketing, production, and business strategies. The difference between the two is that while competitive analysis provides us with the tools needed to make our businesses stand out, market research is focused on the discovery of new clients.
To achieve success, we need to incorporate a combination of both, and one of the best ways to do this is to combine the data gathered using these two strategies and use it to fuel a concentrated marketing campaign. In this post, we’ll explore the core tenets of market research and competitive analysis before exploring some of the most effective ways of reaching the clients you identify using these approaches.
Let’s dive right in.
Competitive Analysis to Identify Market Advantages
Competitive analysis is a strategy that’s defined by identifying the qualities that will allow you to overtake your competitors and achieve market prominence. Identifying a competitive edge involves more than an analysis of your competitors or the products/services they provide. Essential factors to consider here include:
- Secondary/indirect market participants that may affect your performance
- Obstacles that may affect you negatively
- How much value your competitors place on your target market
- Your weaknesses and strengths
- Your current market shares
The United States Department of Justice provides useful resources for small businesses to aid them in this pursuit, including an outline of Porter’s Five Forces, which provides a reliable way of distinguishing competitive potential by industry.
Market Research for Customer Identification
Understanding your market is the first step towards success in any industry. The idea behind this research is to consider economic trends in combination with consumer behavior to identify the most effective marketing strategies. Some of the key points of interest to consider when carrying out market research operations include:
- Pricing: What are people willing to pay for what you have to offer?
- Market population: Are there enough people out there to support your business model?
- Location: Where are your clients located, and do you have mechanisms in place to reach them?
- Economic climate: Does your target market have the capacity to afford and support your enterprise?
- Market demand: Is there a real and tangible demand for your products or services? Are people willing to pay for what you have to offer?
Effective Strategies Incorporating Market Research and Competitive Analysis
In a digital world, there are countless emerging strategies and methods of reaching new markets and converting them into loyal customers. The idea here is to utilize the insights you obtain from your competitive analysis and market research to isolate, understand, and influence your target market.
There are plenty of effective ways we can harness the considerable power of print media that we should never discount. In this post, we’ll attempt to highlight some of these tactics, approaches, and strategies. They include:
Prioritize Strategic Clarity
Having a clear vision and plan of approach towards your target market is a key element of long-term marketing success. Once you’ve identified your desired objective, you can optimize your return on investment (ROI) by utilizing tactical approaches such as personalized print marketing, which allows us to customize the messaging we aim toward each potential customer. The idea is to optimize the impact of our marketing campaigns by tailoring our messages.
Emphasize Your Message Through Reiteration
Whether we like it or not, people today have much shorter attention spans than they used to, and the sheer amount of information the average person is bombarded with each day makes it nearly impossible for a single message to stand out.
Because of this reality, it’s estimated that companies need to make at least 8-12 separate interactions or ‘touch points’ with potential customers before receiving a favorable response. The problem here is that receiving the same message over and over again can become irritating and put people off from the message, which is where stratagems such as personalized direct mail can be relied on as part of a wider mailing campaign.
Make Use of Cross-Channel Insights
An effective marketing campaign will utilize a variety of strategies and approaches. Without a thorough feedback monitoring system, you’ll have no idea whether your efforts are paying off or not.
Without this knowledge, you won’t be able to optimize your efforts and achieve better results. IQ Mail is one of the integrated print marketing approaches that offers a treasure trove of market data insights that you can use to formulate highly effective marketing strategies.
Identify Critical Points
One of the most important functions of market research is identifying the elements that bear the biggest influence on the final purchasing decisions of your customers. These may range from price, availability, and eco-friendliness to fashionability and more. With this knowledge in hand, personalized print marketing can be employed as a pin-point strategy to target potential clients on a personal level.
Delve Into Your Market’s Emotional Drivers
One of the core tenets of the integrated marketing approach is exploring the different factors that contribute to the market’s attitude. This means going further and deeper than the obvious indicators to try and understand the hidden factors and drivers that influence market behavior. With this approach, you can attain results that would be otherwise out of your reach.
Final Thoughts
The key to success in today’s world environment is to develop dynamic, modern approaches to marketing that combine digital methods with effective traditional print approaches. Combining competitive analysis principles with market research methods can be a challenge, but with the right variable data printing companies by your side, you can take your organization to the next level of success.
The team at PDC Graphics has the skills, knowledge, passion, and expertise to get the job done and is ready and waiting to partner with you on your next campaign. Make the call today. You won’t regret it!