All about markets and how to map them.
Best practices to identify markets
Although there are different approaches to identify a market, there are common considerations that help businesses to figure out whether their product or service is viable. Markets can be identified by answering the following questions:
Does your product solve a problem?
Many businesses come up with great ideas and products but not every solution has a problem it can address. You have to put the horse before the cart after all. This is why it is important to identify whether the problem you are trying to solve exists on a large enough scale for it to be profitable.
Is the market saturated?
The affordable apparel industry is extremely challenging to get in. Why? Because there are thousands of established players already competing against each other. Unless you have a clear, unfair advantage over your competition, the market will not be too welcoming and it will be a resource-intensive process to build reputation and brand name.
Can we offer the product at the right price?
Studying your target audience is key to identify whether the market you are going for is actually there. If your target market belongs to a lower middle class, which is price-sensitive, you cannot sell them on a product that asks for a premium price.
What is market mapping and how it can help?
A market map is a visual representation of a variety of market factors that are reviewed in the context of prevalent trends and relative variables. It allows businesses to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each player and find a gap that they can address for their own profitability and future growth. Market mapping can be helpful in a number of ways:
- Insightful & Data-Backed - Market maps are created based on facts and statistics that provide deep insight into the inner market workings and how different factors drive them.
- Easy to Understand - Market research can be quite complicated as there are a number of variables involved. Market maps make it easier to conceptualize data for quick understanding.
- Visual Reporting - Since market maps consist of visual illustrations and reports, they are easily comprehensible and provide the right information for timely decision-making.
- Custom Market Maps - Market maps are conventionally flexible and versatile allowing businesses to create maps that reflect the information they are searching for.
Final Word
Markets can be quite complicated, especially for businesses that are just starting out and trying to test waters. There are multiple factors that needed to be studied, evaluated, and assessed before a business can launch a new product. From competing brands and customers to regulatory compliance and price sensitivity, numerous factors can make or break a product launch.
This is where market mapping can be quite effective as it presents a data-backed visual representation of the current market situation, competition, and trends in the context of required variables and factors. It makes business’s job easier to identify the viability of a certain market and assess whether their new product idea has some weight to it.