Market analysis is a thorough quantitative and qualitative investigation into the state of a particular segment of the market.
A proper market analysis will enable you to properly understand the market, the players within it, their current state of operation and what you may need to do in order to enter that market.
One part of the analysis, when assessing competitors would be to check a reviews website such as reviewsbird.co.uk in order to gain some insight into what customers are saying about the providers in that market.
Customer experience can be a very insightful tool as you further examine the finer details of your chosen market.
Market Overview
The first step in creating a comprehensive market analysis is conducting an overview of the industry or niche that you are considering.
A proper market overview will give you an idea as to the size of the market, and if that market is growing or shrinking. You will be able to get some historical insight into what’s happened in the years leading up to the current situation.
At this point, you should also be able to make some general forecasts as to the future of the market based on previous and current performance.
You may want to base your overview on statistical information, such as that from the Office Of National Statistics. Other routes to consider would be published data from the governing body related to your business, or public sector data that has been made available.
Define Your Customer
Next, you will be looking to identify who your customer is.
This is not as simple as it may seem at first.
If you are providing a service to individuals, then you’ll need to make a demographic assessment.
You’ll want to know where these people live, how they interact with the market. You will want to know why they interact, and how they spend their money when they interact.
Whether your service or product is a luxury or essential item will have a big impact on this analysis stage.
Consider where else your customers are shopping currently, and examine the strength of this competition.
If you are a business providing services to other businesses (B2B), then you’ll likewise want to know what the current relationship between the businesses currently trading is like.
You may be able to find a chink or a unique selling point.
Very often these unique selling points are based on pain points that are not currently addressed in the market.
Pricing
You will need to consider your pricing.
This will be a function of the previous steps, and not simply pitching in at the lowest number.
Your customers may well expect to pay more for a better service. They may even pay more for a higher perceived value in your product. This is something that you can capitalise on.
Wherever you decide, you will need to ensure that you can sustain the price or prices and still keep your business afloat.
Remember, a market analysis is different to your business plan, and the both need to work with each other.