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Do you know
your market? Then what is
an entrepreneur to do? What else, but go in search of a market.
That is what we will discuss today. What does this
word 'market' mean to you? Does it mean a huge group of persons
or organisations that will use your product or service? Or does
it mean a small group? Are they in a particular geographical location
or dispersed all over? Make sure you are clear on this because your
answers to these questions define your market. One thing is clear:
that we cannot be all things to all people. A sign hung
at a small machinery shop amply demonstrates this. The sign states:
"We do the following types of jobs - good jobs, fast jobs and
cheap jobs. We can only do two types at once." The machine
shop operator knows that there are several types of customers with
different needs. Similarly, you will have to understand your prospective
customers and be ready to meet their needs accordingly. Since you
cannot be all things to all people, you have to choose what you
will be and for whom. This is called selecting a market niche. A market niche
is a part of a larger market. The way a large potential market is
split into smaller parts depends entirely on the type of product
or service. As an example think of the many places you can buy a
T-Shirt and the many types of businesses that are making and selling
T-Shirts. They are all
T-Shirts, but so different and aimed at satisfying different needs
and wants. The success
of a marketer depends on how she perceives and responds to the needs
of her potential customers in a chosen niche. The niche you
choose to serve through your business needs to be big enough for
your business to survive and thrive. If you have several business
ideas, it may be good to put each one through this test to see which
is better and more profitable. Think of your
business and try to answer these questions. Who are the buyers of
this market? Are they corporates or individual persons? What do
they do? What are they
trying to achieve? What are their needs and wants? Are their needs
and wants similar or very different? What do they
think and feel? What will make them happy or annoyed in your type
of product or service? How do they make their decisions? Where do
they get the information for the decisions? Who influences
their decisions? How can you solve their problems? If you can
answer the above questions, you do indeed know a lot about your
potential market and customers. Now it is time
to ascertain the market size and pick out the exact niche you will
serve. If you cannot find answers to the questions, isn't it time
you went out looking for the information? Next week we
will discuss finding market information and determining the size
of the market your business can realistically serve. We invite your
ideas on what areas you want us to cover in future articles. Please
send your questions and comments to btimes@wijeya.lk or call 074-304100. The writer
is a Chartered Management Accountant by profession with a Masters
in Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde in
Glasgow. She is the Managing Editor of Athwela Vyaparika Sangarawa
(Athwela Business Journal). |
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