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How to Assess Market Opportunities for Your Business
Opportunity typically knocks, but today it’s crashing through your wall à la the Kool-Aid Man. It might not present itself when you’re actively looking for it, and it might not come at the most opportune time, so to speak. Nonetheless, opportunity can appear out of nowhere, and it’s in our best interest to address it.
Without further ado, G2 will show you how to assess market opportunities for your business.
Identify a market opportunity for your organization. Before you can properly assess an opportunity, you need to identify an opportunity.
- For startups…this means first segmenting your base. Break apart the demographics of your target consumer base and break down the pain points each segment faces and how you can alleviate that pain. Next, you’ll want to evaluate the customers’ buying power by taking the time to understand not just disposable income, but the purchasing patterns of each segment. Lastly, leveraging current events will allow unknown startups to gain recognition by positioning themselves with larger topics and events.
- For emerging/growth phase businesses…this can mean diversifying your portfolio. While you’re successful with your current offerings, expanding your products and services offered or even reaching different markets can deliver growth. You might also consider building partnerships. Not every business has the resources needed to address a given market opportunity, but finding a partner and striking a mutual agreement can spell success for both parties.
How do you conduct a market opportunity analysis?
- Ask the customer. If it’s your customer, then ask what they like about your products and services and what else they would like to see. Being direct is the way to go (just don’t go bursting through the walls of their homes to collect feedback.)
- Technological innovation. All the time we see the disruptors and the disrupted. Utilizing new and promising technologies can pose opportunities by giving you a competitive edge others have not yet adopted. Study technologies in other industries and assess which could work for you.
Keep reading for the rest of G2’s tips. (Oh yeah!)
SWOT Analysis
Nothing spells opportunity assessment quite like a good old fashioned SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. It’s a tried and true tool for outlining the current state of your business with the goal of continuous growth. Embrace the quadrants with this SWOT Analysis tool.
List out the prominent items for each section and assign importance by allowing your team to vote. Then you can view your chart in your preferred layout and even display the most prominent points above the rest.
Watch
Draw Ketchup
Some things just go without saying. Halloween means Jack-o’-lanterns, cats mean occupied keyboards, and a hot new Netflix doc means we already have plans this weekend.
Heinz unveiled this ad in which people are told to draw ketchup. And, sure enough, it goes without saying: ketchup = Heinz. It just does. 🤷♀️
“Differentiate yourself! Why are you different? What’s important about you? Why does the customer need you?”
Sara Blakely
