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Getting To Know Your Market

Charen Smith

March 26, 2008

Most entrepreneurs make a common mistake. Many entrepreneurs encounter the same mistakes as they try to outmaneuver competition in their quest for more profits. By far, the most common mistake these entrepreneurs make is their penchant to create or develop a particular market need when they should be developing something that fits ‘just right.’

Remember the story of Goldilocks and the three bears? Most customers, like Goldilocks, are seeking the product that is ‘just right’ for them. For most entrepreneurs, developing this product is the most difficult challenge – the challenge to satisfy the requirements of a large enough group of customers while being able to address each and everyone’s concern.

The trick here is to understand your market. Getting to know your market makes you aware of the individual peculiarities of the people that make up this particular sector. There are several key questions to answer when you are just about to start a company. Answer these key questions and you will be able to determine your market:

Does anyone have a real need for the product I intend to sell?

How many of these people who have this need are potential customers?

How much are they spending to address that need today?

How different is my product from what is being sold today?

These questions will not only help you determine your market for your product but it will also provide information that will help you fine-tune your ideas.

The other side of the coin however, is quite disconcerting: failure to understand your customers can be costly. Often, most businesses fail because they have not taken the time needed to know their customers.

On the other hand, it is not surprising that successful businesses are those that have a direct link with their customers. I know of a successful color printing company which employs an effective feedback mechanism. This color printing company makes it a point to call its customers right after performing a particular service. It does not only give them good client feedback, it also strengthens the relationship with the client to a level that is somehow personal.

Successful entrepreneurs, like this color printing company, listens to understand, and to adapt more quickly to real market needs. Businesses that spend a lot of time trying to have everything just right are very likely to be selling a lot more of their product or services than those who only try to prove they are right and insist their customers can either take it or leave it. Unfortunately, customers who encounter such arrogance leave. And who do you think is the loser in the end?

For more information, you can visit this page on Commercial Color Printing

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