Opportunities and Threats in New Markets
The identification of opportunities and threats in new markets that you hope to enter or if you wish to introduce a new product into existing markets is critical for your best chance success.
When you think of opportunities, think about what in the marketplace can you capitalise on? What can you use to make in a positive way. When you think of threats, think about what is out there that can undermine your company, it’s goals and mission?
Invariably identification of opportunities and threats is achieved through thorough market research! Let’s look at each one in a little more detail.
Opportunities
Once you have successfully identified and opportunity it can provide you with a means to improve you performance and competitive advantage in the market place. Some opportunities can be foreseen like political or economic changes opening up new markets but others can be created like the development of new technologies from emerging ideas or market trends.
Threats
The identification of a real and viable threat can help save you a lot of time and money. A threat is anything from the outside environment that can adversely affect performance or the achievement of your goals. Threats can come in the form of new and existing regulations or competitors, or economic downturns. Technology can also be a threat where it may render your products or services obsolete.
One of the biggest threat a company can face is competition. A Competitor, by definition, is a rival that seeks part of all of your market share. When a competitor enters your market it becomes more liquid and less predictable. The presence of competitors will often affect sales performance but it can be difficult to predict usually resulting in inaccurate forecasting.
The process of identifying opportunities and threats is research intensive. It involves an in-depth understanding of your product or service, the market you want to operate in and the customers within that market.
New Market Opportunity Recommendations
There are a number of factors to consider when considering what to base new market opportunity recommendations on; competitors, market changes and what’s happening further afield.
Monitor your competitors: think about where are the NOT operating or what are they not selling well? Their poor performance could be your opportunity
Observe events or changes: like new legislation or mergers that might create a gap or a need for a new product or service
Explore outside: specifically outside your current market for inspiration and ideas for more effective products or services.
Once new market opportunities have been identified, go through the process of segmentation to focus your marketing efforts effectively
Up Next
Next we will start walking through the principles of marketing strategy development with the topics that you need to address in your marketing strategy.