Whenever a business gets into a market, they tend to find themselves in a position relative to other businesses that can help them better make decisions. For instance, one business might be playing second fiddle but offering strong competition to the dominant force in the market, whereas another might find themselves within a niche that avoids most of the direct competition. Neither of these is a bad position to be in, but it’s important to understand where you fit in. Here are a few ways to do just that.
Your differences and similarities
The first thing to do is to identify your competitors and then compare and contrast your business with them. One of the reasons to do this is to see what similarities you share with the other competitors in the marketplace and what sets your business apart from them. Most businesses are going to have some differences, but there aren’t as many that justifies calling it a business niche. If you’re able to find enough differences to see that you have a niche in the market, then focusing on that niche can help you position yourself as indirect competition, able to capitalize on the spaces that your current competition is ignoring.
Get the data on the industry
If we’re talking about businesses that share and compete over the same market, then it’s important to get a good idea of where each business sits in that market currently. One of the best ways to do that is with solid market research. A report on the construction industry will, if done well, cover all of the major businesses, their market share, how the market has grown or changed in recent times, and more. You can use that data to find your own performing relative to other businesses, helping you see who you should be competing directly with, or if you have a lead that you should be moving to solidify as quickly as you can.
Look over your marketing
Opposition marketing research is just as important as the raw figures of how your competitors are doing in the industry, as well. Image and brand is just as important as real-world performance to many. For that reason, you want to take a closer look at how both you and your competition are branding one another and how effective those marketing strategies are. This can help you get a better idea of how customers think about different businesses. You can get a sense of market awareness and recognition, as well as appeal to different demographics by better understanding the marketing strategy of all the competitors in the industry. This can help you make sure that you’re not trying to take the same public-facing position as a different brand.
There’s nothing to say that you have to be happy with the position that your business is currently in. However, what is important is that you understand that position. This can help you get a better idea of how to move out of that position and into a more lucrative spot, too.
