Are you taking advantage of the right opportunity?

Why knowing what’s going on around you can make all the difference to how successful you are in the long-term.

In today’s world, consumers have more choice on products and services than ever before. From the make of toothbrush we use every day through to more unusual decisions like which company to use to send satellites to space with, we’re surrounded by a huge amount of choice. But it’s not only consumers who have to make decisions on which products and services to go for; organisations need to decide what they offer to those consumers in the first place. So how do you make sure that the choices you make today are going to deliver maximum results in the future?

Knowledge is power

It might sound obvious, but to be successful, you’ve go to do some research. You need to know more than your competitors know. And you need to be able to put that knowledge to good use. Every good business opportunity starts with doing research. No matter how well you know your product, you need to understand the world around you if you’re going to make the most of what you’ve got.

Think outside the box

You’ve almost certainly heard the phrase “no idea is a bad idea”, and when it comes to research and looking at your options, this has never been more true. Don’t just dismiss an idea because it might seem “crazy” or “not something we could do”. Write it down and the worst thing that can happen is you never look at it again.

Thinking big and then narrowing your focus later is much better than starting off with a narrow viewpoint and then narrowing it even further.

Be objective

When you’re looking at something every day, it’s easy to overlook the basics. But they’re often the things that can make a huge difference. Take a step back and look at things objectively once you’ve written everything down. Even taking a few days where you don’t look at the information can help you to get a fresh and more enlightened perspective.

Be methodical

It’s easy to jump from source to source when it comes to research, but it’s much better to take an orderly approach. There are tools and frameworks which you can use to help you, and we’ll talk about them in future articles; properly organising information can make a big difference to how well you then use it.

Start with the customer

They say the customer’s always right, and when it comes to developing an offering, that’s definitely true. You’re creating a product or service which you want them to buy, so you’ve got know what it is they want in the first place. Many organisations make the mistake of developing products and services which they think are great, but which then fail miserably when they go to market. A lot of the time, the reasons for this are simple; they didn’t understand what it was their customer actually wanted.

Back to basics

Before you think about what a customer wants, you’ve got to decide who your customer is. So many organisations – even large ones – try to appeal to too many people. Being clear about who you’re targeting can make a huge difference to your bottom line in the long-term. People are much more likely to buy into your brand promise if they feel it’s genuine and personal to them.

Be specific in finding your ideal audience, and don’t be afraid that this means you’re shutting others out. Very often, the differences between various groups are subtle and people will still buy from you even if they’re not your “perfect” audience.

Think about people’s needs and wants

You’ve got to make sure that everything you’re offering answers for a need or want from the consumer. Anything extra is simply irrelevant to them.

When it comes to doing your research on this, don’t take things at face value; dig a bit and try and understand what’s motivating people’s needs and wants. Does that person really want your software purely because it makes their business run better or do they want to impress their manager so that they can get a promotion? They’re both motivating your customer, but one’s driving the other. Peel back the layers of that onion to find out what your customers really want!

Thinking about what’s really motivating people can help in not only fine-tuning your proposition, but in making your marketing and communications more relevant and compelling.

You’re not your customer

When you’re doing this exercise, make sure you actually speak to people who are your target market. You can do all the research in the world but if it’s based on assumptions and guesswork, what you develop could ultimately fail to connect with customers.

Know what you’re up against

Unless you’ve got first mover advantage, the likelihood is you’re going to be competing against other organisations. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a better product than them, if they’ve got a brand, marketing and communications which resonate more with customers, they’ll take customers away from you.

Even if you do have first mover advantage, you’re still competing against a whole range of things in the consumer’s mind. It’s important you think about these things carefully, because understanding what you’re up against means you can think about how to beat it.

This isn’t just about direct competitors

It’s easy to focus on the companies who make the same products or services as you, but that’s not necessarily how your customers see it.

In addition to direct competitors, they’ll be thinking about alternatives or substitutes:

“If I don’t buy these headphones, I could get a different pair, but I could also get a speaker.”

The products do the same thing – let you listen to music – but in a slightly different way. Going a step further:

“If I don’t buy these headphones, I could buy that pair of shoes I really like.”

In this case, it’s something completely different. But that doesn’t matter; from the customer’s perspective, they just need to make a decision about how they spend their money. And you want to create a brand which means they’re more likely to choose you over everyone else.

Be thorough

Organisations come in a huge range of sizes – from micro-businesses through to multinationals – which means your competitors do too. Don’t be tempted to just think about the obvious organisations. Look at the landscape as a whole and understand exactly what kind of organisations are out there and what they’re doing. This is crucial when it comes to identifying your differentiator.

What’s going on around you?

We’ve spoken about customers and competitors, but it’s also important to have a more generalised view of your world; what’s going on that could affect your organisation and how it operates? Consider things like regulations, taxes and the environment. This is key when it comes to identifying and capitalising on your root strengths.

Having a good understanding of your environment also means you’ll make decisions quicker in the future – brand and strategy that consider a range of things when they’re being developed are flexible and give you confidence in knowing how to act in virtually any situation.

Balancing the external with the internal

It’s time to shift the focus inwards; what do you have that makes you unique and able to provide your products or services in a better way than anyone else?

The purpose of this exercise is to identify your strengths and weaknesses so that the opportunity that’s right for you is clear to see. You’ll then be able to develop a solid strategy and brand which capitalise on it.

This isn’t easy

Internal analysis is hard because you’re having to review yourself, but being objective about what’s working and what isn’t is essential. If you’re struggling, get consultants in to do this for you, or ask someone else external to look at things with a fresh perspective.

Boiling it all down

Ultimately, you’re looking for those key things that give you your competitive advantage; your root strengths. These are the qualities that it’s difficult (if not impossible) for your competitors to copy and which form the basis for brand, strategy and things like critical success factors. A brand that’s built on your root strengths is much more effective at connecting with people and in the long-term, this makes you the preferred choice.

Don’t underestimate how important it is

Your brand and strategy are built and developed on research, so when it’s accurate, you have the confidence to quickly make decisions which deliver better results.

Research also gives you an edge when it comes to measuring success – if you know exactly what it is you’re offering and what people want, you’ll have a much better understanding of which metrics and key performance indicators (“KPIs”) you need to track.

Keep it up

Schedule a regular review of your research and update it with new information as you get it so that you’re always aware of what’s going on around you. Then review what impact this might have on your strategy and brand.

Generally speaking, changes in your environment shouldn’t mean you need to make significant, or any, changes to your brand. A good brand is designed to be flexible enough to adapt as the world changes. Having said that, you’ll always want to consider whether any new information fundamentally changes what your brand promise needs to be.