The market is a vital aspect for entrepreneurs as it provides opportunities that are needed for the establishment and growth of a company. It integrates elements such as market research, branding, marketing strategies, content, investment, risks, finances, the company’s reputation, and competitors.
What is a Market?
In layman’s terms, “A market is a place where makers or distributors sell any product or service and consumers buy. Selling can take place at a physical store or through an online store. Companies sell their product or services either to their businesses called ‘B2B” or directly to the consumers known as “B2C.”
Dynamic Nature of Market
Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who closely monitor the latest trends and evolving customer requirements and modify their marketing strategies accordingly. Businesses that operate in this market compete with other companies to attract consumers and shareholders.
Market Research
Market research is the process of gathering information to check the viability of a product or service in your target market. This research is an essential step in marketing as it helps to find the success rate of your business.
It can be conducted directly by companies or agencies who are experts in this process. There are various types of market research that companies select according to their objectives and product type.
Market research has three key objectives:
- Help in business development by providing free details so that required planning can be done.
- Finding out the customer-specific needs.
- Determining the degree of success or failure of a company.
Importance of market research:
- It helps in getting valuable information such as customer perception which is required for preparing strategies.
- To determine the customer’s needs and wants.
- Forecasting the production and sales.
- Provide competitive advantage.
- Making a well-informed decision.
Marketing Strategy
Having a marketing plan is essential to determine the success of any business. It is the next step that is done after conducting market research. It provides a blueprint for obtaining marketing objectives.
A marketing strategy is a long-term plan to achieve a company’s goal by understanding the needs of customers and creating a unique product or service. It is an overview of how a business or organization will work to fulfil its goal.
A marketing strategy consists of two steps:
- Focusing on the target market
- Collecting the marketing mix of four P’s- Product, Price, Promotion, and Place
Importance of Marketing Strategy
- It creates sustainable growth for the company by increasing its sales.
- Helps in understanding your customer’s wants.
- It helps in meeting the expectations of your customer by strengthening the relationship with the target market.
- Achieving the long-term goals of your company
A perfect marketing strategy will help an organization to focus on the best use of its limited resources for increasing sales.
Investment and Finances
Investment and finances are the most critical and functional aspects of a business. They are responsible for building a product or service, maintaining daily cash flow, advertising, and keeping the company running.
According to Investopedia, “An investment is an asset or item acquired to generate income.” It requires putting capital to work in the form of time, money, effort, etc. to generate revenue in the future.
The investment includes the purchase of bonds, stocks, inventory, fixed assets or real estate property which is essential for running a business. An entrepreneur also invests from his/her savings or borrows from a family member or friends.
There are certain financial Institutions such as banks or venture capitals that provide capital to the business or investors for achieving their goals.
Investment and finances help to operate the business effectively and efficiently. It also supports the planning and decision-making process.
Risks
Risk is defined as the possibility of the occurrence of any unfavorable event that can minimize the profit of a business. These factors are generally not under the control of a business but occur due to some external factors.
It is a part of a business that every entrepreneur should be ready to deal with. Following are some of the nature of business risk:
- It arises due to uncertainties such as changes in government policy, changes in demand, technology, etc.
- It is not possible to eliminate the risk involved but it can be reduced to some extent.
- Every business has a different amount of risk. For example, a large corporation will have more risk compared to a small-scale company.
- Businesses take risks with the motive to earn profit.
Branding
Branding is the process of establishing a relationship between a brand and consumers. It creates a positive perception of a company and its products by integrating elements such as logo, design, mission statement, or theme during all types of marketing communication.
According to the Zendesk survey, “87% of consumers said consistent branding across all platforms creates a strong impact on their buying behavior.” Branding is a complex process that requires careful strategic planning.
Effective branding helps a company to establish its distinct image from its competitors and build a loyal base. Companies like McDonald’s have created a “brand persona” in consumers’ minds with their logo and the color yellow. So, whenever someone sees yellow color they subconsciously want to have a burger.
A company can shape its customer’s expectations and creates a unique bond by sharing stories, marketing messages, and visual assets.
Building the company’s reputation
Jeff Bezos says, “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well.”
To achieve success in a business, one must start paying attention to building a reputation. It opens the door to opportunity and provides a large customer base.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, “A reputation is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.” In the modern world, consumers view the reputation of any brand through search engines, social media, and word-of-mouth.
Reputation is a big deal for any business.
It shares positive information about a brand to connect with the sentiments of a customer as an effective strategy. It influences people about how they see any brand. Companies like “Apple” has created a positive image of themselves over the years.
The benefits of a good reputation include lower marketing costs, help in attracting a loyal customer base, promoting good relationships with clients, providing cost-free advertising, and creating a distinct image from your competitors.
Competitors
Competitors are the other businesses that offer the same products or services to your consumers. They don’t just make similar products but sell them at similar prices. For instance, in the car market, Ford is the competitor of Toyota, not Rolls Royce. As Rolls Royce targets different sections of society at higher prices.
Competitors play a vital role in a business. They push you to create new products/services with high-quality and unique marketing strategies to stay ahead of your marketing game. It ensures that consumers get high-quality products.
There are direct and indirect competitors in the market that you must be aware of. Start knowing your competitors and follow their work closely. You can create a marketing plan that gives you a competitive advantage.
All these elements constitute the “Market” aspect that an entrepreneur should know how to do it effectively.