Market Size and Behavior
The purpose of market analysis is two-fold; what the size and profit potential of the market is and what methods the market accesses to learn or purchase specific services and products.
Market growth rate refers to the rate at which the market will expand and increase in size. Market profitability refers to how much profit a company can gain. This analysis affects all costs and pricing including the market’s ability to pay, competition and perception of value.
The Len’s Model of Marketing refers to how the customer sees and makes preferences based on their perceptions of service features, price and promotional context in making a choice. Attributes include: affordable, appearance, reliable, quality, technical competence, diagnostic information meets needs, easy to understand, safety, response time and attitudes. The main marketing strategy to success is context. Context includes the total body of information that shapes customer perception.
The customer’s purchasing behavior has changed dramatically because of smart phones and internet. There are massive amounts of information available. Most customers Google their needs and discover companies and information when they need it. The problem for the customer is how to analyze all the data to make a decision. Research shows they make choices based on the Len’s model. So marketing’s main task for success is creating content that is accessible to smart phones and internet which the customer perceives as the best choice.
Interesting also is that experts that refer also rely on the reputation of those they refer so again they look to the context of the ones they refer. The higher the income of the market or complexity of the perceived need, the greater the importance of reputation, credentials which are all a part of context.
Some questions to ask yourself – Is the size growth rate of the market you are pursuing big enough to achieve your financial objectives? Is the total context of your marketing effort being perceived as easy to understand while making the impression you are the expert?
Market Expectations, Time and Budgets
Lead generation expectations include the desired result of tactics in some measureable form such as number of visits, number of requests for more information, number of appointments, number of sales, dollar value of sales acquired and more.
It takes time for each tactic to obtain that first measureable. Once content is posted, it takes days and weeks for Google to crawl through new information. The need and size of the market affect the measureables. Budgets and goals are developed for each tactic and over time an effective strategy unfolds. The tendency for Managers is to set unrealistic expectations versus one of trial and error.
One blog post is not going to get many visitors unless the message is highly relevant and the key words move up the page faster. A strategic objective mindset has proven to be more effective in understanding related expected costs, results and profit are accumulated over measureable periods of time. For example: if a company’s strategic objective for a service in one year is $100,000 at 50% margin – the questions to achieve this would be; What is the average transaction amount? How many transactions would the average customer make? What is the transaction average by day, week, month, quarter and year? For example, if an average transaction is $100 once per week it would equal $400 per month or $4800 per year. Therefore, to achieve the strategic objective, you would need approximately 21 customers. If website visits achieve 100 and 20% convert to a customer, this would give you your goal. The unknown is how long it takes to achieve 100 visits. What is the cost to achieve 100 visits? As content is added, visits increase. It may take several months just to get your site and pages optimized but once you create the system that works, your ability to grow is only limited by your capacity and geographical access.
What tactics are you testing to increase your website visits? How do you know your message is relevant and the key words are right? Is your lead generation working to achieve your sales objectives? If you have questions, we have answers. Email us at: gary@marketingholt.com
Check out our next blog on how to sell like a superstar.
