Understanding Selling Market

Friday, 27 July 2007

Understanding the Selling Market to Boost Your Sales.

Understanding the Selling Market to Boost Your Sales

Before gearing up to sell, you have to understand one essential thing in selling – and that’s your potential market. Potential market is simply defined as the group of people who could be interested in the product or services that you are offering. These are the people who you will be selling your products to; and apparently, their roles are very important. Whatever product you are advertising, there is only one thing to keep in mind: you have to know who your target market is. It is not a good suggestion to sell beauty creams and makeup in a car-racing magazine, would it? Well, not unless you want to utilize whatever media you can put your hands on. But still, doing that is an incredible idea.

Who Are Your Target Market?

For you to know exactly where to sell, you have to analyze your product first. And for you to do that, answer these 10 simple questions:

Who are the direct beneficiaries of the product or service you are selling?
Are there any indirect beneficiaries? If so, who are they?
Who can afford these products? What’s the income bracket of the persons who are willing to buy them?
Would these people prefer to buy them in cash or through other payment methods, like credit card or check? Do they have to sign a loan or an installment plan agreement prior to purchasing?
Where and how exactly are these products used? At home? In schools? At work?
Who are the people that are most likely to buy? Male or female? Married or single? Young or old?
Is the product a necessity or is it just a luxury?
Is the demand for the product seasonal or will it be the same all year round?
Are potential customers already aware of this product, or is it something new and innovative?
Do these people have to gather decision-making data or would they be capable to buy at the spur of the moment?

These 10 straightforward questions would effectively take you right in front of the people where a big chunk of revenues will be coming from. After listing all the definite answers to the questions, you should have a clear idea where your potential markets are. You should then be able to have a good idea as to what method of attack you should use for your every target market.

Segregating Your Market

Still referring to the answers you have for the questions above, you may notice that you have a rather diverse group of buyers. It is possible that your product caters to a big group of people, young and old, male or female. Segregating your market is very essential so that you will be able to cater to their individual needs. According to several researches, doing that will take you closer to your prospective buyers and eventually, to sales and profit. To successfully segregate your market, here are the things that you have to remember:

Determine the distinctive needs of each group of people. For sure, male executives buying your product will have at least one different reason from single mothers who will be buying it. Although you are selling the same goods to these two sets of different people, the presence of their individual needs and benefit still remains. This is something that you have to capitalize as you plan your sales pitch.
Conduct a research. You won’t effectively know your target market if you are just guessing what their needs and wants might be. You have to know for sure and should not settle for the but’s, if’s, and maybe’s. Send out a survey. Consult with the experts. Read a lot about these people and be properly informed. Know how your competitors do it. Alternatively, if your budget allows it, hire a company to do all of these for you. Then test your market. The main idea here is for you to be reasonably assured that you are following the right strategy.
Say only the “proper” things. You have to speak the particular group’s language. If you intend to sell to the young or the teenagers, you have to talk like one of them and not like strict parents asking them to do this and do that. Speak as if you are a teenager yourself. Know what their heart’s desires are. And give those to them exactly. You should talk like a member of their group, and not an outsider wanting to be a part of it. Your target market will most likely detect a hoax when they smell one. And the effects of that are rather unappealing.

Focusing on Your Market

Now that you know all your possible markets, you have to cater to each of their special needs. This is commonly referred to as niche marketing. A niche market is simply a specific portion of a bigger market. It is nothing but a narrowed group of probable customers that is often overlooked by a mainstream provider. To make things clearer, let’s use a definite example. If your business is all about home insurance, divide that into several niches like mansion house insurance, bungalow insurance, and condominium unit insurance. That way, you will be able to focus more on your segregated market. By following the niche concept, you are sure to bundle the mansion house insurance package with all the necessary provisions and even freebies that a mansion owner will be glad to own, and which he might not get from any other general insurance companies.

Going into niches would enable you to put up the quality of your products. And more people will certainly go to you too, thinking that you are the specialized expert they really need. Always remember that every niche market has its own needs and requirements. That is going to be your focus. In order for you to successfully meet all their specific needs, the first thing that you have to do is to carefully select a profitable niche. Choosing the right niche starts it all. When choosing, consider its profitability. Keep in mind that a niche’s group of potential customers is relatively small, so focus on a highly lucrative group of people. Analyze your market. Who are you competitors? Are they offering niches as well? If they are not, then you are lucky. All you have to do is to choose one specific area and focus on that. If unfortunately, they are offering niches as well, try to determine the area that is not yet serviced. Be creative. If your business is about home decors, a good niche is an exotic collection of decorative items from different countries all over the world, like Egypt or the Bahamas, for example. Your main goal is to be the best provider for that certain group. Maintain an inventory of the best products given at the best price.

So you will be properly guided when serving your respective niche, talk to real persons with real needs belonging to your chosen category. Look for an ideal customer. Ask him pertinent information as to what he expects to get about your line of products. Include in your query the things that he thinks he should not be getting as well as his suggestions as how to make the whole thing better. Going back to the home décor example, your ideal customer will be a well-traveled middle to upper class homeowner. This person will have an idea as to what things you will be asking about and the things that you should know. He must have seen, and maybe even touched, exotic culture. He will be a reliable source of market information. Then couple what you have found out from him with real market research. This has to be done to verify the information you have gathered. Is your ideal customer’s taste the same with the rest of the community? Are his ideas feasible? Along with answering these questions, you should also be able to determine the right strategy on penetrating the market.

Include the production costs as well as your close competitor’s product line. You can do the market research yourself. First, try to talk to more potential customers. Still using the home décor example, you can also read current home décor magazines to get market leads as to where your possible suppliers and buyers are. Search the Internet for the sites that are more or less similar with your idea. Doing so, you will be able to adjust your market and products accordingly. Finally, go deeper to the personal preferences of your potential customers. Know what qualities they look for and feel more about your line of product. For home decors, a good feature will be the history embodied in a particular item. Sell pieces that are reflective of a nation’s tradition and culture. More people will surely come to you. When that happens you need not go to your market anymore and everything becomes simpler. Other related product characteristics will be quality, price, convenience, or reliability. Once you have pinpointed that particular trait, which they regard highly the most, you are then assured of selling your products effortlessly. Selling has just become one step easier.

Using Analysis To Understand Your Market

Your success as a salesperson greatly depends on your market's current saturation. Your customers will definitely be divided amongst your competitors and other similar factors. For you to fully identify your market, try to answer these ten questions. They will guide you in your selling goals.

How many competitors exist in your market?
Which of them are new and which are already there for the longest time?
How many of them are bigger than your business?
How much do they affect your sales? Are you losing big profits because of them?
How do they price their products?
Are their products and/or services similar or different than yours? In what way?
What advertising tools do they use? To what extent are those used?
Are they selling to the same customer group as yours? Do you have customer groups that they can’t sell to yet?
How do your customers buy? What motivates them?
Do your competitors employ a big number of salespeople? Do they use different selling techniques like door-to-door, retail outlet, telemarketing, direct mail, or business-to-business?

Once these questions are answered, you will not only be successful in analyzing your customers. You will know more about your competitors as well. And with all these knowledge, you will be able to plan and select the best possible selling method. By doing so, you will soon become a very successful salesperson.