If you have a product idea or even the product itself and want to get into the market, this guide is for you.
Assume we want to launch a new coffee brand in Erbil and want to know if it’s going to be feasible and profitable.
There are three elements that we will consider:
- The market
- The customer
- The competition
The market
How well do you understand the coffee market? The following questions are for you:
- What is the market size of coffee in Erbil?
- How many cafes and restaurants that sell coffee?
- How much they sell in any single day?
- What is the market growth rate of coffee in Erbil?
- How this year’s total revenue compare to last year?
- What is the profit margin in the coffee market?
The aim of these questions is to prepare you for the unexpected, and review the plans and strategies that you want to execute.
Takeaway: Understand the market inside out. Talk to people in the market. Fill the gaps in your knowledge.
The customer
Going with our coffee brand example, the customers are those who drink beverages. The following questions set the stage to better understand what our brand is going to do:
- Who are the customers?
- What the customers need and want in coffee?
- How customers perceive different coffee brands?
These questions help us have a better understanding of customer preferences.
Takeaway: Understand the customer as much as you understand your product. Figure out how they think and behave. You can even talk to them and figure out who they really are.
The competition
Assuming our market is attractive and we can practically serve the customers of that niche, are there any competition? The following questions are for you:
- How many competitors are in the coffee market in Erbil?
- How much market share do they have?
- What differentiation or competitive advantage do they have?
Competition can put companies out of business. Make sure you understand the competition very well before making any move.
Takeaway: Understand whom are you competing with. Figure out how you can have a real selling point or advantage over the competition. You can even talk to customers of existing competitors and ask them what bothers them, then eliminate that pain in your product.
Recap
The aim of any business is profit. If you launch a product without studying the market, the customer, and the competition, you gamble with your chances of success.
Successful businesses are data-driven. They make decisions based on data and numbers, and not how ‘cool’ a product seems.
