Finance - Top Tips - Market Awareness
This document is designed as a quick reference guide Market Awareness
This will enable you to gain knowledge of a particular skill, task or process.
This means you can quickly find the key information that you need and refer to it on an ongoing basis whenever you need to refresh your knowledge.
Introduction
Market Awareness –asks you to examine the extent to which you and your colleagues understand the market you operate within; how you identify potential customers and how services are designed and developed to support your store.
Jargon Buster
When learning about Market Awareness you may come across the following terminology
Catchment area - Are all the people living in a particular area or place, defined by the time it takes a customer to drive to a store. For example, how many people are within 10 minutesÕ drive or commute to your store?
Market forces - The interactions of supply and demand that shape the economy. For example, the supply of new houses within the country or current interest rates.
Local economy - The economic well-being of your region. Usually defined by a radius of thirty miles. There may be local influences within your region such as a large employer or being a destination-shopping environment.
Demographics - Characteristics that define a particular group of people based on age, sex, race, and family size, level of income and education, occupation, and location of residence
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Logged in as: Adam Bramwell
Finance - Top Tips - Market Awareness
Your level of market awareness is influenced by your knowledge at a local, regional and national levelÉ
Local Market Awareness
Competitors - It is easy to become complacent and not consider your competitors and recognise the damage they will do to your business if you do not have a plan to combat them. Competition now takes many forms, from traditional Golf retailers, Pro Shops and e-retailers to other less traditional areas such as general sports outlets and non-supermarket multiples. Each will create competition within your market; therefore the understanding and the development of strategies to improve your market share are vital to the continuing growth of your store.
Catchment Area - Identify what is happening within your catchment area that may give you the opportunity to develop market share? For example, are there any new housing estates or other developments in your catchment area? Is there an opportunity to create partnerships with schools / collegeÕs etc.?
Trend analysis - within the Golf market. Identify the big trends within the market in your store. reporting will help you identify trends which can then be monitored using the finance reports. Use this information to achieve the maximum performance from your store.
Develop a plan that will ensure your store takes the initiative in staying ahead of the competition and responding to local needs.
Regional Market Awareness
Demographics - the demographic make-up of the region will impact on your market share. To find out this information you may need to contact local Chamber of Commerce or other local council offices that can supply the information.
National Market Awareness
National Influences - using analysis tools such as PEST can help you identify current Market influences and to identify what is happening within the National and International economies that will influence the market.
Using a PEST analysis is useful before completing a SWOT analysis as
PEST helps to identify SWOT factors.
● PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) assesses a market, including competitors, from the standpoint of a particular proposition.
● SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is an assessment of a your business
Using analysis tools helps you clearly identify where your store has strengths, weaknesses and opportunities to grow your market share. Being honest and objective about your store is one of the most challenging parts of completing an analysis of the store. Sharing your analysis with your team and other managers will ensure you receive feedback.
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Logged in as: Adam Bramwell
Finance - Top Tips - Market Awareness
Building Awareness and Increasing Market Share
Having analysed the market and your business you might like to consider some of the following actions to help grow your business:
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Create a plan of action within your
business plans that highlights how to combat your local competition
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Identify if are any new housing estates or
other developments such as office blocks and retail developments in your
catchment area. Local councils have this information
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Create partnerships with schools and colleges
if they fall within your catchment area
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Merchandise your store to maximise the sales
from local events that happen in your town.
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Reading local and regional newspapers (some are
delivered free to your home/store) will give you an idea of activities that are
happening or are about to, local to you. Could you enter a float in the local
carnival?
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If you work in a shopping centre there are
often retailing committees that meet with the centre management team, who can
promote the centre to attract customers into its shopping malls. ItÕs worth
getting involved with these as it will keep you ahead of whatÕs happening in
your centre and enable you to work proactively to maximise any extra business.
This activity is ideal for networking and meeting other retailers from
different companies, and will also help to prevent competitors from getting
ahead of you.
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Having the right product in the right place at
the right time. e.g. if you are in a AG store on a
really wet day, have Waterproofs promoted by the doors
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Visit and get involved with your local Chamber
of Trade. This will give you an insight of whatÕs happening to industry and
commerce in your town over the short, medium and long term. You will meet local
ÒCaptains of IndustryÓ and networking with these people can sometimes attract
large volumes of profitable business through your doors. It will also help you
to contact local businesses and promote your store.
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Contact local clubs, societies, and
organisations to publicise your business and any events such as a sale.
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