Striving to increase sales of the same product to the same target market is referred to as market penetration. Increasing sales of the same products in different markets is called market expansion. In either event the goal is to increase market share in the target market. Earning a bigger share of the market requires diligence and close attention to detail. Increasing market share involves assessing the current situation, taking the appropriate steps to earning more business and continuing to interest people in your services. The following keys will support increasing market share:
- Know Your Market – Defining the market you will service is essential to determining how to capture a greater share of it. It’s important to have a clear picture of the size, preferences and buying habits of the target audience. It’s also important to know if it is growing, stable or declining.
- Know Your Competition – To compete you must know who and what you’re competing against. The product offerings and size of competitors are useful in understanding market conditions. The number of vehicles serviced in a month will tell you their portion of the market. If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles … Sun Tzu
- Determine Your Market Share – Knowing what share of the market you currently hold is a necessary starting point. This completes the picture of current market circumstances and is the percentage of all vehicles serviced by your shop.
- Conduct a Consumer Preference Survey – When conducting random surveys the larger the sample the more accurate the results. So the results when contacting 50 people will be better than when contacting 25. Knowing what’s important to your target market will tell you how to offer a better product.
- Offer a Better Product for Less – Understanding what’s important to people will support a better product offering. Knowing the offerings of the competition will allow effective pricing. Being able to offer better service for a lower price is a winning strategy.
- Minimize the Risk to the Customer – When buying people are always concerned with price and value. But the element of risk will trump price and value. Offering guarantees and promoting them will put potential customers’ minds at ease.
- Drive More Traffic to Your Website – Customers that have decided to shop can provide the best opportunities for growth. Investing in your website and making sure people will find you can have a greater impact in today’s environment than any other marketing effort.
- Ask Customers for Reviews – Most prospective buyers shop on the Internet. A large percentage of them look at online reviews when making a decision. The more positive reviews available for your business the better your image will be.
- Continue to Improve Your Offering – A business with the same offering month after month will not spark the interest of new or existing customers. Continuing to improve your service offering will excite the existing customer base and stimulate referrals. Prospective buyers will recognize a progressive business and be more apt to consider them when making a buying decision.
