Market awareness is essential whether you are launching a new brand or entering the market with a new idea. There is a difference between market awareness and brand awareness. The letter relates to an existing brand, and whether or not your new product is getting known on the market. Market awareness is something different.
If you intend to launch a new product, then you must be sure your new idea will have an impact. How do you do that? How can you tell if your new blue widget is going to succeed? Is there a need for it on the market? Will it sell? Market research is an essential aspect of any new product launch, and market awareness is part of that.
Many new ideas for products and services fail before they begin. Why? Because of a lack of market awareness! Unless you are aware of your market, how large it is and what has already been tried and failed, then your new idea may be dead in the water before it floats. You must carry out market research and get to know your market.
Importance of Market Research
The importance of market research cannot be overstated. It can identify a need for your product or idea. It can make sure you hit the consumer’s button and that it solves a problem that consumers have. Solving their problem hits the button to make them react to your idea. Market research helps you identify the problem and tells you what product type can solve it. Market research should come before the product identifies a need and then create a product or service that meets that need.
James Dyson saw that people were annoyed at the cost of renewing their disposal of vacuum cleaner bags, and at how they were annoyed at how quickly reusable bags got totally clogged up. He came up with the cyclone cleaner that not only cleaned any surface quicker and more effectively but also needed no bag! His market research came about through an awareness of what his market was looking for.
Market Awareness and Market Research
What’s the difference between market awareness and market research? It’s an easy difference to distinguish. Market awareness refers to your ability to be aware of a market. Seeing that one exists like James Dyson and that market for bagless vacuum cleaners.
Around 40 years ago, a guy called Steve Demos borrowed some money to set up a vegetarian food firm. He noticed a market for vegetarian and vegan foods. What about milk? Milk comes from animals, and coconut milk is not strictly milk. It’s useless in your tea or coffee. So he focused on soya milk which developed into the world’s most popular non-dairy milk substitute. He had market awareness. He knew his market and made his fortune from it.
It is Important to Know Your Market
It is important to know your market. To know its likes and dislikes and whether there is a hole somewhere that is not being filled. Will your idea have an impact? You can answer that question if you do your research. Market research is only useful if you know your market. If you are unsure what your market is then how can you research it?
Your idea need not be for a physical ‘thing’ such as a vacuum cleaner or soya milk. It could be a concept. Take Facebook! Facemash was the name originally given to Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg. He spotted a market for Harvard freshmen and sophomores to be able to easily contact each other. So Facemash was born shortly to be renamed Facebook after the college’s own physical ‘Facebook’ yearbook. Mark knew his market, and it simply expanded exponentially day after day after month after year.
James Dyson and Steve Demos did the same thing, and if you can do the same for your idea then that market is yours. Market awareness begins with identifying it then meeting it then dominating the market. Look around you. What do you wish you had? What do your friends or acquaintances wish they had? An easier way to do something?
How to Create Your Market
Do you already have an idea but you don’t know if it will work? Think! Ask people! Find out if your idea will have an impact. Know your market before you try to meet it, it might not exist yet! Some people know how to create a market for their idea. Try it and find out if you can generate a market for your great idea.
It can be done Richard Branson did it with Virgin Galactic! Larry Page and Sergey Brin did it with Google in 1996. Market awareness can not only help you dominate an existing market but also create a new one.Â