3. Will the customers genuinely need the proposed product or service? and what value do they place on your unique competitive offer?
4. Which segments( if any) in the market are currently under served? Who are they and why are they under-served? 5. Are the segments you are aiming at large enough? 6. How much competition is there in the market already? 7. Have you spotted any weaknesses in your competitors, and how can you capitalise on them?
2. Understanding the customers
� Whoare the customers / clients?
� Whatdo they need and / or want?
� Whatwill motivate them to buy from your social start up rather than your competition?
To help the participants answer these questions and to know and understand their customers / clients thoroughly, ask them if their marketing plan addresses the following points: 1. How do your potential customers / clients usually buy products / services that are similar to the ones you are proposing?
2. What are the demographic characteristics( such as their age, ethnicity, gender, education level, occupation, income, marital status, number of children etc) of your potential customers / clients?
3. Within your target customer / client base, who will be i) the main buyer and, ii) the decision maker in the buying process? These may not always be the same person( husband or wife, child, purchasing agent, project manager, company director, secretary etc).
4. What are your target customers / clients behaviours and characteristics that will influence their decision to buy from you? For example, what information do they need to help them make a decision about buying from you, and where do they go to find this information – word of mouth, social media, television, newspapers, radio, etc
5. What are the emotional drivers that will encourage your potential customers / clients to buy from you?
3. Identifying the market niche
1. List the lifestyle characteristics of your customer / client group – be as detailed here as possible please!
2. Create a demographic profile including variables such as age, gender, occupation, income, marital status, education level, location etc, to help you define your target market.
Steps 1 and 2 above will help the participants to identify a market nicheto work in. If they do not identify a market niche, they will struggle to have an effective social start-up that targets everyone!
Once the participants have completed steps 1 and 2 above, ask them to outline how they will |
i) |
identify and define their niche |
ii) |
narrow their market focus |
iii) |
targettheir market niche successfully. |
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