Great Ways to Increase Market Share and Keep It!
After years of hard work, your business is thriving. So, what’s next? It is time to think about reaching the next level by growing sales, market share, perhaps the number of outlets you own and, of course, profit? There are different ways to achieve your goal, and you need to consider your next step very carefully.
Boost sales or establish market share?
A quick way to increase sales is to lower your prices, undercutting competitors. You hope that customers will respond by buying more of your discounted product or service. They probably will, and you will have a sales boom on your hands. However, you need to think beyond next month’s sales figures and ask yourself how sustainable this is in the long term? Can you cover all your business costs using this model, or will the bottom line start to suffer? If it were this easy, your competitors would probably all be selling at this price all the time! Think long term and focus on achieving a more significant market share than your competitors by offering a consistently high-quality product or service at the right price
Innovate to grow
Innovation is key to developing a healthy market share for your business, and you can use innovation in several ways. You could offer a product that is offering a solution to consumers’ problems. However, this would take a lot of research and design investment and need a long lead time. A different approach is to find a way to deliver your established product or service to customers in a new way? Would your product be suitable for online selling, perhaps? Many companies have taken advantage of the internet to start selling in this way and achieved a considerable increase in market share, even reaching global markets.
A twist on this method is how some businesses have started selling everyday products but changing the customer buying experience. An example is the makeup industry. Makeup is a very profitable business sector, and makeup subscription boxes have quickly become well established. They offer customers a curated collection of products every month for a fee. The requirement to travel to a store to spend time selecting products is removed. Makeup addicts enjoy the experience of trying someone else’s edits of the latest beauty products. The arrival of the box is like a gift to oneself. Subscriptions for flower deliveries of curated blooms are another growth area.
If you are offering a one-to-one service, the internet probably won’t provide you with the opportunity to develop your market share directly. You may need to research new geographical markets. Opening a new store, facility, or office in a different part of your region or country could bring you a whole new group of clients. Consider this if you are a health care provider, beauty shop, or in car sales, for example.
How to preserve that outstanding market share!
Keep your eyes on the money!
Growth can be costly. Developing market share can be expensive in the short term but will recoup dividends over the years. Slow payment has traditionally been the bane of the small business owner’s life. However, larger organizations are often skating on thin ice due to massive gearing ratios, weighted towards high borrowing levels rather than equity. Many of the suggestions above will require investment, and overstretching yourself will end in disaster. Consider revenue cycle management software to ensure that your financial performance offers you sufficient income.
Love the customer, and they will love you back!
Excellent customer service is often overlooked but remember Pareto’s principle: 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers! Don’t keep reinventing the wheel and reinvesting to find a new pool of customers. Focus on strengthening your relationship with your customer base, asking them for feedback, and addressing the issues they raise. Make your customers feel that you are both engaged in a dialogue. Pay great attention to references to your business on social media and swiftly respond to customers who express disappointment in the service they have received. Consider all the points at which your staff engage with the public and how you can improve your customers’ experience of them. From the reception staff who greet them at the door to the speed at which the phone is answered. Your product or service is part of the package, but often, the way that customers are treated will be one of the main things that bring them back to you.