Webphotos Free Articles

To increase market share a business has to take customers from its competitors or attract new customers. Achieving this requires having a thorough understanding of both your customer base and that of rival businesses.

Having the answers to the following questions will help you build a comprehensive picture of your market and your competitors and put you in a stronger position to win a bigger market share.

· Who are your existing customers? Are there any other groups that may require your product or service that you haven't targeted before? Can your product or service be used for other purposes that you had not previously thought of that could make it appealing to a wider market?

· What are your competitors' strengths? Do you have these too? If not, why not - and should you have them?

· Why do customers buy from your competitors? What advantages do you have over your rivals that may attract their customers? How can you communicate with your competitors' customers to get them to switch and buy from you instead?

· What is your unique selling point?

· Apart from obvious rivals, are there any other ones with customers you may appeal to?

· Are there customers who have stopped buying from you? Do you know why? If not, you may want to ask them.

Will you need to change pricing, marketing, distribution, service levels? Could those changes upset current customers? Will your employees remain motivated?

Article by Staff of ACS Distance Education

For more information on courses or publications from the school, contact:

ACS in Australia www.acs.edu.au/Courses/Business-and-Management-courses.aspx

ACS in the U.K. www.acsedu.co.uk/Courses/Business-and-Management-Courses.aspx

ACS Bookshop www.acsbookshop.com