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Key Metrics For Assessing New Market Opportunities

by Jenny on May 31, 2017 Comments Off on Key Metrics For Assessing New Market Opportunities

A growing brand is always on the lookout for opportunities to expand its reach into new markets. In order to maximize the efficiency of such growth efforts, any prospect markets must be thoroughly reviewed and qualified prior to resource allocation.

So the question is – how do brands identify the strongest market within a pool of seemingly strong markets?

The subjective art of labeling the “best” and “worst” consumer markets vary depending on who you’re asking. Validating opinion with data-driven insights is the best way to make confident decisions when seeking growth opportunities.

While considering population, household income and other demographic information is a good place to start, making decisions based solely on census data is like buying a house based solely on the neighborhood; which is an ill-advised approach.

Presented with a group of attractive new markets, a strategic cross-comparison will help identify micro-level strengths and weakness within each respective market. This type of comparative analysis relies on establishing and measuring consistent metrics across the board, so that the detailed characteristics market will differentiate one market from another.

This raises another important question – what are the most important metrics to consider?

Whether offering a product or a service, brands must first identify their ultimate goal of new market entry. Is the focus on increasing exposure and high-level brand awareness? Or is the goal to establish and nurture long-standing relationships with the local consumer base? Clarifying the overall intent will help brands determine the most important market characteristics for their unique objectives.

For example, the National Basketball Association as a league wants to continually expand global awareness continually attracting new generations of fans. At the same time, individual franchises want to imbed themselves deeply within the community to build a strong connection with the local fan base. While league and the teams are two sides of the same coin, they both approach growth and expansion from different angles.

The results from a study conducted by WalletHub.com established a list of “2017’s Best & Worst Cities for Basketball Fans.” If you’re a sports fan, you know this list is highly debatable on a personal level however this list is not based on personal opinion. Rather it is based on a cross-comparative analysis of 17 key metrics determined to be important characteristics when defining a “Best” and “Worst” market for a basketball fan. If the study was to determine the best and worst cities for sports franchises, the chosen metrics would have been decidedly different.

Since the focus was on the fans, rather than the business, the metrics chosen as part of the strategic analysis process reflect the overall objective:

  • NBA Team Performance
  • College Team Performance
  • Average Single Game Ticket Price
  • Average Season Ticket Price
  • Fan Engagement Levels
  • And More…

 

Ultimately, conducting a detailed Market Analysis will identify new market strengths and weaknesses. Equipped with data-driven insights, similar to those included in the NBA fan study, brands are confident in their strategic decision making and more likely to yield higher ROI on their growth investments.

To check out the results of the “Best & Worst Cities for Basketball Fans” – CLICK HERE.

If your brand is looking to qualify new market opportunities, or assess the strength of your current market, click here to give us a shout!

We’ve spent the past 30+ years equipping brands around the world with the data-driven insights they need to assess new markets and develop impactful growth strategies. We want to do the same for you.

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Jenny

Jenny Dinnen is President of Sales and Marketing at MacKenzie Corporation. Driven to maximize customer's value and exceed expectations, Jenny carries a can-do attitude wherever she goes. She maintains open communication channels with both her clients and her staff to ensure all goals and objectives are being met in an expeditious manner. Jenny is a big-picture thinker who leads MacKenzie in developing strategies for growth while maintaining a focus on the core services that have made the company a success. Basically, when something needs to get done, go see Jenny. Before joining MacKenzie, Jenny worked at HD Supply as a Marketing Manager and Household Auto Finance in their marketing department. Jenny received her undergrad degree in Marketing from the University of Colorado (Boulder) and her MBA from the University of Redlands.

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