Many of you may have heard that markets across the globe are fracturing into ever finer segments. You may have also heard that this is been driven by the rise of social media.
But if people are getting together to discuss specific interests and this is leading to an emergence of ‘new markets’ to emerge then surely these interest groups must must have existed already. It just we didn’t know about them. So in this sense social media doesn’t ‘create’ new markets and market segments. It just identifies them.
The mountain of data that social media produces can now shine a light on who these people are, and what they like. And voila – we have new identifiable and serviceable markets.
Want to grow in this brave new world? Then learn to collect and read the data and then use the tools to communicate with them as they progress down the path towards making a purchasing decision.
All the tools are there and the people are waiting.
There is a new breed of small business on the boil and it is about to shine.
One of the developments to emerge from of the recent financial crisis is the birth of a new breed of SME. They are niche companies born out of a need to fill a void in an increasingly small global market. They work in a market of ever finer market segments that mass marketing and generic products can’t cater to.
Affordable ecommerce solutions, coupled with cheap outsourced manufacturing or product sourcing, are connecting with market segments identified through social media – and providing them the products and services that suit them. Social media is allowing consumers to congregate and be heard in a way that is revolutionary.
Australia is in a unique position to be launching pad for many of these ‘new SMEs’. It has come through the GFC better than any other developed country. That means as markets are still growing, funding is readily available and the Federal Government spending on the new broadband infrastructure will only make it easier for these new business to get off the ground. The cost of setting up and operating a business drops dramatically with online software services that provide accounting, project management, and a myriad of other management and business tools.
This is not something to be feared. These new businesses are not ’stealing’ market share. They are creating new market opportunities. And they need help – maybe from you.
There is a fundamental change coming to our economy and it’s going to be driven by the little guy – and everyone will want a piece of the action.
A great article from the examiner.com explores the rise of social platforms in 2009:
“Social media hit a tipping point in 2009 as sites like Facebook and YouTube increased their presence in mainstream media while sites like Twitter and Digg emerged. On top of the obvious, thousands of new and legitimate social media websites hit the scene with hopes of being the “next big thing”.
While most credit and attention are being given to Facebook for unofficially winning the social networking battle with MySpace, Bebo, and others, Twitter and Digg were the real winners in 2009 for very different reasons.”
Best Buy may not always be thought of as trail-blazers but this video presented by their CMO shows how much they have embraced digital marketing and social media.
As the southern hemisphere heads into summer and people flock to the beach it is tempting to think that the global financial crisis [GFC] was a just bump in the road. In some ways it was – at least for Australia. We seemed to have ducked the worst of the GFC. But that perception ignores the major changes that the GFC has produced. One of these changes concerns the way brands discover and talk to their markets. The GFC accelerated the rise of social networking and decline in popularity of mass media to produce a tectonic shift. This shift will have far reaching implications.
This new environment has enabled a quite different approach to growing markets and winning market share. Technology has both facilitated the “fracture” of markets into specialised interest groups and provided the wherewithal to identify and communicate with these groups – in real time. It’s time to get granular!
Stop guessing and start knowing
Not many companies have been able to turn the massive amounts of data that social networks create into profit. This is because they lack the ability or simply do not have the courage to make the steps necessary. In fact, the vast majority of companies have not managed to develop a management structure and marketing strategy that is in line with the fracturing of the market place they play in. Many are still guessing their way through mass media insights and market research based on small sample sizes extrapolated out to the entire population.
This will change very quickly in the coming months. As Hal Varian, the chief economist of Google, recently stated in the McKinsey Quarterly; “I keep saying the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians. People think I’m joking, but who would’ve guessed that computer engineers would’ve been the sexy job of the 1990s?”.*
Companies develop far better growth strategies if they choose to focus on granular information – in both identifying and attacking new market segments and in cutting costs.
The concept in practice
The Harvard Business Review recently explored the ramifications of exploring granular data. In that article they discussed how Amazon leverages it’s virtual and low cost supply chain to “efficiently indulge the tastes of narrow customer segments, literally down to the individual buyer, at very low marginal cost”.
The article went on to discuss how the strongest contribution to performance comes, not necessarily from focusing on acquiring overall market share, but identifying and investing in markets with the most vitality. The example they illustrated was that of a construction and services business face near zero growth. The company used granular data to divide its world into geographic, customer and product segments. They quickly discovered that they had very weak market share in the fastest growing market spaces revealing over $10 billion in potential that could be tapped into.
Steps to take
So here is what you need to do:
Accept that a fundamental change in communication is in place and be prepared to adapt.
Allocate budget towards methods and technologies that can gather relevant data.
Use this data to identify new market opportunities, the strongest growth areas will be apparent quickly.
Invest in these new segments and be prepared to ditch low growth market segments.
Develop a method for managing the multiple market segments you may now be playing in.
Life’s a beach
In the good times it’s easy to be complacent as customers come to you easily – like all of those people flocking to the beach this summer. But in the wintery phase the world economy is currently going through understanding the needs and wants of the micro-markets you can have most influence over is a winning strategy – that is easy to scale up when things begin to warm back up.
Now’s the time to get out your microscope and look carefully at the grains of data you have available to you.
The world of legal services is changing fast. Traditional word-of-mouth marketing and life-long loyalty to one legal practice is being eroded by rapid developments in the online world. Your customers now use the internet to connect with other customers, find and evaluate services and conduct extensive research on topics that matter the most before making decisions.
This article gives you insights into the current trends and explains how you can make the most of them.
Image is important
Not so long ago marketing a legal practice was simply a matter of putting a sign up and choosing a nice font. Great service and word of mouth did the rest. Now your customers expect more. Today a website is an essential tool for strengthening current relationships and assisting potential clients learn about what you stand for and even connect with your practice. However, simply having ‘a website’ is not enough. A poorly executed online presence can backfire, result in disappointed users and may even damage reputations. News spreads fast in the online world! On the other hand, a considered online marketing strategy and a well-designed website is your chance to appear inviting and professional.
Before you run off and build a new website make sure you have thought about the ‘image’ you are have chosen to convey. Of course ‘trust’ is a given but there are other important decisions you will need to make about your chosen persona. For instance, do you want to be seen as friendly, professional, modern or traditional? Good web agencies will help you understand your options in regards to colours, layout and language and how these link to your personality.
What is important is finding the thing that makes you ‘different’. If you can ask some of your clients. They may have some valuable insights that you have failed to spot.
Help people find your site
As anyone who has searched for a ‘lawyer’ on Google will know the web is a very big place. In fact Google has now indexed well over 1 trillion web pages. So having a website gives you no guarantee that anyone will see it. You need to think beyond ‘website’ if you are to get results and ensure you do not waste your budget on a solution that will become obsolete or too expensive to maintain or expand.
Fortunately, a good online marketing strategy does not need to cost the earth – in sharp contrast to traditional channels such as newspaper, radio or TV. It takes some careful planning and a little bit of time but it will be very beneficial. Much of it comes down to choosing the right partner to supply you with sound advice and solutions.
Optimise for search engines
Part of any build phase of a new website should be ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ [SEO] which is the combination of a number of strategies employed to make your website easy to find. To some extent the ease with which potential customers can find you through search engines comes down to the way the site is built. So make sure your web agency has a good understanding of this. The words you opt to use on your site will also affect search ‘efficiency’.
Search engines rank sites on original content so avoid copying text from other sites. Make your text clear and easy to ‘skim read’ and ask your web development company to give you a list of commonly used ‘key’ words to include: The more you use the better your results from web search activity.
Creating well ‘optimised’ website text is not rocket science. Just be sure you get professional guidance before you start.
Online advertising
There are many types of online advertising available but the most common, and by far the most cost effective, is search engine advertising. You probably have seen this form of advertising when performing a Google search. They are called “sponsored links” which have been designed with smaller businesses in mind, and can be very effective. But don’t assume this is the right choice for you.
There are many ways to run a search engine marketing campaign and getting it right can save you a lot of money. Look to partner with a company that has experience in this field and work with them to set targets and budgets.
Directories
Online directories are a simple way of raising your profile. There are many online directories available in Australia including Sensis, Yellow Pages, AMA and other official legal directories.
Some directories are free but many charge for a listing. Before you take the plunge and pay for a listing make sure you know the profile of the directory’s viewers. If the operator of a directory can’t provide that type of information it may be a sign that it’s unlikely to work for you.
Utilising social networks
Social Networking seems to be the buzz word of 2009. In fact, online social networking has existed for a very long time. What’s new are services such as Twitter and Facebook having recently taken off. Networking sites may come and go but what won’t go away is your customers’ desire to connect and share thoughts and information. Developing a Social Networking strategy will be worth the effort.
Depending on how you want to approach the market you may want to make this a big part of your overall plan or just a small addition. Either way it is worth remembering you can’t do everything. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, article writing and participating in forums are all forms of social networking and it is easy to get caught up trying to influence all of them. A far better approach is to identify where the people you want to communicate are found and target a few areas that will help add to your reputation.
Measuring success
After doing your research, optimising your site and fine-tuning your online marketing strategy, you’ll want to know how successful it is. The obvious way is to look at your bottom line. But building a brand name takes time so getting some higher level data is necessary to check if you’re on the right track.
Make sure your website has an analytics device attached so you can see who visits your site and how long they spend there. This knowledge is essential in achieving success with your online efforts. Luckily Google offers site analytics for free. The information gathered will give you a greater understanding and assist in the allocation of your marketing budget to further strengthen your online marketing efforts.
Act Now
A wide range of new technologies are changing the way everyone is using the web. The global financial crisis has just added momentum to that trend as individuals and firms switch to more cost-effective and valuable ways of communicating and marketing. There is no better time to take advantage of this shift and build yourself a great online presence and strengthen your reputation.
