3 Key Strategies to Maximize Your Market Share During the Great Rationalization
As we approach the final stretch of 2023, businesses can thoughtfully reflect on the economic complexities they have navigated throughout the year while strategically charting their course amidst heightened scrutiny. Despite economic headwinds and global uncertainties, many companies embraced a proactive approach, seeking innovative ways to expand their market share and flourish. In this blog, we will discuss the meaning and importance of market share and dive into three key strategies that will help your business grow even through challenging times.
Understanding Market Share
Market share reflects a company’s portion of the total sales revenue within a specific market. To calculate market share, divide a company’s sales by the total sales of all companies in that market. The higher the market share, the more dominant a company is in its industry and the greater its influence over market trends and competition.
Why It Matters
Market share ultimately works like a spotlight. The brighter the light, the greater the visibility.
More market share means more brand visibility, which means more customers and, ultimately, more opportunities. Companies with more significant market share dominate their industry, are thought leaders, and become trendsetters.
Strategy 1: Differentiation through Innovation
In a crowded and competitive market, continuous innovation is the bread and water for companies striving to stay relevant and capture customers’ attention.
Anticipating what consumers desire allows companies to develop products or services that offer unique and superior value.
Businesses that have embraced new ideas and transformative technologies continue to not only exist as top players but also thrive amidst the dynamic challenges of the modern marketplace. Examples of such companies include Tesla, which disrupted the automotive industry with electric vehicles, and Airbnb, which reinvented the hospitality sector. These success stories demonstrate the transformative power of innovation.
Here are some steps to help you foster innovation:
Promote a culture of innovation:
It starts and ends at the top. Leaders need to cultivate and support a culture of experimentation and creativity. Ensuring employees feel comfortable enough to think outside the box, take calculated risks, and embrace new concepts, ideas, or technologies empowers employees to become drivers of change and innovation.
Listen to Customers:
Don’t just innovate for innovation’s sake. Listen to your customers. Your customers are usually the first to tell you what doesn’t work, what you could do better, their pain points, and what features, items, or services they wish you offered. Conduct surveys, read reviews and comments on your socials, and perform market research.
Create Cross-Functional Teams:
Different perspectives and experiences can lead to unique and innovative solutions. Cultivate cross-pollination of ideas by combining people from various departments with different backgrounds, work experience, and expertise.
Strategy 2: Invest in Brand Advocacy
Customer loyalty is vital in a competitive market, especially during economically challenging times when customers and businesses cut unnecessary expenses to optimize operations and navigate financial constraints. Strong customer relationships create loyal customers who are great brand advocates. By spreading positive word-of-mouth, they help establish trust and credibility for the brand, which attracts new customers, ultimately contributing to a company’s growth and success.
Consider using influencers or employees as advocates to help your brand reach a wider audience and influence potential buyers’ decisions.
Here are some steps to help you boost your brand advocacy besides investing in influencers:
Deliver Exceptional Customer Experiences: Providing excellent customer service and delivering top-notch products or services will naturally lead to satisfied customers who are likelier to become brand advocates.
Implement a Referral Program: Create a referral program that incentivizes existing and new customers to participate. Offer rewards or discounts to customers who refer others to your business and the newly referred customers.
Host Events and Gatherings: Events or gatherings where customers can interact with each other and with your brand can foster a sense of community and strengthen brand loyalty, leading to increased advocacy.
Leverage Social Media: Brand advocacy thrives on social media, and it is one of the best places to engage with the modern customer. You can boost brand advocacy on social media by encouraging customers to share their experiences, reviews, and testimonials. Promptly responding to comments and messages will help you build a strong connection with your followers.
Strategy 3: Retain Existing Customers
Reaching new customers during economically challenging times can be strenuous. And to no surprise. Buyers are likelier to hesitate before committing to a new product or service, especially when money is tight.
While acquiring new customers is essential in strengthening one’s market share, retaining existing ones is even more crucial during economic uncertainty. Loyal and happy customers are often more inclined to maintain ongoing business relationships and will be the first to spread positive referrals about your brand, product, and services.
Here are some ways you can retain and invest in existing customers:
Reducing the Feeling of Risk:
Reducing the feeling of risk is essential in encouraging customer retention. Transparency in pricing and policies, offering trial periods, the availability to receive a refund, and providing flexible payment plans can help customers feel more comfortable and secure in their decision to stay with a company.
Offer Loyalty Programs and Discounts:
There are many ways to protect your customer base and improve customer retention. One way to achieve this is by offering loyalty programs and discounts.
With loyalty programs, businesses reward their customers for repeated purchases, referrals, feedback, or actions that benefit them.
Getting rewarded gives customers a sense of belonging, recognition, and appreciation. With these new incentives and benefits, they will be more motivated to buy frequently and consistently.
Don’t Shy Away From Negative Feedback:
Stop seeing negative feedback as the devil. Your clients provide you with a clear roadmap for enhancements and essential insights into areas that need improvement.
Lean into this opportunity and use it to build stronger customer relationships that last.
Strengthen Your Market Share with Powtoon
During times when everyone wants to reduce costs and operate in the leanest and most efficient way possible, businesses must embrace change and adopt innovative strategies to stay afloat. Such times demand resilience and adaptability, and those who prioritize innovation, brand advocacy, and strong customer relationships are poised to emerge as industry leaders.
Powtoon’s video creation platform, enhanced by its AI video maker, allows your business to create engaging visual content that will differentiate your brand, increase customer engagement, and solidify your position as an industry leader. Sign up to Powtoon today to create studio-quality content that impresses clients and closes more deals.
Hannah Elishevitz
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