“... put yourself in a position to be able to pinpoint and analyse all of the elements.”

Industry Analysis: Understanding Your Business Landscape

Ever feel like you're trying to read a map with no legend? That's what diving into industry analysis without a guide can feel like. But don't worry, I've been there, and I'm here to turn that map into something as readable as your favorite coffee shop menu.

First things first, understanding your industry isn't about compiling a monstrous report that'll just collect dust. It's about getting the lay of the land so you can make moves that actually matter. Let's cut through the noise and focus on what's going to give you the edge.

The Elements of Industry Analysis

Let’s start by looking at some of the elements we need to pay attention to when doing our industry analysis.

The Big Picture: Let's start wide. How big is your playground? What's hot, and what's not? This isn't just about numbers; it's about spotting the wave to surf on.

Who's Who: Your competitors are more than just names on a list. They're the benchmarks and the pacesetters. What makes them tick, and more importantly, where do they slip? That's where you can shine.

The Real MVPs - Your Customers: These are the folks who'll make or break you. What are they really after? And no, it's not just "good quality" or "great service." Dive deeper. Their real needs might surprise you.

These are the elements that make up a basic industry analysis. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than this. So now let’s look at how you’re going to put yourself in a position to be able to pinpoint and analyse all of the above elements.

Three Steps to Actionable Analysis

We know you don’t have copious amounts of time to invest in market research and industry analysis. And you don’t have to! Here’s three exercises you can start doing right now, that will empower you to be able to understand the above elements and analyse them for your own industry and business.

Step 1: Find lookalike ‘ideal’ customers

You can find them on Linkedin by playing with the search function. You can find them in the real world if you know where your target customers hang out. Or you can find them on your list of previous customers - the ones that you enjoyed working with and who you know loved working with you. Make a list of these customers.

Step 2: Create a questionnaire

This doesn’t have to be a lengthy questionnaire and you don’t have to stick to the questions word for word, BUT you do need to create a guideline that will allow you to collect more or less the same categories of information from each of your lookalike ‘ideal’ customers. What questions do you put in your questionnaire?

That’s simple! Any questions that will enable you to understand each of our above mentioned elements better.

For example, if you’re an accountant, your questionnaire might look something like this:

The Big Picture:

What is the biggest challenge you have that you think I, as an accountant, can solve for you that you would be willing to pay for?

If I was the best accountant in the world, what would I do for you?

The questions in this section of the questionnaire is all about figuring out what your ideal customers biggest pain points are that you could solve for them, because that is what they would be willing to pay money for.

You can guide the lookalike customers here as much or as little as you feel comfortable, but make sure that you eventually discover the secret to what would make them part with their money.

Who's Who:

In this section you want to ask questions that help you figure out who your competitors are and how you can beat them. For example you could include questions such as:

• Who was the last accountant you walked away from and why was that?

• Who do you know that you would say is my biggest competitors and why would you say that?

• Do you have ideas about what we could offer that the market isn’t currently offering?

We tend to think that we need to just know this information, but I’ll tell you a secret - there’s no entrepreneur on this planet that is born knowing this information. Its not a gut feel either, it’s about developing good questioning and listening skills and understanding that at the end of the day entrepreneurship is about providing what the market wants for a fee, that’s it. Figure out what the market wants, then give it to them. It’s not more complicated than that.

The Real MVPs - Your Customers:

In this part you want to turn on your empathy and turn off any judgment. The more potential customers feel safe with you the more they will be willing to open up to you and the more they open up to you the better informed your marketing, strategy and everything else will be.

Examples of questions an accountant would ask at this stage could include, for example:

• Tell me about your daily life. What does it look like?

• How is your cashflow planning going? Any struggles?

• How are you invoicing your customers? Are they paying on time?

These questions should be tailored as much as possible for the person you have in the room with you. They should feel that you are being thoughtful by asking them. That way you’ll get the richest information. It might take some practice, but if you can successfully try to put yourself in the shoes of your interviewee/ potential ideal client, you’ll be able to intuitively tell which questions to ask. Also don’t be afraid to ask the same question from different angles. Some people need more guiding and probing than others.

It doesn’t matter how many questions you have on your questionnaire, but if you try to keep it down to around 12 or less great phrased questions you should be able to cover them in an hour to 45 minutes, which is the ideal interview time for this type of activity.

Step 3: Interview your lookalike ideal clients using your questionnaire

Put your newly crafted gem of a questionnaire into practice. Set up interviews with your ideal lookalike/ potential clients from step 1. You might feel awkward when asking for interviews the first time around. The trick is to realise that that is normal. The next step is to realise that it isn’t necessary to feel awkward. Market research and industry analysis is a normal and very necessary part of entrepreneurship. In fact, when done right, some of the interviewees might even become clients, simply because they will feel like you care about actually understanding them and actually providing a solution that is actually going to work for them - a rare commodity in this day and age.

One way you could potentially ask for interviews would be to reach out saying something like this:

“Hi there, I’m name (assuming they don’t know you). I am currently conducting market research to inform the next steps in the strategy my newly established accounting firm. I would really appreciate it so much if you would be willing to spend 45 minutes with me answering some questions over Zoom. And I’ll even give you a free needs analysis after our session to say thank you for your time. :) What do you say, are you willing to help an accountant-preneur out?”

This is obviously just a guide, and you have to write a message that YOU actually feel comfortable sending and that fits your brand tone and voice, but I’ve had phenomenal results using the exact message above for growing the clientele for my first business (accounting firm).

Another message I used to use for existing clients went something like this:

“Hi Name, I really enjoyed working on your tax return. I’m so glad you got that refund. If you don’t mind, I’d love to ask you some questions about the process and your experience. It will allow me to better tailor the solutions we offer to you and clients like you. Would you be willing to hop onto a 45 minute Zoom call with me so we can figure this out? Would really appreciate it.”

If you play your cards right, after the interview with your existing client, you could even ask them for referrals for other clients that might be struggling with exactly the same pain points you helped them with. That means you could potentially walk away informed and with some extra business. The reason for this would again be because they would feel like you care about helping and understanding them, and other clients like them, so they would feel more comfortable referring you.

So there you have it, that’s the three steps and no-nonsense guide to making sense of your industry. Remember, this isn't a one-and-done deal; it's an ongoing adventure. Keep your finger on the pulse, and don't be afraid to shake things up. After all, the best stories come from those who write their own maps.

Trust me, implement these three steps as soon as possible, and you’ll be well on your way to making all the right moves.

The next article that is part of Ideation and Market Research is Innovation and Design Thinking, click here to read the article.

At Business Academy Cafe, we're all about cutting through the fluff to get to the stuff that really matters – helping you build a business that's not just surviving, but thriving. How will you use these insights to carve out your niche and leave your mark?

Don't miss any of our insights – sign up for our newsletter to receive them directly in your inbox.

All branding, proofreading, distribution, and administration functions are
powered by The Sommerville Agency

Watch on YouTube

Listen on Spotify