As a New Business, Preparing to Go to Market
Starting a new business is exciting. You have an idea, a product or service you believe in, and the ambition to make it work. But there is a big difference between having a business idea and successfully taking that business to market.
Going to market is when your business moves from planning and preparation to putting your product or service in front of real customers. It is often one of the most challenging stages for a new business because you are no longer working with assumptions. You are asking people to spend their money, trust your company and choose you over competitors that may already be established.
The good news is that careful preparation can make this process much easier.
Know Exactly What You Are Selling
Before you start promoting your business, you need to be completely clear about what you are offering.
Many new businesses make the mistake of trying to offer too much too soon. They want to appeal to everyone, so they create a wide range of products or services and try to market themselves to as many people as possible.
In reality, it is often better to start with a clear and focused offering.
Ask yourself: What problem does my product or service solve? Who does it solve that problem for? Why would someone choose my business rather than an established competitor?
You should be able to explain what you do in a simple sentence. If you cannot, your potential customers may struggle to understand why they should buy from you.
Understand Your Target Customer
One of the most important parts of preparing to go to market is understanding who your customers are.
It is tempting to say that your product is suitable for everyone, but effective marketing rarely works that way. The more you understand your ideal customer, the easier it becomes to create the right message and reach them in the right places.
Think about their age, location, occupation, interests, needs and buying habits. Most importantly, think about the problem they are trying to solve.
For example, if you are launching a bookkeeping service, your ideal customer might be a small business owner spending too much time on accounts and wanting professional support. Your marketing should speak directly to that concern rather than simply saying, “We provide bookkeeping services.”
The better you understand your customer, the more relevant your marketing becomes.
Research the Competition
No matter how original your business idea may seem, there is a good chance you will have competitors.
This should not discourage you. In fact, researching competitors can provide valuable information before you launch.
Look at what similar businesses offer, how much they charge, how they present themselves, and where they advertise. Look at their websites and social media activity. Consider what their customers like about them and, just as importantly, what customers complain about.
You are not trying to copy your competitors. You are looking for opportunities to do something differently or better.
Consider offering better customer service, faster delivery, more competitive pricing, more personal service, or a product with additional features.
Your goal is to give customers a reason to choose you.
Get Your Brand Right
Your brand is often the first impression people have of your business.
A professional brand does not necessarily mean spending thousands of pounds on design. It means having a consistent, credible appearance across your website, social media, printed materials, emails, and other marketing.
Your business name, logo, colours, photographs and written style should all work together.
Most importantly, your brand should reflect the type of business you want to become.
If you target professional clients, your branding needs to build confidence and credibility. If you are selling products to a younger audience, you may want something more modern and informal.
Think about the impression you want customers to have when they first encounter your business.
Build a Professional Website
For many businesses, the website is the centre of their marketing. Potential customers will often search online before making contact, so your website needs to make a strong impression.
It should clearly explain what you do, who you help and how customers can get in touch. Make your contact details easy to find, and if you sell products online, keep the purchasing process straightforward.
Don’t fill your website with complicated language. Write for your customers, not to impress them. Good photographs, clear information, customer testimonials and strong calls to action can all help turn visitors into enquiries or sales.
Your website should also work well on mobile phones, as a significant proportion of potential customers will find your business through a smartphone.
Start Building an Online Presence
Going to market does not mean simply launching a website and hoping people find it.
You need to give potential customers reasons to discover your business.
Search engine optimisation, or SEO, can help your website appear when people search for the products or services you provide. Social media can help you build awareness and develop relationships with potential customers. Email marketing can keep people informed and encourage repeat business.
You don’t need to be on every social media platform. Choose the channels where your customers are most likely to spend their time and concentrate on doing them well.
Consistency is more important than trying to produce enormous amounts of content.
Think About Your Marketing Budget
A common mistake new businesses make is either spending too much on marketing without a plan or spending nothing at all.
Treat marketing as an investment rather than simply an expense, but you need to know what you are trying to achieve.
Set a realistic budget and decide how you will measure the results. You might use a mixture of SEO, social media, online advertising, networking, email marketing, direct marketing or traditional advertising. What works for one business may not work for another.
Start small, monitor the results and invest more in the marketing activities that generate genuine enquiries and sales.
Get Your Pricing Right
Pricing can be particularly difficult for a new business.
You may be tempted to charge less than established competitors to attract your first customers. While competitive pricing can be useful, constantly undercutting competitors is rarely a sustainable business strategy.
Your prices need to cover your costs and provide enough profit to allow the business to grow.
Think about the value you provide rather than simply the cost of delivering your product or service.
If you provide a high-quality service, specialist knowledge or excellent customer support, make sure your pricing reflects that.
Make the Buying Process Easy
Once someone is interested in your business, do not make it difficult for them to buy from you.
If they have to search around your website for a phone number, wait days for a response to an enquiry or complete a complicated ordering process, they may go elsewhere.
Make the next step obvious.
That might mean a “Buy Now” button, an online enquiry form, a telephone number or a simple request for a quotation.
Good customer service starts before the customer actually becomes a customer.
Be Prepared for Feedback
Your first customers can provide some of the most valuable information you will receive.
Listen to what they say.
If several customers are asking the same question, your website may need clearer information. If people regularly struggle with part of the buying process, you may need to simplify it.
Not every piece of feedback will be useful, and you will not be able to please everyone. However, paying attention to genuine customer feedback can help you improve your business quickly.
Your first version of your business does not have to be perfect. It needs to be good enough to launch, learn and improve.
Prepare for the First Few Months
Going to market is not the end of the process. It is the beginning.
Do not expect everything to happen immediately. Some businesses attract customers quickly, while others take time to build awareness and trust.
Set realistic targets for your first three, six and twelve months. Monitor your enquiries, sales, website traffic, marketing results and customer feedback.
Most importantly, be prepared to adapt.
The market may tell you something you did not expect. Perhaps a particular service proves more popular than you anticipated, or a different type of customer starts buying from you.
Successful businesses listen to the market and respond to what they learn.
Don’t Wait for Everything to Be Perfect
Perhaps the biggest lesson for a new business preparing to go to market is not to spend so long preparing that you never actually launch.
Of course, you need the basics in place. Your business needs to be legal, your finances need to be organised, your product or service needs to be ready, and your customers need to receive what you promise.
But there will always be something else you could improve.
Your website could have another page. Your branding could be changed. Your social media could contain more content. You could tweak your marketing campaign again.
At some point, you have to take the step and put your business in front of customers. Going to market can feel daunting, but it is also where your business truly starts to become a business.
With a clear offering, a good understanding of your customers, sensible pricing, professional branding and a realistic marketing strategy, you can give your new venture the best possible chance of success.
The key is to start with a plan, listen to your customers and keep improving as you grow.