A careful market research and analysis helps the entrepreneur to position well in the marketplace. Data can be collected from various sources for a more accurate analysis. An estimate of the total aggregate sales of your competitors will determine the size of your market.

Market Segmentation

After knowing the market size, we will further divide the market into geographic regions, customer attributes, product range etc. Your targeted market will now be more accurately identified. This is the addressable market that your product can reach.

Market Positioning

Part of the overall marketing strategy is to position well in the market, and able to differentiate yourself from your competitors. In order to position your products/services, we need to understand some key issues:

Product pricing will depend on how you position yourself in the market. If you are targeting high end customers, your prices may be much higher than your competitors. Of course, you may need to offer much better service than your competitors too.

Prices can be set according to some basic principles:

There are also many methods used to establish pricing, each has its own merits though.

Distribution channel

Distribution involves the entire process of bringing the products from the factories to your customers. There are many types of distribution channel to choose from. The common ones are namely:

• Direct Sales. This is the most cost effective channel, and the internet has made it possible for you to sell to anyone in the world directly.

• Original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Your product is bundled together with the finished product of the manufacturer and sold to the end user.

• Wholesale distribution. Here, the manufacturer distribute their products to wholesalers, who will then sell to retailers and customers. Manufacturer >> Wholesaler >> Retailer >> Consumer

• Multilevel marketing. Sometimes called network marketing, which has emerged as a new form of distribution channel through word of mouth.

Article by Byon Ong, Singapore Business Resources for Entrepreneurs

January 2006

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