Business who, what, when why?

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When you have been running a business for a long time, it can be easy to get stuck in a rut. Unfortunately, businesses need to evolve to survive. Here are some ideas for breaking your established business into new markets.

 

Review Your Current Strategy… All of It

While this main seem like a no-brainer, many companies attempt to enter new markets without actually reviewing their entire current marketing strategies first. It is important to look at what is working, what is not working, how current strategies could be done better, and what has worked in the past. Sometimes your strategy may only need a little tweak to make it better for other market spaces instead of doing a complete overhaul of the marketing strategy.

 

Review who is Marketing Your Company

Like any established business, tradition is important. Also with many established businesses, the same individuals may be doing the marketing now that were doing it twenty years ago. When it comes to doing business, fresh employees are important for coming up with new and innovative ideas. Hiring graduates right out of college ensures that your company is gaining an insight into the cutting edge on what is hot in the market place and what is not. Unlike a fine vintage wine, marketers don’t always get better with age.

 

Considering the Outer Markets: Seniors and Young Teens

Depending on what your product or service is, it might be important to consider different age groups as new market alternatives than just different geographic areas or other demographics. Most marketing campaigns try to reach the middle age crowds between 22 and 50 years old. Try going beyond those boundaries. Young teens are coming into the world now with more disposable income than in previous generations, and they are being subjected to much less parental control over what they are purchasing. With senior citizens and older adults, we are seeing much of the same thing. People are living longer and working longer, meaning that seniors are being less restricted with how much disposable income they have. Having someone on staff who has a gerontology degree would do wonders for your market research. It is important not to forget these two very important age groups when starting to develop a new marketing campaign.

 

Roll It Out Slowly

When you do have an idea for a new marketing campaign, testing it is key. Make sure you use focus groups and surveys for your existing customers, as well as those new customers that you want to reach. There is nothing worse than spending hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars on a campaign that has no effect.

 

Businesses cannot remain stagnant. Every now and then, your established business needs to go out and find new market places to get your products and services into. By looking through your existing strategies, taking other markets into consideration, and taking your time with the roll out, your chances of success in new markets can be exponentially increased.

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