3 Tips for Entering a New Market Keeping the following in mind will lend an edge to filling market voids and successfully disrupt established players in almost any entrepreneurial arena.
By Samit Varma Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When entering a new market, it is vital to make it a strong. Otherwise, your business can fall to the wayside, as other companies do a better job executing on their growth strategies.
In the process of building our brand Pizza Studio – with nearly 30 locations nationwide -- we discovered three components that can help a new entrant successfully fill a market void.
1. Focus on consumer impact
The end user of your product or service is the individual who will ultimately decide your fate and an introduction to a brand is like an introduction to another person: You only get one chance to make a lasting first impression. People form habits based on initial experiences, so be sure your relationship starts off on a positive note. Focus on delivering a high quality, consistent product.
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We've found that an intense focus on customer satisfaction and guest experience is the key to driving repeat business and loyalty. Customers recognize the value of this and it pays off in the long run.
2. Allow for customization
Customers perceive customization as value -- and providing consumers with the opportunity for customization can bring growth to any genre when implemented successfully.
In our case, we've built our business model entirely around this consumer craving for personalization. As a result, we've found that interest in our company is largely driven by the quality of customized product that we are able to consistently and quickly deliver to our customers. Businesses in every sector can benefit from taking a closer look at increasing their offerings to meet this new consumer demand for customization.
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3. Streamline for predictability
Consistency is crucial to a successful brand. Consumers are driven to seek out known brands because these brands provide an unvarying and uniform experience. To meet this high level of expectation, day-to-day preparation and operations must be streamlined so that filling customer demand is both fluid and seamless. Yet, with the customization tip from above, it can make predicting customer preferences nearly impossible.
In our business, to ensure predictability, we built an infrastructure so simple, it's foolproof. We built a system in which each of our locations mirrors all others down to the smallest details. Food prep stations are identical at every site, vegetables are cut and measured to the exact same size and width and pizzas are cooked in specialized ovens. This framework creates predictability on both ends: The customer knows what they're getting, and we know how to deliver on what they want.
Consistency of operations is arguably one of the most important considerations for those entering any market. Implementing predictive and control measures allows quality and efficiency to co-exist.
Delivering on these three points of customer satisfaction successfully will aid any young enterprise in penetrating a given market segment. A loyal customer is born and a long-standing business model is the end result.
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