Know your market and make better decisions
6 ways you can benefit from a Market Map (Infographic)
Market mapping looks threatening to many people. Let me help you get clear about the benefits you can gain from a Market Map.
If you’re more conscious about them, it will be easier to decide whether developing your Market Map will help you.
To get a quick overview, I developed an infographic that shows the most relevant benefits you can gain from using a Market Map.
Now, let’s look closer at the benefits.
Improve your market insight and expertise
This one is the most obvious benefit: As you work on your Market Map, gather and organize market information, you will gain more insight and clarity about what’s going on. Your knowledge is a valuable asset in itself. Nurture it to prepare yourself for future challenges.
More insight will also have side effects:
- You will get to know new people and organizations related to your market.
- You will run into new ideas that might answer questions you haven’t even asked before.
- You will broaden your view by learning about other perspectives you haven’t thought about yet.
And that’s only the side effects! You gain them while gathering information to support your strategic work. — On the go and at no extra cost.
Better understand the most impactful connections
You can either take a snapshot of the market or watch it over time. I believe you should do the latter because only then will you understand the underlying connections that influence your market. While a snapshot doesn’t reveal sequences and progressions, you can discover more relationships if you start watching a market over time.
It can be essential for you to understand what’s going on behind the scenes. Only if you truly understand how the market works can you address it in the best way possible. That can make the difference in your decision-making and when you’re trying to convince others to bet on you.
Have an early-warning system for significant market changes
Markets change.
And that’s good.
Especially when you prepared yourself for change.
But: Do you recognize change early?
Market mapping can work as your early-warning system. By surveilling a market, you can spot early signs of change as soon as they appear. You still have to draw the right conclusions, but being aware of upcoming change can set you in a front position and save you precious time other market players already lose while you start acting.
Position yourself as an expert and thought leader
If you want to position yourself and your company as industry experts and thought leaders, you’d better be one! The market won’t respect you for being the last to hear about an event or a new trend.
But if you are the first to answer a new challenge, they will.
And if you can weigh up pros and cons based on your profound knowledge, they will.
And if you not only try to sell them but offer contextual advice, they will.
That’s why you should implement a system to make sure you’re up-to-date. It’s the basis for most kinds of expertise.
Provide detailed information to convince others
You might have the position to command some people. However, in many cases, leadership is preferable. Or the only way possible. In that case, you should gain respect by walking the path I described in the previous benefits and convince others with detailed and profound information.
Market mapping aims to gather relevant information continuously and hence builds up a great knowledge base over time. You can build your reasoning on that information to make it more compelling and convincing for those you want to win for your strategy.
Increase decision-quality by providing substantial information
Winning others for your strategy shouldn’t be just for the sake of it. You should be convinced it’s the right strategy. And how could you? Well, because market mapping can help you work out the best possible plan by providing the basis for your market-related decisions. It’s a method in your best interest because it will help you come up with profound choices.
Now, it’s up to you
As you can see, gathering market information is essential to ensure high-quality decisions. I’m pretty sure we agree on that without any discussion, right?
So, it’s a matter of choosing the right method for gathering information. I recommend market mapping because it’s a pragmatic approach to collect data over time without spending too much time on it. It works in your everyday life and thus has a chance to last.
So, give it a try and start working on your Market Map.
If you need any help, leave a response below or get in contact with me.
