Member Article

Diversification planning – how to effectively enter a new market

If there’s something the recession has taught us, then it’s not to rest on our laurels. Business may be booming one month then dipping the next and in times of real difficultly diversification may just hold the answer to your financial prayers.

Having worked across a number of business and product launches both in the UK and overseas, here I provide my advice on how to effectively enter a new market.

Research and planning

It may seem obvious, but launching a new office abroad or releasing a product which differs from your current offering shouldn’t be taken lightly, so always invest time and capital into researching the unfamiliar marketplace.

If your product or service is targeted to a certain audience then get their feedback on what would be best received by them. Use a reputable market research business which has a good collection of panels, to draw on the expertise and personal preferences of your potential customers to be, whether they’re parents, home-owners or medical professionals.

Poll opinions on packaging, pricing and tone of voice to ensure all sales and marketing efforts will be properly directed at launch stage. If moving into a different country, invest time in familiarising yourself with the cultural differences. When Wall’s ice cream launched in Brazil, the brand developed a guava flavoured lolly to meet the tastes of the local people. This research investment meant they had an instant sales success immediately from launch and thus the brand profile was quickly raised.

Research doesn’t have to be expensive or time-intensive, there are even a number of DIY tools on the marketplace which make the whole process cheaper and easier. Link a free survey tool such as Survey Monkey to a DIY panel provider, such as Cint, and audience feedback can be captured in 48 hours.

Launch

Whether hosting a press event or releasing a news story, be mindful of the media you are approaching as part of the launch phase. If launching a new product consider which are the most appropriate titles to speak to? A farmer diversifying into ice cream production for example, will have a completely new audience to reach and will be best investing their time into a campaign targeted at food and drink journalists and bloggers, rather than the trade titles they already have relationships with.

When taking your business into a new geographical region too, particularly one overseas, understanding the small idiosyncrasies of media will be a huge benefit. How do they prefer to be approached? What are their deadlines? How long does their working day run? Are they relevant to your news? Do you need to set aside marketing spend in order to secure coverage?

Like with any new product or business, preparation and contingency plans are key to a successful launch. Before approaching media with your news ensure all background materials are developed, images are available and spokespeople briefed –there is nothing more off-putting than a brand which overpromises and under-delivers.

Evaluation phase

The evaluation phase is the most critical of all as it allows you to learn lessons from the planning and launch phases which should determine your future business and marketing strategies. Evaluate the return your investment gave you against key performance indicators. Did you see an increase of web hits? Did sales boom? Was your call centre ringing off the hook? What made all of these things happen? Setting analytics in place before the launch means all of these areas can be effectively tracked and then budget rightly aligned against the highest performing areas.

Georgina Dunkley is director of The Tonic Communications. A national boutique PR agency with offices in the North East and East Midlands. www.thetoniccomms.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Georgina Dunkley .