What is market share?

Market share is the percent of total sales in an industry generated by a particular company. Market share is calculated by taking the company's sales over the period and dividing it by the total sales of the industry over the same period. This metric is used to give a general idea of the size of a company in relation to its market and its competitors. The market leader in an industry is the company with the largest market share. - By Adam Hayes from Investopedia. 

Now what are the common mistakes company often make when they’re trying to increase their market share.

1. Not specifying countries(this will later on be explained in how design can solve this problem). It’s essential to break up broader geographic “markets” into individual countries with distinct revenue and lead generation goals—and to conduct adequate local market research and gain clarity for the direction of marketing strategy you will implement.
2. Not adapting their sales and marketing channels. Marketers need to change up their own channels according to the behaviors of each market, and this can vary across countries within the same region due to the popularity of networks and tools available for each country. So again, be very specific.
3. Not adapting the product offering(here’s how often “expansion trap”can hurt, or even sunk a company when done wrong). Companies achieve “product-market fit” one country at a time. Yet all too often, companies try to launch identical products in different markets, ignoring the fact that they’re dealing with very different customers. Be empathetic towards the people you serve, only then you understand what’s best to offer.

What are some examples and efforts companies can do to maintain their market share?

1. Determine which of your products are in danger of losing market share. And focus on one product at a time.
2. Launch effective advertising and promotion campaigns.
3. Introduce new, improved products. Innovative products can help maintain or increase market share. Innovation is one way.
4. Safeguard your distribution channels by keeping the shelves full of popular and new products. Just like our social media principles in DotDesign, no body will follow someone who doesn’t post everyday when they’re using social media everyday.
5. Improve customer loyalty by knowing their preferences (e.g. by customer surveys) and working toward total customer satisfaction. Re-evaluating user’s brand experience is one of the most effective way to improve this.

Category Marketing

Category Marketing, is one of the most basic marketing strategy. Products exist in categories — Computers are a different category than phones, beer is a different category than wine, cars are a different category than motorcycles. The person deciding which phone to buy may not be the same person deciding what computer to buy, and if they are, they may not be evaluating computers the same way they evaluate phones. Likewise, the competition within computers may differ from the competition within phones, within the scope of unique branding. 

The most relevant brand in terms of market share is often the first in a new category. When a profitable category is made, competitors inevitably enter, however, in the long term only a few brands matter. Over time, categories do not combine, yet they divide further into new categories.

Now, how can you increase the market share by promoting the category?

It’s simply by gaining more reach of people that aren’t aware about the category you’re leading, to a converting customers. Here’s when a healthy competition can be useful: for example “Customer A”, is looking for a phone, if you’re Apple, promoting category means promoting how smart is iPhone in smartphone category, now should “Customer A” choose Google Pixel because “Customer A” has been using Google Nest, Chrome and Google Drive instead of iCloud, it’s their choice. It means that “Customer A” is not your ideal brand persona. 

Your ideal brand persona would be very specific and a quick example of it would sound like: John Doe, 24 years old, have ipad, use Macbook and browse through safari, follow Apple on social media, and using Airpod Pro(for example). 

Now that you understand the status of your category, you will then need to find your niche. Be very specific, stand out in your category in how you are different with others in this category. 

For example: Souffle, a kitchenware.

Of course everyone would need one, but different than other brands, Souffle, sells a high-end designers made kitchenware. Guess who would be their ideal customer? People who understand their brand’s value, who are willing to pay high dollars to achieve a certain value provided by the brand. And that’s how you stand out in your category.

You will need to follow your marketing strategy into a more detailed nitty gritty information about your ideal customer. And put them in a different sales funnel, therefore you need to treat them differently too. 

Conclusion: Promoting category helps you increase the demand. And what happen when demand increases? Supply should too. When competition arise, it’s a good sign, that market is growing. In this challenging time, putting extra effort to stand out, is inevitable. 

Find out how a great brand strategy can help you build a strong market for your business*FREE EBOOK*.

Innovation, not expansion

Now, while expansion can help a company grow multiple times bigger, and stronger, when done wrong, it can harm, or even destroy a company. I’ve used this example before in my last article featured in my LinkedIn Profile here.

A great example from a widely known brand is Kodak, which was once a giant company that democratizes photography by making sure that everyone deserves to create memory individually and let Kodak do the rest, from film processing to printing.

Not long until Kodak became the giant in the industry, the digital camera surge to the surface. When the digital came, the film camera industry was inherently thrown out of the window. Now here's the downfall of it:

1. Instead of going digital, Kodak changed its focus and expand its business to "Printing Industry". They developed printers now of which they were never known for. In another word, they're now competing against the giants in the printing industry placing themselves in a rock bottom they've never been before.
2. The industry turning point is when digital turned social. Kodak came up with an unbelievably amazing move, by acquiring a photo-sharing site called "Ofoto". Instead of going the "Instagram" direction, Kodak still tried to encourage people to print digital photos. This is when they're failed to reinvent themselves over the expansion they made.

Do you see what happened there? 

Instead of focusing on their business where they lead the market(in photography), they took another direction as a “printer” company where they have to build again their reputation from the ground up. With a change in the industry, just like our present time (2019-2021)we’re faced with challenges that will forever change the world. 

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Focus in your key strength, and keep on innovating within the category of what you’re known for. Find your niche, and stick with it. Innovate by listening what your niche are looking instead of offering another product in your niche, make the product you make for your niche better. And better, and better. 

Now that we now all that, all you need to do today is focusing on sending the right message to the right audience. 

In the end of the day, your customer comes to you for something that others don't have. Find that strength , and strengthening it would keep a loyal customer.

Why do you need a loyal customer?

After one purchase, a customer has a 27% chance of returning to your store. While that’s not a horrible return rate, if you can get that customer to come back and make a second and third purchase they have a 54% chance of making another purchase. 

While conversion rates in ecommerce are volatile and vary by industry, most experts estimate that the average conversion rate is somewhere between 1% and 3%. 

“A repeat customer has a 60 to 70% chance of converting.”
- Paul Farris (Marketing Metrics)

Effective brands have a strong creative identity that their customers relate to, and this identity remains consistent over time. 

What is brand loyalty and what’s the difference with customer loyalty?

Brand loyalty is not the same thing as customer loyalty, which is usually associated with customer rewards programs, free offers, coupons, sales, rebates, and other incentives. Customer loyalty programs aim to keep buyers coming back for more with a steady stream of perks. While the distinction between brand loyalty and customer loyalty may seem subtle, the difference is significant. Whereas customers with brand loyalty have an emotional connection to the brand that extends beyond price, buyers who fit into the customer loyalty category usually won’t hesitate to check out the competition if prices go up or the special deals stop being so special.  

Find out how brand loyalty can bring a higher retention rate for your business.

Conclusion:

1. No magic bullet in increasing market share.
2. The bigger category is, the bigger demand is.
3. Focus in your strength, provide better for your customer.
4. Nurture the market you already have, monitor a healthy competition, grow the business one step at a time.

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