Market analysis is the foundation for making informed business decisions that give your company a competitive edge. Whether you’re a new or established company, it is critical to constantly update your market analysis to align your strategy with shifting business needs. It’s not enough to make assumptions — your success depends on the insights you gain through market analysis, enabling you to cut through the noise and move with speed and certainty.
A market analysis is a detailed evaluation of a specific market at a point in time, including its structure, limits, opportunities and barriers to entry. The process examines the current and emerging trends, innovations, restrictions, competition and customer needs to identify long- and short-term strategies for growth.
Using data collected from customer surveys and secondary research, the market analysis looks at how your target audience perceives your product or service. This helps you understand what motivates your customers, how their needs and expectations are evolving, and how their behavior might change in the future.
When your analysis reveals the relationship between demand and supply, it gives you insight into the potential for new products or services to fill in gaps in the market. For example, if the demand for healthy meals is high but the market only offers unhealthy options, there is an opportunity to offer a meal kit that caters to this need.
Gathering, analyzing and validating data is a time-intensive task that can pull resources away from other priorities. However, leveraging automation tools can streamline the research process and help you find insights quickly.