Recommendations on conducting market monitoring Author: PriceCop Thursday December 6th, 2018 • Category: Blog • Updated: Friday April 4th, 2025 Market monitoring is needed to find new niches for development, identify the most attractive target market, and gain a deeper understanding of your target audience. Note that you should conduct an analysis not only before you start operations but also throughout the process. Of course, before entering a specific niche, it’s important to learn as much as possible about it. However, some parameters may change over time. Monitoring doesn’t cost millions, and if you use automated tools, you can save money and time while minimizing human error. Content List Set Your Goals and Objectives Study Your Target Audience Gather Your Data Get to Know Your Competitors Draw Conclusions In Conclusion Set Your Goals and Objectives Many entrepreneurs find this stage boring and not strictly necessary. Indeed, just talking about how important it is often doesn’t convince anyone. However, if you think about it logically, what results can you expect from a process for which no goals have been defined? Having clear objectives determines how much and what kind of information you need. Business owners study the market for many reasons, but the main one is to minimize problems and create new opportunities. Depending on your chosen goal, you can use the collected data to improve internal business operations or build trust with a lender. Study Your Target Audience Not every person is your customer, and that’s normal. But it’s important to figure out which people make up your target audience (TA). By focusing on them—on their specific needs and desires—you can quickly build a pool of loyal customers who keep coming back. It’s critical not only to know WHO they are, but also to understand how their profile evolves over time. To simplify this stage, divide your audience into segments and work through each segment individually. For example, suppose you have a store that sells women’s handbags. Broadly, your TA is anyone interested in buying handbags. But marketing to 18-year-old college students is different from marketing to 40-year-old shoppers, because these segments have distinct needs and pain points. Some advice: Don’t get stuck on age, marital status, and other “statistical data” that often come from nowhere. Keep your focus on their problems and the solutions. Decide for yourself why these audience groups will buy your product, in what quantity, and how often. Consider what matters most to your TA: packaging, quality, price. What might encourage a purchase, and what might discourage it? Gather Your Data Information is your greatest ally and a way to achieve your desired outcome. The more data you have, the better the results. Possible data sources include: Search engines. You can only get a general idea about product demand. Use “Yandex.Wordstat” and “Google Trends.” Social networks. By simply observing competitors and influencers, you can assess how occupied or free a niche is, as well as identify any common issues. Interviews, surveys, and questionnaires. All of these can also be conducted online. The most straightforward method is observation. For example, you can place an ad for your product and see how many people show interest and what questions they ask. Get to Know Your Competitors You don’t have to go out for coffee with them, but you do need to understand who they are. Keep in mind your task is simply to know who your competitors are, not necessarily to track them 24/7. However, there are nuances here, which we’ll get to in a moment. Competition exists everywhere, and that’s something you have to accept. But there are also problems everywhere, and you can solve them with your offering. For instance, if a competitor doesn’t provide a warranty, free shipping, or samples—even though customers are asking for these—why not offer them yourself? A useful tip: look at your competitors’ strengths as potential weaknesses. Suppose they’re a large company with millions of customers. Often, such organizations are slow and may have issues dealing with a large volume of reviews. It’s almost impossible, with such a high turnover, for them to give each customer personal attention. In your analysis, find out: their prices; their assortment and quality; their marketing strategy; their sales channels; their partners; their strengths and weaknesses. Of course, your competitors won’t reveal all their secrets themselves. So, use online data, survey customers, and observe. Draw Conclusions When you have gathered all the necessary information, it’s crucial to analyze it properly and draw conclusions. Various methods exist for this, with the most popular being SWOT and PEST. SWOT Analysis Its main advantage is its simplicity. To organize all your information, group it into four segments: Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats The first two categories cover internal factors, while the latter two cover external factors. PEST Analysis The difference with this approach is that you examine all information from the perspective of external environmental impact. It’s convenient to gather the data you need as answers to targeted questions. Don’t forget to remain objective. Present all data in tables and charts. The biggest risk is making a mistake in estimating your chances of success. If you realize you can’t evaluate it objectively, delegate the task. All data must be based on verified statistics with stable trends, not random occurrences. If you can’t verify at least one figure, don’t use it. In Conclusion When it comes to market monitoring, it’s important to use automated tools since they minimize human error. Returning to the topic of competitors: it’s crucial to keep track of their pricing so you can respond promptly to any fluctuations, especially dumping. For this, you can use PriceCop’s tools. Continuous monitoring helps you identify dumping, increase product listings, and expand sales channels. To find out what the platform can specifically offer your business, fill out the form: