What Is a Market Development Strategy? (2023 Updated)

What Is a Market Development Strategy?

A market development strategy is called a business growth strategy which focuses on introducing existing products to new markets. 

A market development strategy supports businesses in a growing period. It recognizes and enhances new sales opportunities for the current range of products in otherwise untapped markets.

The market plan is a strategic move to develop the current market instead of seeking a new market. 

Bonus: Learn the A-Z Basics of Product Marketing here.

The company searches for new customers to introduce the product to a varied segment of consumers.

Companies do this to diversify and expand sales through a market development strategy. 

The first part of the market development strategy is to perform detailed market research. The motive of the study is:

• To do a segmentation analysis of the current market.

• Mark out the target segments of the market you want to approach. 

You can decide on a target segment based on the new customers’ demographic, customer needs, lifestyle, interests, and preferences.

Using Chisel, you can circulate customer surveys to find answers to your research questions. Moreover, you can shape your strategy by prioritizing the work items on your roadmap.

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Importance of Market Development Strategy

The market development plan is essential for the growth of the business. It’s not safe to depend on a niche customer base because it is a total downfall if that slips.

Market development strategy divides and reduces disaster possibilities in many ways.

Market development strategy drives the market development process in a structured way involving risk management and in-depth market research.

Click here to read about Strategic Marketing Management and how it can boost your sales!

How To Develop a Market Development Strategy?

Here are a few of the core steps which you should follow to develop an efficient market strategy:

Research

Market research is the backbone of development strategy. Continued research is vital to sustaining itself in the competitive market.

Establish growth goals

Companies must ensure that their development strategy achieves market expansion growth goals.

Allocation of resources

Market players must carefully distribute resources as per development strategy.

Marketing plan development

Market players must create a strategy according to market needs.

Product launch

Market players must continually launch market development strategies and products.

Bonus: Check out our detailed guide on how to make a successful product launch.

Result analysis

Market players must analyze how effective the market development strategy has proven and accordingly modify plans.

What Are the Examples of Market Development Strategy?

Below are a few of the most sought-after ways companies develop their marketing strategies.

Through geographical expansion

The market development strategy is popular among market players. It involves entering the market by increasing the number of outlets where one’s product gets sold.

By upselling to existing users

Upselling is the market development strategy of offering additional benefits to existing customers without increasing prices.

By attracting new users

The market development strategy of attracting new users is popular among market players.

It involves gaining market share by increasing the number of people who use a product and assuming that existing customers remain loyal.

By attracting the competitors’ users

The market development strategy of attracting the competitors’ customers is popular among market players. It involves gaining market share by attracting market users who buy products from competitors.

Through the expansion of the target market

The market development strategy of targeting customers in new geographical areas or with different needs/wants is popular among market players.

Factors To Consider for Market Development Strategy

You should consider the following specific points while making a market development strategy:

• Is the target segment ready for your product? Do they need it?

• Is there any segment that you have ignored?

• Is the company (or the concerned teams) prepared to undergo the market development process and implement the strategies?

• What is the ROI? Is it profitable at the moment to explore the untapped markets?

Mistakes To Avoid When Creating Market Development Strategy

Market development can be a game changer for your company, but only if you approach it with a well-thought-out strategy.

Unfortunately, many businesses make costly mistakes that can hinder their growth. 

These missteps can turn your market development dreams into nightmares, from failing to research your target audience to neglecting to track your progress. But fear not! 

This guide will explore the most common mistakes to avoid when creating your market development strategy and show you how to succeed.

Mistakes to Avoid When Crafting a Marketing Strategy

Inadequate Setting of Goals

It’s crucial to establish clear goals, to achieve success in marketing. It helps to measure the success of a campaign and make adjustments when needed. A vague objective often leads to a scattered approach, wasting limited resources. Instead, concentrate on a few crucial goals and devise a plan.

Undefined Target Market

Knowing your customers’ needs and wants is the foundation of a successful marketing strategy. Creating an effective campaign is tricky without a clear understanding of your target market. It is important to identify your audience and utilize this knowledge to create a plan that resonates with them.

Over-Emphasis on Sales

Some businesses make the mistake of putting too much emphasis on sales, ignoring the importance of building a connection with their audience. Instead, focus on creating an emotional bond with your audience by telling stories, sharing customer testimonials, and highlighting your company’s values and mission. It will lead to lasting relationships and loyal customers.

Underestimating Data Analysis

Tracking data and measuring results are critical components of a successful marketing strategy. Too often, businesses overlook the importance of data analysis, viewing marketing as a necessary evil. However, marketing is one of the most significant aspects of any business, and its success should get monitored closely.

Lack of Diverse Ideas

Branding gets built on various strategies, including online, offline, and social marketing. A mix of these will help you connect with your audience, giving you a competitive edge. Be bold and innovative, but pay attention to basics. Change is essential, and success requires adapting and evolving over time.

The Perception of a Perfect Timing for Marketing

Successful marketing takes time, effort, and planning. The best strategies keep pace with technological advancements, consumer trends, and brand research. Stay caught up by relying on outdated information and tactics.

Absence of a Strategic Roadmap

A marketing strategy is excellent, but it’s only effective with a roadmap to guide you. A roadmap visually represents your marketing plan, showing the steps, timeline, and endpoint. It’s beneficial for small businesses to keep track of the resources needed for each strategy.

Misestimation of Time and Resources

Every business is unique, and it’s essential to clearly understand the time and resources required to implement a marketing strategy. 

Underestimating the time and effort needed to execute your plan will lead to a poor marketing campaign.

Flexibility and Adaptability

Implementing marketing strategies requires time, patience, and effort, but feel free to change your approach if necessary. Be flexible and adapt to changes in the market, consumer trends, and technology. Staying open to new ideas and adjusting to your plan will ensure continued success in marketing.

Are There Any Tips to Avoid the Above Mistakes?

Creating an effective marketing strategy is crucial to the success of any business. While there’s no foolproof formula, a few tips and tricks can help.

Defining Your Goals and Objectives

Creating an effective marketing strategy is crucial to the success of any business. While there’s no foolproof formula, a few tips and tricks can help. First and foremost, it’s essential to define your goals and objectives. Ask yourself what you hope to achieve with your marketing campaign, and ensure that these objectives are clear and specific. 

It makes it easier to track progress and measure success.

Understanding Your Target Audience

It’s crucial to factor in your target audience while devising a marketing strategy. You need to identify the individuals or groups you want to reach with your marketing campaigns and determine the type of message that would strike a chord with them. 

The deeper the comprehension of your target audience, the more effectively you can customize your approach and create a lasting impression.

Choosing the Right Channels

When devising your marketing strategy, consider what channels you want to use to reach your target audience. Are you going to use social media, email marketing, paid advertising, or a combination of these channels? Choose the most likely channels to reach your target audience and communicate your message effectively.

Measuring Success

Regularly evaluating your performance and tracking your results is crucial to the success of any marketing strategy. You can look at a few key indicators to gauge the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. For example, you can track changes in web traffic to see if your marketing efforts drive more visitors to your website. 

You can also look at sales changes to see if your marketing strategy impacts revenue. Finally, you can measure engagement on your social media accounts to see if more people are responding to your posts and engaging with your content.

Gauging the Success of Your Marketing Strategy

Determining the success of your marketing strategy is essential to see if your hard work is paying off. There are various ways to assess the performance of your campaigns and make adjustments to improve results.

Measuring Website Visitors

One common way to see if your marketing approach works is by checking for changes in website traffic. If you notice increased visitors to your site, it’s a positive sign that your marketing strategy is effective. But a key factor to gaining more visitors is making sure that your website is easy to navigate and doesn’t have too many details that confuse people, you can create an effective website with the help of an AI website builder if you don’t want to hire a professional yet.

Monitoring Sales Growth

Another way to evaluate your marketing plan’s success is to track sales changes. If you see an increase in sales, your marketing efforts resonate with your target audience and make an impact.

Analyzing Social Media Engagement

Lastly, you can measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategy by looking at engagement on your social media accounts. Suppose more people respond to your posts and actively participate in your content. In that case, it’s a good indication that your marketing plan is successful.

By keeping an eye on these indicators, you can clearly understand your marketing strategy’s performance and make necessary changes to ensure it continues to bring positive results for your business.

Common Market Development Strategies

Geographic expansion

Expanding into new territories is a strategy for growing your market reach. It involves a business spreading its wings into different regions to attract new customers and boost sales. It can help a company broaden its customer base and not rely too heavily on current markets.

For instance, let’s say a company primarily operates in the US. They may expand into international markets like Europe or Asia to tap into new customer groups and increase revenue possibilities.

However, when considering a geographic expansion strategy, a business must consider various aspects, such as local laws and regulations, cultural differences, and language barriers. The company must also have the necessary resources and infrastructure to support operations in new territories.

Pricing

Introduce offers and discounts to attract more customers, specifically those who are not existing users or clients.

Distribution

Create innovative distribution channels to reach out to customers.

Attracting competitors’ customers

They are delivering the same product as you are. Hence, to attract their customers to the side, you must provide a better user experience, discounts or lower rates, and better marketing.

Better user experience comes from putting in the better effort at understanding your customer base and their opinions. The best product management software like Chisel does just that. The software even helps you in capturing ideas and recommendations from your customers.

Branding

Another way to develop your market is to introduce a new brand for a specific target market.

Product development

Tailor an existing product or introduce a new one for a new market.