Competitive Analysis
Studying how competitors run their online business is an important key to understanding how to run your own online business more efficiently. Competitive analysis will evaluate the usability and user experience of a competitor’s online assets compared with your own company’s assets. This will help you to glean the competition’s strategy, how they are positioned in the marketplace and how you can develop online solutions to attract the patronage of new customers. Defining and understanding the competitive landscape of online business will greatly increase your company’s long term sustainable advantages in the virtual marketplace. Learning from the competition is the best way to maximize your own business model and learn more about your customers as well as potential customers. Evaluation of the market place encourages your company to improve online features and functionality.
Although competitive analysis includes steps found in traditional marketing such as products, prices etc. it is distinguished by two features: Heuristic evaluation and features/functionality analysis. The heuristic evaluation is performed by a usability expert who examines the usability and user experiences of your company’s assets as well as the assets of your competitors and potential substitutes. Features/functionality analysis is an evaluation of the features and functionality provided by your company’s assets compared with your competitors. The implementation of a competitive analysis will give your company an edge in the continually evolving marketplace.
Market Research
Market research is an effective device to employ in order to determine which business tactics deliver the maximum results. This will help to drive the long term product planning and positioning of your company well into the future. Market research also provides a company with the insight and ability to discover unmet consumer needs.
Internet Strategy
The practice and implementation of a proficient internet marketing strategy will increase a company’s understanding of user behavior and experience. Internet marketing strategies precipitate results in the form of gauging the potential of a customer base. With the knowledge gathered by market research a company is better able to engage with their customers in new and exciting ways. Internet marketing engages the customer at every step through search engine optimization, banner ads, email marketing, and web 2.0 strategies. The possibilities of online marketing are as endless as the internet itself and if properly analyzed can lead to greatly beneficial results for the customer and the business.
Organizational Consulting
The proper implementation of an organizational structure into an online business gives entrepreneurs the ability to understand how to effectively leverage the internet on a long term basis. An organizational consultant can assist a company with overseeing recruitment, management, business plans and many other organizational services. Having an organizational structure in place will enable a company to evolve and thus exceed as time goes on and the customer base grows.
Product planning
Creating a long term road-map is necessary in order to properly identify and articulate market requirements. Product planning plays an important role in this process and will greatly improve the efficiency and success of product development. Through prioritization workshops and also through the creation of conceptual prototypes a successful product plan can be implemented. When taking the steps necessary to realize your company’s long term vision it is important to remember to balance this vision with short term wins. Product planning will ensure ahead of time that the necessary requirements will be met and your customers will be completely satisfied.
User Research
Understanding customer behavior is an integral part of expanding a successful business. Specifying the company’s vision, initiatives and processes will help in deploying online assets in a way which maximizes the benefits of the company’s digital strategy. Identifying the customers unmet needs is key to improving business opportunities and challenges. Developing a firm vision for your company’s online assets will play an important role in the fulfillment of the customer’s needs, goals, opportunities and challenges. Setting a priority on the online initiatives will help to deliver on this vision.
The accomplishment of these goals requires expert user research techniques and analysis. The user centered research provided will determine the usability and success of a company’s online assets. This will help to improve marketing strategies and methodologies. Overcoming usability barriers helps to provide customers with an intuitive, user friendly experience. Local research will also offer a company key insights into different markets so they can maximize on their potential.
In digital strategy it is important to understand how a customer interacts with a company’s website. This information can be ascertained through market research surveys, user analysis, qualitative online research and various questionnaires. User research methods will insure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Web Analytics
Gauging on-site and off-site web analytics is a great way to understand the ways in which users navigate through your website. On-site web analytics will track a customer’s exploration and measure their experience on your website. This will enable you to decipher which landing pages encourage customers to make a purchase thus increasing performance and improving audience response. Off-site web analytics allow you to measure and analyze a website regardless of whether or not you personally own it. Maintaining and collecting off-site analytic data will help your company measure the opportunity, visibility, and buzz of a competitor’s website.
Applying website analytics will provide insight into what drives sales and will also reveal any weak points in the sales plan. Defining these weak points and improving upon them will ensure that customers optimize their time on and usage of your website. Taking a performance assessment of your website and reviewing its effectiveness allows you to break down barriers which block you from meeting your customer’s needs and expectations. Financial web analytics will also play a large role in determining the best way to increase sales and meet the demands of customers. Tracking patterns and statistics will encourage sales and customer satisfaction.