Market Research and Changing Market Position

Knowing where you and your competitors are, and how to be different matters

Customer Testimonial "Silicon Strategies brought a level of clarity to our situation and helped us mark a path forward." Andres Heuberger President and Founder ForeignExchange Translations

SSM White Paper True Value Learn how to identify and com­municate your value prop­osition.

SSM White Paper Commodity Strategies All products eventually be­come commodities. Learn how to prevent that, survive it, or grow beyond being like everyone else.

The Client: ForeignExchange Translations (FXT), a translation services specialist in medical device, diagnostics, pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

The Situation: FXT was fighting with major competitors and needing new ways to grow client base.

Silicon Strategies' Role: Conduct primary market research to discover where FXT was in the market and how to maneuver past their competitors.

Initial Observations: FXT was uncertain of their competitive landscape and how to change the rules of their market.  The Internet has made the translation/localization industry a commodity business.  FXT wanted to compete on something other than price.

(click to enlarge)

The first step was to determine where FXT stood against their competitors.  Silicon Strategies Marketing conducted a survey, inviting nearly 70,000 people to participate through our dedicated online survey tool.  Through this survey we measured FXT and four competitors on several critical positioning vectors.  From this research a solid positioning map emerged that showed the severity of FXT's place in the market — a very close three-way race.

The survey instrument was also designed to explore places where buyers of translation services were unsatisfied with available services from all vendors.  This quantitative research identified several areas where gaps existed between what buyers wanted and what they could obtain.  This led to the second phase of the investigation, qualitative research via deep interviews in which we delved into these market gaps and explored more precisely what people wished to achieve (their expected outcomes).

Normally we conduct qualitative research first, but FXT's situation was unique and warranted a different approach.

The Results: The results have led FXT to some realizations about their market and how to grow:

• Their specialization in specific industries, and their deep knowledge were perceived as a valuable differentiator, and are to be expanded.
• Translating words is purely a commodity business, and that tangent services and products will lead toward greater customer satisfaction and differentiation.
• FXT's messaging did not match the unique value they delivered, and that FXT messaging needed changing.

The Lesson:

• Knowing your position in the market tells you how urgent is your situation and can lead to understanding how to better differentiate. 
• Often the product you need to offer is not the product you currently provided.  The translation market has changed thanks to the Internet, and leading companies must change their offerings.

Contact Silicon Strategies Marketing for a telephone consultation on how to identify where you and your competitors are and how to pass them in the market.