Five Steps Entrepreneurs Can Follow To Identify New Business Opportunities

Entrepreneurs are risk takers who like to address a problem by finding a solution to it and turning that into a business model.  While handling a new business venture can be consuming in terms of resources and time, it is also important to find new business opportunities which extend outreach, increase revenues and add products/services to one’s portfolio.  There are multiple questions needed to be addressed when trying to explore business opportunities, like identifying if a product or service needs fine tuning or identifying new markets.

Let us have a look at some simple steps which can be employed to identify new opportunities.

1. Focus and fine tune your core product

Any startup in the market has a product or a service which they offer to address a problem, need or a want.  It is important to understand that competing with the ‘big players’ should not be the end goal. Rather, focus on the unique service or characteristic of your offering.  Be on the lookout for any improvements which can make your product or service easier to use and more affordable.  An example would be businesses which rely on technology and mobile platforms.   They are always launching timely updates for their apps by constantly adding new features and improving the users’ experience.  WhatsApp, which initially began just as a texting app, fine tuned their product and added additional services like end to end encryption, conference video calling and payment services. 

2. Identify a problem and see how your startup fits in the scenario

While there are many ideas which may seem lucrative enough if they are transformed into business plans, that is not always the case.  A product or service should be able to fit in a market where it addresses a specific concern. Amazon saw the need for a platform where it could connect retailers and end customers and came up with their product.  Uber saw the need for a platform where they could connect taxis and their customers. Paytm addressed the need for an online payment platform. All such successful startups created products which addressed unmet market needs.

3. Listen to your customers

At the end of the day, a startup can survive if the customer finds an incentive to use its products or services.  It is important to keep an ear to the ground to listen to customer feedback. Minor issues tend to go overlooked, which may later end up blowing back on you.  Many companies realised the importance of listening to feedback. An interesting example here is Parle. Parle discontinued one of their famous products ‘Rola Cola.’  A Twitter user posted about his wish on the platform for Rola Cola to be reintroduced in the market. The tweet found support from other users who shared the same sentiment.  Parle then replied if the post gets 10,000 retweets, they would bring back the product. The tweet easily breached the mark and Parle G began the production of Rola Cola once again.  It is almost a norm now for companies to engage their audience on digital media and social media platforms.  Surveys, Q&As and feedbacks are some simple ways to know what a customer needs.

4. Monitor your competitors

Being on the lookout for what a competitor is doing with a product can give valuable business insights into creating a new product or simply modifying an existing one to cater to the market needs and demands.  An interesting example here would be the food delivery startup Swiggy and the hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo. Dunzo made inroads by addressing any service issue or delivery issue by having it all on one platform.  Even if a listing (a store) is not available on their app, they still offer the customer the option of selecting a specific shop and product and they would deliver it under the option ‘Any store in the city.’ A delivery executive will be assigned, who acts as a proxy for you and makes the purchase for you.  On the other hand, Swiggy only delivered food from the restaurants listed out on its app. Swiggy quickly realised they had the required logistical infrastructure in place and came up with their own hyperlocal delivery version called Swiggy Stores, which does everything Dunzo does.

5. Market your company at events and showcase platforms

Identify events in the industry which align with your product or service and ensure your business gains outreach.  Interacting with similar minded people and discussing with subject matter experts will provide an insight to explore new business ideas, ventures and collaborations with other businesses.  For example, if your product or business falls under a finance technology industry in India, there is the FinTech India Expo. The Expo offers an opportunity to understand the latest trends, practices and innovations in the industry.  There is also a panel headed by subject matter experts who can address queries regarding the concerned products or services. It also offers a platform to network and exchange ideas with like minded individuals and startups.

While there is no textbook or roadmap for identifying new business opportunities, businesses need to constantly experiment to find the right fit for their products or services.  However, following these simple steps could help in identifying new business opportunities.

Read about how to scale up your startup here: How to Scale Up After Starting Up