UNIVERSITY OF MAKATI

J. P. Rizal Ext., West Rembo, Makati City

HIGHER SCHOOL NG UMAK
ABM AND LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT
COURSE TITLE CHAPTER
MODULE NO. 2
ENTREPRENEURSHIP RECOGNIZING A POTENTIAL MARKET
Identify the market problem to be solved or the market need to be
LEARNING met;
OBJECTIVES Propose solution/s in terms of product/s and service/s that will meet
At the end of the the need using techniques on seeking, screening and seizing
lesson, the students opportunities;
should be able to: Analyze the market need; and
Determine the possible product/s or service/s that will meet the need.

INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship is a phenomenon or reality that has already become a buzzword in
the lives of most Filipinos. Entrepreneurs, who are the founders and builders of enterprises and
businesses, are often called the new heroes, who, with their vision and hard work, and their
efforts to provide jobs and opportunities to many people, hope to move the country towards
progress. (Macatangay, 2015)

In this chapter, learners are expected to understand and explain entrepreneurship as a

tool to fight poverty. This, in line with the underlying principles of entrepreneurship, must be
attained by identifying societal problems that can be addressed by utilizing entrepreneurship.
Learners are to analyze market trends to determine possible products or services they can
propose.

CONTENT

To effectively identify
an opportunity, one may
take some time observing
and tracking necessary
market trends. In that way,
the entrepreneur can
determine what product
fits the type of market
he/she has.

The following questions

may help you identify an
opportunity:
https://www.brainshark.com/sites/default/files/resources/blogs/calculate-opportunity-win-rate.png

• Who is Your Who?

• What is your Unique Ability?
• “What problem do people have and what solution am I offering?”
• What info product can you create that sets you apart from all the other info products
out there right now?
• What niche can you dominate?
 Time can be an ally or a challenge in identifying an opportunity simply because some
entrepreneurs may have already targeted and seized all the possible opportunities for you to
take. But do not lose hope. There are a lot of things those entrepreneurs may be missing as
well and that is what your opportunity is going to be. All you need to do is screen it and seize
it. Nowadays, technology has made it easier to transact with prospect buyers—with just one
click, you get to sell or buy your needs via a virtual market.

Learn More from Others

The following are some of the tips shared by Reese and Andy Jenkins on How to Identify
Opportunities to make some money with (online) business:

1) Instead of chasing new opportunity all the time, focus on taking what’s already working
and make it better.

80% of your sales come from 20% of your efforts, so isolate the 20% and do MORE of what
is WORKING. That’s why you must be tracking and reviewing analytics.

2) In today’s market you don’t need a USP, but a UCP – Unique Connection Point.

How do you connect with clients in a way that is different from competitors? You need
to be more patient, understanding, and empathetic to build connection and affinity with your
market.

3) A BIG mistake people make is thinking untapped market is best place to go.

But the fast track to success is picking busy markets where the action already is. Take a
look at Nick Pineault’s recent success. You see, niche products that tap into bigger markets is
where the money is. Find out what your user search behaviors are and reverse engineer offers
to exploit this opportunity.

4) Mindset

A lot of what drives us to take action is when our backs are against the wall. If you want
to accelerate your money and business to grow, you need to envision something that you
don’t currently have in your life that you want, and then reverse engineer the numbers of what
it would take to buy the item (or pay off the debt, if that is the case).

Taking it from a different perspective but serving the same purpose, here are four tips to
identify business opportunities from Amanda Jesnoewski:

• Listen to your potential clients and past leads

o When you’re targeting potential customers listen to their needs, wants, challenges
and frustrations with your industry. Have they used similar products and services
before? What did they like and dislike? Why did they come to you? What are their
objections to your products or services?
o This will help you to find opportunities to develop more tailored products and
services, hone your target market and identify and overcome common
objections.
• Listen to your customers
o When you’re talking to your customers listen to what they saying about your
industry, products and services. What are their frequently asked questions?
Experiences? Frustrations? Feedback and complaints?

• Look at your competitors

 o Do a little competitive analysis (don’t let it lead to competitive paralysis though)
to see what other startups are doing, and more importantly, not doing? Where
are they falling down? What are they doing right? What makes customers go to
them over you?

Analyzing your competitors will help you identify key business opportunities to expand
your market reach and develop your products and services.

4. Look at industry trends and insights

Subscribe to industry publications, join relevant associations, set Google alerts for key
industry terms and news and follow other industry experts on social media. Absorb yourself in
your industry and continually educate yourself on the latest techniques and trends.

The Definition and Importance of Potential Markets

By Laura Lake

A potential market is the part of the

market you can capture in the future.

Your potential market includes the

demographic groups that are not currently
your customers but could become
customers in the future. They might become
your customers because you expand your
available products or services, or because
you begin marketing your current products
and services in a new way and to new
groups of buyers.
https://img.freepik.com/free-vector/group-people-illustration-set_52683-33806.jpg?size=626&ext=jpg

The Importance of Potential Markets

Potential markets are an important part of a business's future growth.

Every business has a set of target customers that make up its share of the available
market. While you can continue selling to these customers in the future, one of the best ways
to grow your business is to identify potential markets that you can begin targeting.

Potential markets allow you to:

• Ensure the future of your business by identifying new customers.

• Think proactively about ways for your business to grow and change.
• Show the potential of your business to investors or collaborators.
• Increase your revenue.
• Create a plan B that will weather changes in the economy or market.

By identifying and pursuing potential markets, you are not increasing your market
share for today; you are ensuring your market share will increase for the future.
How to Identify Your Potential Markets

Potential markets take one of

three forms:

• New products that you

market to your current
customers.
• New products that you
market to new customers.
• Current products that you
market to new customers.

https://blog.clickdimensions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/BlogFeatureImage-Identifying-the-Source-of-Existing-Contacts-and-Leads.png

To identify your new potential markets, consider every target demographic that you
currently sell to, as well as those you have not yet targeted. Identify what they have in
common with each other, new milestones that they will encounter in their lives that will impact
their buying patterns, and where they overlap or diverge from your current customers. Ask
yourself:

• What other products do my customers need now?

• What related products will they need in the future?
• Who else could make use of the products I am selling now?
• What demographic information does that new group have in common with my current
customers?
• What demographic information does that new group have in common with each
other?

These questions will help you identify both new ways to market your current products or
services, as well as new products and services that you can begin selling. For example, a
business that makes baby products and markets them towards parents could identify potential
markets such as:

• Toddler products marketed at parents of older children.

• Baby products marketed at grandparents.
• Toddler products marketed at grandparents.
• Baby and toddler products marketed at childcare providers.

Depending on the size and age of your company, as well as your industry, you may
have a clear picture of the potential markets that are available. Other times, you may need
to use research to identify the areas where your business can grow and expand.

While you may not decide to target every potential market that you identify,
understanding your options will help you discover the most natural and profitable directions
for your business to grow.
Reaching Your Potential Market

Once you've identified

and chosen a potential market
to begin targeting, you will need
new marketing strategies in
place to communicate with
them.

Though there may be

some overlap between your
current customers and your
potential market, you should still
treat your potential market as
you would your target audience
https://www.iilondon.co.uk/media/17614/communicating-remotely_original.jpg by creating a customer profile.

Use this profile to identify:

• The demographic information that people in this group have in common.

• The best forms of media to reach them.
• How they prefer to shop and make purchases.
• The concerns, struggles, or problems that you can help them overcome.
• What values matter to them, both in everyday life and when shopping.
• The language that resonates with them.

This information will be essential as you tailor your marketing to your new potential
market, helping you craft the right messaging, plan your marketing budget, and make use of
the right marketing channels and media to reach your new audience.

Even if you're not ready to begin selling to new markets, creating customer profiles and
sample marketing plans will help you understand the needs of each potential market, as well
as what it will take to reach them. This information will inform whether and when you decide
to pursue them, helping you identify the clearest paths your business can use to continue to
grow and expand.

Post it!
List down 10-50 target customers for a business you
already think of. Identify all their similarities and differences.
You may categorize them according to your liking. This will
ensure you of the idea that there are at least enough
people who will help you kick start your business. Post it on a
place where you will always see it. Motivate yourself from
now on that there are people who are highly possible to
support your business in the future.
 ASSESSMENT
• Reflect on what you have learned from this chapter. How important is identifying your
target market? Give at least five benefits that you will get from this process.

• Refer to the list of target customers that you made, what products/services do you think
fit the type of customers they are? What products do they usually buy?

• Based on your answers in Module 1 assignment, identify three opportunities you think
could be considered as business opportunities. List them down and start prospecting
your target market. Feel free to use all the available approaches and ways in identifying
business opportunities for there are a lot more found online and offline besides that of
Reese and Jenkins’, and Jesnoewski’s.

ASSIGNMENT
• Using your spare time, read the article by Harvard Business Review on The Five Cs of
Opportunity Identification. Click the link to access the article:
https://hbr.org/2012/10/the-five-cs-of-opportunity-
identi#:~:text=The%20Five%20Cs%20of%20Opportunity%20Identification%201%20Circumstance.,a%20barrier%20cons
training%20consumption.%20...%20More%20items...%20

REFERENCES
Book reference:

• Entrepreneurship by Ronaldo Batisan

Online reference:

• entrepreneurship.org