AERPOWER Blog

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How to win market share in the aviation industry

Often, our first reaction to this problem is to study our competition and either simulate exactly what they are doing or we overly indulge in how to beat them in the market. And there are tools that exist to help with this analysis:

While this is one way of combating your competition, another option is to spend your time improving the presentation of your own offering. This blog will address the latter and provide actions you can take now. But first let’s talk about the buying process.

How Do People Buy

When we stop and think about how we buy things – what is it that we consider? Let’s use an expensive item as our example to better align us with the aerospace and defense industry buying cycle. I’ll start:

  1. First, I research the potential purchase on Google. I look at the results based on my search.  (As a marketer, I look at those that rank higher in search results, I know that they put the effort into their marketing to rank higher and that definitely helps me to feel more confident in them.)
  2. I usually look at about 2-3 companies that carry the product, and browse their offerings to see what is available and what options are included. (As a marketer, I also  consider the experience on their website.) 
  3. I also ask for opinions via Facebook groups to see if anyone has first hand experience – while also looking up reviews online (both on the manufacturer’s site and just through some digging around).
  4. Then I sit on the decision for a few days. I consider whether or not I really need the item and try to talk myself out of it. Once I decide I want to move forward with the purchase, I do more research. 

This cycle of research for major buying decisions is very similar to our industry. Think about it. Someone has intent to buy a particular product/service, they think about who they may know in the industry or have heard of, they research, they compare, do more research, compare more and then, after more research, reach out to the options for even more information.

How does this relate to your business taking market share away from your competition?

Because understanding how your buyers buy matters. Most purchases in this industry require research – not just to know and gather information – but it’s even often required ie: company guidelines or rules, that multiple vendors/options are brought forward and considered. Once we understand the buying process, it is obvious what may be lacking in our own marketing. These are changes that really can affect sales. 

Three Things You Can Do Now 

So taking this all into consideration, we know that: 

#1 – your online presence MATTERS. How you rank in search results matters, the experience on your website matters (because you have a few seconds to establish trust), and it matters that your potential prospect finds the information they need quickly. 

So what can you do now? Take a look at your online presence, is your website checking the boxes?

#2 – are you demonstrating how your product/solution is different? Maybe it’s not different – then are you showing what it’s like to work with you? How do you add value? Let’s be honest, maybe your product isn’t different, or even (dare I say) better?! You can still sell the heck out of it! Bare with me for a minute here – what cell phone do you have? iPhone 12? What tablet? iPad Pro? Or maybe the Microsoft Surface? And look down at your wrist – are you wearing an Apple Watch? If you really stopped and thought about it – do you need all of these devices? Do you need each new version that comes on the market? Consider how they sell you on the next great device that you just have to have. . . then think about how they got you to buy it.

So what can you do now? Take a look at your product messaging. How do you define your products/services? Will that messaging push someone to buy from you?

#3 – do you know how much opportunity for your product/service actually exists? If you are already selling this product/service, do you know how much market share you have vs don’t have? This is a common challenge that I face when consulting clients – our industry often jumps in with both feet (for a new product/service) before we even understand much about the opportunity that exists to sell it  – even though there are so many ways to gauge interest:

  • Poll on social media
  • Surveys
  • Focus groups – could be new or existing customers
  • Talking to customers
  • Partnering with publications to do research 
  • Hiring a third party company to conduct this information gathering exercise

So what can you do now? Try any of the ideas above to gauge interest and then tweak your offering accordingly to maximize sales. 

Wrapping it up

You probably are already aware of the actions listed above. Maybe you have done some, maybe all, or possibly none. These three things alone could set you down a better path, without a heavy investment of any resource. By incorporating one, or all three, you could see some positive results. 

Not sure where to start? Give us a call, we would be happy to help.