Driving into the future – Analysing the impact of innovation

Following our February newsletter looking at Milner’s market entry strategy, this month we are going to examine driverless cars and explain in more detail how Milner use market analysis to help companies effectively launch a product in a new market.

The automotive market has seen increasing innovation which is opening up new market opportunities.  Technology in cars has slowly evolved from basic features like cruise control that became popular in the 1970s. This evolution has continued to parking sensors, and on to automatic stopping, outside air bags for protection of pedestrians, parallel parking and staying in lane features. This slow rate of innovation will rapidly increase when driverless cars cannibalise traditional car sales.

As driverless cars become reality and disrupt the traditional market, this provides an opportunity for new competitors. Apple is recruiting automotive technology experts, possibly to build on from CarPlay iOS to work towards a driverless car.  Likewise Google is working to reduce the cost of its technology to make it accessible to the mass market.  It is currently testing prototypes in San Francisco and its fully driverless car may be released as early as 2017. This is just the start of what may be a complete transformation of the car market – the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers have predicted that about 75% of all vehicles will be autonomous by 2040.

Many of the markets our clients operate in are also facing similar changes as an increasing volume of market disruptive technology creates many opportunities (as well as threats).  If companies are to continue to flourish they need to be assessing market opportunities and identifying new markets that they might need to enter. We help our clients to create a picture of how their market will evolve with our thorough custom research and market analysis services.  We make use of tools such as PESTEL analysis and Porter’s Five Forces to assess the market landscape, analyse the level of competition and gauge the potential impact of new market entrants.

When entering a new market, there are several issues that a company must consider to ensure success:

1. Identification of the right market to invest in – forecasting the next area of growth
2. Analysis of competitive landscape – identifying and understanding the competitors, their strengths and weaknesses and their strategies
3. Market innovation – considering how to differentiate and improve on competitor offerings and identifying any skills or resource gaps
4. Development of a strong market position in fast-moving markets

Our clients face these issues of rapid rate of change and we can give them the best guidance as they make a leap into a new market.  If you’d like to find out more about how custom research can benefit your business, please contact Jonathan Davenport by email or give him a call for a chat on +44 (0)7793 916886.

< Back