How to approach a brand-new industry
Posted by Amelia Spanton on 30 March 2023

Whether you’re a start-up or an established brand, approaching a new industry can be daunting. However, it’s also an incredibly exciting opportunity for you and your team.

As a communications consultancy, we understand the difficulties of navigating a new industry, and have experience supporting a whole range of companies across sectors such as transport, technology, hospitality and more.

Here are our top tips for companies making a move into a brand-new industry:

Research, research and more research

Developing a thorough understanding of your industry is essential. You need to know the latest market trends, competitor landscape, customer dynamics and the barriers to entry you might face. This knowledge will support you on the journey into a new sector, and help you identify the key gaps in the market that your product or service will fill.

Read key publications and sign up to newsletters

As part of ongoing research and learning, subscribing to newsletters and alerts from key industry publications is valuable. This helps you keep up-to-date on shifting trends and key stories. Signing up to Google Alerts for chosen topics within your sector is a great way to keep on top of the latest news and trends.

Follow industry leaders and influencers

You can gain a wealth of information by following leaders and influencers from the sector you are learning more about. LinkedIn isa great place to start. Online networking groups can be equally beneficial.  There might be some online, industry-specific SME business groups that you can learn an awful lot from. Have a hunt around for groups within your chosen industry.

Attend events

Across sectors, there are fantastic events that can help you make key connections and equip you with further industry understanding. These provide ideal opportunities to network and build connections as well as showcase your business. Some might even provide presentation slots. This can be a great way to get your brand name out there and attract new business.

Build a memorable brand

It’s important that your branding translates into the new sector which may mean your brand needs some adjustments. Your brand message needs to resonate with your target audience.   Investing in a captivating logo, ensuring your brand name caters to the new sector, and boosting your online presence can help you stand out from the crowd.

Ultimately, starting out in a brand-new industry comes with its challenges. However, it also comes with rewards and can unlock potential for you and your company. Through effective research and building a memorable brand, you will be well on your way to establishing your company in this new industry.

Want to find out how we can support you and your business’s journey? Get in touch today.

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“As a member of the RIA SME Leadership team, Amy ran a slimdown version of the Hey Me messaging workshops in 2023. The workshops helped the team to delve deeper into what the SME group stood for, what it meant to them as individuals and businesses and what they wanted to gain from communications. By holding up a mirror to those in the group and using a tiered approach, the group was able to find a common purpose and with Hey Me's help, a common language which best represented the aims of the leadership team and our RIA SME members. The fantastic results of this can be seen in action on our SME page of our website.” Isabella Lawson - Railway Industry Association

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