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51Chapter 4: Sizing Up Competitors and Staking Out Market Share

Share of customer

Share of customer is the percentage that you capture of all the possible pur-
chases that your customer could make at your business. Continuing with the
movie theatre example, in addition to tickets, the theatre sells popcorn, soda,
candy, movie posters, “movie money” gift certificates, and who knows what
else. Every customer who purchases just a movie ticket — nothing else —
represents lots of room for growth in terms of share of customer, also known
as share of billfold. For tips on calculating and growing your share of cus-
tomer, see Chapter 19.

Share of opportunity

Share of opportunity looks beyond existing customers and competitors to
consider who is not buying products like the ones you’re selling — and what
it might take to get those people to see your product as a solution to their
needs.

Years ago, Coca-Cola released research documenting that nearly six billion
people in the world were consuming, on average, 64 ounces of fluid a day. Of
that total intake, only two ounces of the liquid consumed was in the form of
Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola officials used this information as the basis of an effort
to increase what they termed their share of stomach.

This kind of planning goes beyond market share (how much of all soft drink
purchases are captured by Coke), and even beyond share of customers (how
much of each Coke drinker’s total soft drink purchases are captured by Coke).
It moves into the arena of market development by capturing sales by likely
customers who are currently opting for alternatives rather than purchasing
cola products.

Find a “stomach share” analogy for your business. What satisfaction does
your product address? What solution does your business provide? Then
think about how you can present your products to grab a greater share of
that total opportunity. Here are a couple more examples:

ߜ A roller rink sells skating, of course, but it also provides a solution for
youth and teen recreation. Its opportunity reaches to include all kids
who spend money to fill out-of-school hours. When considering how to
grow its share of the total market opportunity, the roller rink owners
might think in terms of birthday party share or youth leisure time share.

ߜ An insurance brokerage sells life insurance, which provides a solution
for peace of mind. Its competition comes from competing insurers and
all the other ways people address their desire for financial security —
including everything from investing in stocks to stashing money under
the mattress to buying lottery tickets. The insurance brokerage might
want to think in terms of how to increase its nest egg share.