A lot of people are under the notion that market research is reserved for large companies. This could not be further from the truth! Small businesses need market research even more so than large companies. Small businesses do not have the “luxury” of wasting capital on promotions, product launches, etc. that will not yield results.
Market research will enable you to obtain the necessary facts and figures you need to make sound decisions that will allow you to determine how successful your product or service will be in reaching your target market.
I wish everyone had the ability to hire a market research consultant because conducting successful market research truly does take a lot of time, skill and effort (plus, I’m sure you want to focus on the reasons why you went into business!). However, there are resources available to small business owners that enable you to conduct preliminary research.
While conducting market research on your product or service keep the following in mind:
1.) Why are you unique? If you are unable to answer this question—you are in trouble. You have to be able to convey to your prospects and clients what makes you unique from the competition. You can’t expect your customers to know if you don’t know yourself. People do not have time to play guessing games—they will just take their business elsewhere.
2.) Armed with the knowledge of why your business is unique, you will be able to pinpoint gaps within the industry (i.e. automotive) or specific markets (i.e. Chicago) that are NOT currently being met by other companies. You can also spot trends that will help you to further increase your business. The Census Bureau is a great free resource available to the public. It will provide you with statistics that will help you point you in the right direction.
3.) In order to enjoy the benefit of your research—implementation is vital. You have to choose the medium (i.e. email, social networking, etc.) that will be most effective in reaching your target market. Based upon your answers from the aforementioned steps, you should be able to quickly assess which marketing vehicles will yield the most success.
Keep these simple steps in memory and you will be on your way to successfully competing with the big guys!
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