Market Research Simple Suggestions

Market research is perceived as some unknown mystery that relies on sophisticated surveys, monitors our TV sets, or makes political predictions that usually end up being wrong. It doesn’t have to be like that and it shouldn’t be. For example, the most important type of market research involves nothing more complicated than simply reaching out to current and potential customers - opening the lines of communication and keeping them open.?

Know Your Audience and Deliver Specifically to Them

The keys to effective market research are determining what you want to know, how will you gather the data, and how will you analyze and follow up on the data.? ?

The results of market research become the basis of your business plan. You need?? adequate market research to give you some direction as to where you should be going with your business in the marketplace. Without it, you’ll be like Alice when she “came to a fork in the road. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ responded the Cheshire Cat. ‘I don’t know,‘ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the Cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.”

What do you want to know?

One of the frustrating aspects of market research is estimating the market and narrowing it down. For example, there are about 310 million people in the U.S. About half are male, half are female, 30-50% are too poor to buy most products, and 40% are between the prime purchasing ages of 25-54. Knowing this allows you to see that - regardless of geography, lifestyle choices, or ethnicity - the market for products designed for a single sex is only about 40 million customers.

Yet when I look at market studies, they frequently fail to properly segment and site millions of potential customers in narrow market segments. The second thing you want to know is what the market and competition for your product or service looks like. While many entrepreneurs argue there is no completion, the reality is people are buying or doing something to meet the needs of your idea.

Start by Googling the product or service you offer. You’ll see pages of results. These are your competitors. Develop a comparison of competitors with respect to critical variables like volume benefits, performance, quality price, convenience, selection, availability brand identity, service, presentation, and integrity.??

A third aspect of what you need to know is the characteristics of the market and your customers. Is it growing? Is it understood? How are suppliers communicating in this market?

Specifically, consider:

l? Can the market be segmented?

l? What types of people buy this product/service?

l? What do potential or existing customers like about my competitor’s products/services?

l? What factors are most important to buyers when selecting a product/service: price, quality, delivery time, etc.?

What do you do with the Information?

It’s really easy (and common) to approach market research with the bias of trying to prove our hunches right. In business terms, we refer to this as confirmation bias. We go in with a favored option and try to build a case for it.? We may deny it, but we all do it.

That means that the less favored alternatives usually get short shrift. And it’s often in one of these alternatives that the optimal choice may be found. The more that there is at stake in the test, the more susceptible we are to Confirmation Bias.

You must also be prepared that the market research results may “NOT PROVIDE THE ANSWER YOU WERE LOOKING FOR”

In Summary, do “your homework” in order to have any chance of success. What you can expect from market research includes an assessment of the potential market for your idea, identification of potential competition and competing products or businesses, perhaps some insight into barriers regarding introduction of your idea into the marketplace, and you may even find additional markets you never considered before.

Dr. Bert Shlensky, president of www.startupconnection.net, offers experience, skills, and a team devoted to developing and executing winning strategies for businesses of all kinds. This combination has been the key to client success. His book, “Passion and Reality for Small Business Success,” is available at www.startupconnection.net.?