Small Business Market Research Strategies
Why Should Businesses Perform Market Analysis?
Nov 15, 2009
A new business or an established company will have less chance of succeeding with a hit-and-miss approach to strategic business planning. Market research plays a vital role in such marketing plans.
Market Research Explained
Market analysis involves not only the collection of information but analyzing the information to see how much demand there will be for the product/service.
Market research allows business owners to learn about potential customers and their specific needs, the possibility of finding a hidden niche, the preserving of capital, the building of customer loyalty, equipping the business owner to make informed decisions in moving the business forward, responding to customer needs to increase profits and so on.
How to Undertake Inexpensive Market Research
The business owner must decide between hiring a professional market research company or conducting it him/herself, which is not difficult but is time consuming.
Consider conducting primary research with questions such as:
- How are market trends going to impact on the business?
- How does the target market make buying decisions?
- Competitors: What is the competition and how can this business provide a better product/service to measure up to that of the competition?
- How will the business attract customers?
- What marketing strategies will work best?
- Where will the customers come from, are there enough potential clients to make the business viable?
- What kinds of people are part of the target market?
- Ask existing customers questions when they make purchases such as why did they purchase from you, how did they hear about you? Offer a discount for answering survey questions and let customers know that their feedback will result in a better service/product.
After thorough primary research has been completed, conduct secondary research which will provide the business owner with market information from published studies.
Market Research Resources: Small Business Strategy
Many small businesses do not have the resources to get a professional analysis. Internet searches will reveal a flood of business information on all aspects of conducting research that was once available at a price. In depth information may still need to be paid for on sites such as Lexis Nexis.
Consider starting a blog to get customer feedback on the company website. Negative comments are an excellent way of addressing customer concerns.
Look at forums to get an idea of what people's concerns are regarding certain products or services. This can give valuable, very honest insight as to what it is people dislike or what they are looking for.
Search for free, online customer survey templates which can save business owners a lot of time and effort in trying to put together surveys themselves.
Visiting a local library or business information center will quickly provide secondary research information.
More Articles on Small Business Information that may Interest the Reader:
The article Where to Find Free Business Loan Templates helps the reader to find downloadable plans and information for small or new businesses.
Ever wondered how to go about funding for a new business? This is answered in the article How to get Small Business Start up Loans.
How to Find the Best Small Business Insurance examines liability insurance, property insurance, commercial auto insurance and more.
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