Cheap ways to get
market research - The Methods
When planning your market research, include these keys to learning
about your target customers:
• Their demographics – age, gender, occupation, household income,
geographic location.
• How big the market is right now – your competitors’ annual revenues
or, if you’re introducing a new product, how many potential customers
you project.
• How big the market is projected to be in five to 10 years.
• If you plan special marketing to specific groups (“segments”) within
your target market, what and how big are they?
Now, where do you find this information?
Start by asking your local librarian for help. Then turn to the feds and
their massive databanks and information centers.
The U.S.
Small Business Administration Web site is definitely a great place
to start.
After publicly available research, the best tools for gathering
invaluable, specific information about your target audience are surveys
and focus groups. You can do both for a lot less than you think.
Go to the Web for survey services
Professional help with market research surveys can cost big, but
Internet sites such as
SurveyMonkey.com allow you to set up a small (100 or fewer
respondents) online survey for free, or you can plunk down the $20
monthly fee for bigger projects.
You have to decide exactly what you’re trying to find out, so start by
clearly defining your business mission. Is there market interest in your
kind of product? Are people dissatisfied with current solutions to a
specific problem? Also think carefully about your question format. How
you ask can shape how you’re answered.
For example, open-ended questions get subjective and anecdotal answers.
You won't get real statistical data, but you can gather a wide variety
of customer opinions. On the other hand, scaled and multiple-choice
questions produce specific and, in most cases, measurable results.
When you are ready to
do all this, and Jump Start GROWTH ..ask us!
