Market Research - 5 Quick Tips
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If you�re considering starting a
business it doesn�t matter
whatever it is you�re thinking of doing, in whatever field or part of
the
country, you simply will not be able to get away from the fact that you
will be
required to do some Market Research. Simply put, it�s essential that
you have
an understanding of the cultural, social and economic context in which
you're
trading. You'll need to know about the local area, what your
competition is,
and what people will be prepared to pay for your product or service.
This advice has never been more
relevant than in current
economic times because the competition is so much tougher. Smart
flexible
businesses will have already adapted to the trading conditions and the
inflexible, poorly organised ones will probably have already gone to
the wall.
You may have to compete with much larger, successful and sometimes
international companies with more financial clout and an existing
customer base
and the only chance you�ll have will be if you�ve spent some time and
effort in
figuring out what the do�s and don�ts are related to your business and
your
industry sector.
Have
a look at our
5 Quick Tips below:
1.
What Questions do you need answers to?
This can cover a
wide range of subjects �
Marketing / Finance needed / Staff levels / Product Placement etc etc.
2.
What information do you need to collect in
order to answer the questions above?
- How much are
customers willing to pay for
the product / service?
- Who are main
competitors?
- What are the most
successful or cost
effective ways to market?
- How many staff do
you need to start,
operate and expand?
- How much money do
you need to start?
3.
How do you collect the information?
- Is there existing
Research already
available to browse or purchase?
- Can you monitor
online companies that you�d
potentially be competing against to draw conclusions or possible
answers?
- Can you order a
product from a competitor
to assess its quality or compare costs with what you would be looking
to
supply?
- Are there reviews
for an individual�s or
company�s services or products?
4.
How do I analyse the results?
- Do
I need to be cheaper or can I
charge more than the competition and aim to provide a superior service?
- Do
online reviews indicate the
product / service is being purchased on quality, service or price?
- What
are the selling points for a
product / service and how would do I make myself stand out?
- Why
are customers ordering that
product / service?
5.
What to
do with the Results?
This last point is
wholly dependent upon
the questions and analysis you�ve already done.
Get these wrong and you�ll be making decisions based upon
the wrong
facts, conclusions and information.
If however you have
asked all the right all
questions and gleaned pertinent information from all of the above
activities
then you�ll need to act on what you�ve learnt. These are undoubtedly
the most
difficult decisions you�ll have to make � you may have to discard
certain
firmly held beliefs based upon what you�ve now learnt to be facts.
Holding on to what
you hold dear when every
piece of information you have tells you something completely different
is
normally the start of a business disaster! You�re not going to be your
own
customer and if you�ve asked the right questions of those that
potentially will
be then you need to listen to the answers they provide!
Change can be
extremely difficult but in
these circumstances it is imperative it is done, as we mentioned at the
start
of this post you will be competing against companies that have made
changes and
may already have an existing customer base. If you want to nab some of
their
customer�s as your own you�ll need to provide what it is they want,
desire and
have asked for!
About the Author
Easy Offices
(UK) was formed in 1999 and since then has grown to become one of the
UK's leading specialist advisers on serviced offices, office space and
virtual offices around the country. We offer
solutions to both businesses and individuals. You
can access our service online, by telephone on 0808 231 8103.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2013-10-01 15:17:39 in Marketing Articles
