When selling a product, a lot of people make the mistake of developing their product first, and then trying to find a market for it. Of course, the process should be reversed.
Find a market first that spends money, then find out what they want and give it to them.
It is certainly easier said than done, but there are a lot of places online where you can do your market research for free. They’ve done most of the work for you already. You just need to know where to go and what to do to connect all the dots.
Let me show you the process I go through when I’m trying to brainstorm for ideas.
For starters, I’m always aware of trends and current events in the real world. I read several newspapers each day, many magazines, both general and niche-specific, I watch the news, I listen to the radio. Occasionally something that I hear or read will stick with me. I may record my thoughts on my portable voice recorder; jot down some notes, whatever happens to be convenient for me. Sometimes I’ll call my office voice mail and leave myself a message.
But at some point I’ll have several broad ideas to research. I want to look deeper. And I want to make sure there is a good market for them before I even think about creating a product.
There are definitely ways to find the PERFECT niche market to go into to earn the money you deserve. You can start a business on a hobby of yours ( example selling soccer collectible cards, or action figurines ), but it’s still best to find out about the prospect of the niche you’re going in, right?
By: Ngui Seng Wee
Posts Tagged ‘Market Research’
Starting an Online Business, Niche Marketing
January 15th, 2010How Market Research Can Be a Valuable Marketing Tool, Or Be a Total Waste of Money
January 11th, 2010
Over the years I have seen a lot of companies waste a lot of money on market research. In many cases they commissioned the research, simply because they had allocated a budget for it.
In some cases they did not even know why they were doing the research, but just wanted to know more about the market. In other cases, management could have saved the company a lot of money by just listening to the feedback from the frontline sales staff.
In other instances the company initiating the research failed to ask the right questions, or the research was done to postpone a decision, rather than to assist in decision-making.
Market research can be an extremely valuable tool when used wisely and it does not always need to cost the earth. For example, you could send out a questionnaire to existing customers with your monthly invoices. Telephone surveys can be reasonably inexpensive and students are often keen to do this kind of work.
Even an old-fashioned suggestion box can sometimes yield some valuable information.
The important questions to ask yourself before undertaking any research are:
1. What do I want to know?
2. Why do I need this information?
3. What decisions will I take once I have got it?
Answering these three vital questions will lead to ACTIONABLE RESEARCH. This is better than doing research, gathering lots of “fascinating” facts, without it helping you make any decisions.
If you decide to contract someone else to do the research for you, then it is important to brief them thoroughly.
Here are some briefing guidelines -
1. Clearly state the research objectives.
What is it that you want to know?
2. Supply background information.
What is the history of the market? Define the problem to be solved or the reason for the research.
3. Set action standards for the research.
What decision will you take once you have the answers? For example – “We will use this research to help us target our advertising more effectively.”
4. Decide who it is you are researching.
How would you define the group? For example; former customers, existing customers, people living in a certain suburb, people of a certain age group or whatever.
5. Decide what information you are seeking.
Considering the set objectives, what areas need to be investigated?
6. How about timing?
Does anything need to be taken into consideration regarding the timing of the research? For example, the results might differ before and after an advertising campaign.
When are the research findings needed by? Are there any information priorities?
7. Consider what research method would best suit your needs and budget.
There is no point in using the cheapest method of researching the market, if the research fails give you accurate results. For example, a written questionnaire sent out with your accounts is likely to generate a different response than might be expected from a focus (discussion) group.
Decide what methodology best suits your needs.
In summary, researching the market can help focus your marketing activities and save thousand of dollars in wasted, or misdirected advertising. The key is to do it correctly and ask the right questions.
By: Noel Peebles