Archive for category Market Research
4 Free Sources for Researching Potential Clients
Posted by Patrick Woods in Market Research on
One of the biggest challenges for B2b sales and marketing professionals is finding qualified buyers for their products and services. Small businesses don’t often have the resources of larger corporations that have entire departments and software systems dedicated to lead generation and market research.
The good news is that as companies place increasing emphasis on their online presence, small business owners can take advantage of this wealth of information.
Here are 4 places for finding insight into that company you know can use your product or service.
Target company’s website – the company website will give you an idea of the tone of the company. It is young and hip or classic and reserved? Find the bio pages of executives and board members. Which ones are decision makers and influencers you’ll need to target? Where are they from? What’s their background?
LinkedIn – once you get a feel for the key players in the target organization, continue your market research on LinkedIn. Search by person and by company name. Are any of your connections connected to key people at the company? Also, research each individual and gather more information on their previous work experience. They may even list a personal website or blog, giving you more insight into what makes them tick.
White papers, reports, and presentation- many companies will develop original research and reports about their products and their industry. Search their website and on SlideShare to find out what their offering and how they’re doing it.
Annual reports – if your target company is public, have a look at their financial situation to understand how the budget. This will provide you with insight into broad spending and budgeting strategy that will reveal what the company thinks is strategically important.
Is Your Image Imagined?
Posted by Patrick Woods in Market Research on
Photo by | spoon |
There was a line in a song from the mid-90s that claims: “You never know just how you look through other peoples’ eyes.” In marketing world, the parallel is that you may have an idea of how your your small business’ brand is perceived, but your potential customers may see something totally different.
You may see your product as the highest-quality option in the market, but people shopping in your category may see you as overpriced.
On the other hand, you may offer the lowest fees in town, mainly because you have low overhead and are looking to expand your client base. The problem is that, your target audience associates low cost with low quality.
The list of scenarios is almost endless. So what are some ways to bring into focus the difference between your own perception of your small business’ brand and the perception of your potential customers?
Small Business Brand Diagnosis
- Informal polling – when you’re out in the community (getting coffee, ordering lunch), ask people if they’ve heard of your business. Try to focus on members of your target audience. This may take some time depending on the size of your community, but it’s a simple process to build into your daily interactions.
- Avoid the family focus group – see my post on the dangers of lazy market research.
- Formal research – setup an online survey using a site like Survey Monkey. Promote the survey on your website and in your print collateral. Include a promotional drawing offer, like a $100 gas card, as a gift for responding. At the end of the survey period, you’ll have hard statistics on the perception of your small business.
- In-store polling – to compliment your research among potential customers, talk to your existing customers to see how the understand your small business. Compare the perceptions among clients and non-clients and note the discrepancies.
In a future post we’ll look at ways of implementing the results of your small business market research.
The Dangers of the Family Focus Group
Posted by Patrick Woods in Market Research on
How often have you run an idea for your small business past a few family members at a holiday get-together and then made important decisions based on that feedback? If you haven’t done so with family, you’ve probably taken the input of your golf partners or lunch buddies into the planning process with you. Small business owners conduct this kind of faux market research all the time.
The reasons for this kind of ad hoc focus group are obvious: the group is free and most importantly, they are there. Bouncing ideas off family and friends requires no planning and very little follow-up analysis.
But is the data gathered from informal focus groups valid for your small business marketing plan? Before I offer an emphatic “No!”, there are caveats. For instance, if you manufacture golf-related products for middle-aged men, then your golf buddy focus group may be somewhat valid. If you market toys for toddlers and your lunch friends all have toddlers of their own, again, your data may be of some use.
However, even if members of your family focus group actually do fall into your target audience, their opinions will naturally carry bias. Your mom holds back criticism to keep from hurting your feelings (and who could blame her?). Or, that sister who’s always jealous of your accomplishments may be overly critical in an attempt to somehow get even with you.
The problem is that these people know you and, most likely, don’t know your business and market.
So bite the bullet! Put some serious thought into gaining legitimate, statistically verifiable data for your small busines marketing plan. Once you have valid, unbiased results, you’ll be free to make strategic decisions and actually know you’re responding to market needs, and not to your sisters jealous intentions.
Researching your new business idea
Posted by Patrick Woods in Market Research on
Entrepreneur Magazine has an information-packed article on ways to explore your new business idea. The article focuses on new business starts, but the same principles apply to new product development or the offering of a new service.
Remember, marketing in the purest sense involves much more than running an ad or two and passing out brochure. You must always think strategically about your products and service and analyze new areas for growth. This article helps you do just that.
Is your small business guilty of these 6 market research mistakes?
Posted by Patrick Woods in Market Research on
Here is an insightful article about common research errors.
The article breaks-down and describes all 6, but here are the 6 research mistakes:
- Think it’s too expensive
- Try secondary research only
- Use web searching
- Hit the wall
- Rely on family focus group
- Big company attitude
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