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Marketing Research Tips
in 2005, William A. Cohen published the Third Edition of his classic resource book for small business owners, “The Entrepreneur & Small Business Problem Solver.” It contains a wealth of information that small businesses have found valuable for at least 15 years. Some things are just timeless.
One of these timeless bits of information from Mr. Cohen’s book is the process he suggested for doing market research. Following this process, you will begin to understand how to market your company ... you’ll realize what makes your company stand out in the crowd (hopefully it does!), and where and how you should market.
Take the time to think these steps through .... and ask your co-workers and employees to help you think them through. You may find they have a whole different view of the company or its products or services than you do. And if so, you’ll need to ask yourself which view is the one that will bring the desired customers to your door.
The Marketing Research Process:
- Determine the problems that must be solved, i.e: determine your target audience; measure how price-sensitive that market is, and analyze your competition. What have they got that you don’t have, and vice-versa.
- Determine which problems require research.
- List the goals and objectives that market research will help define.
- Identify the type of data needed to gather to meet those goals.
- Plan the method you’ll use to acquire the desired information.
- Define the sample audience that will best provide the data required.
- Conduct the market research and gather the information
- Analyze the data
- Develop conclusions based on information gathered and determine your course of action.
You can do your research in a variety of ways:
-- Through personally mailed letters
-- Through telephone surveys either by your staff or a telemarketing company (realizing that you do run the risk of alienating an increasingly irritated marketplace toward telemarketers.)
-- Personal interviews (at a small business function or trade show for instance)
-- Or through online surveys on your own web site or by hiring an online marketing company to do it for you on a relevant site.
However you choose to do your research, you need to keep your questions short and to the point -- no more than two pages if you’re mailing them, and certainly no more than 3-5 minutes on the telephone. The reason for your questions should be explained in a professional manner, whether they are asked in writing or by telephone. You can set up any number of free online polls by doing a search for “free online poll creators.” One that is popular right now requires only that you set up an account with Google, and it will allow you to create your own poll with Google Docs. Click here to read an article about that poll creation tool.
Also, in doing research don’t forget to check data that has been created by trade associations,, commercial organizations, government agencies, and educational facilities. These are often readily available through libraries or online research.
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