Blog Category: market research

What kind of market analysis do you do to determine a viable niche market?

05 January 2010

Like it or not, there are only a few iron-clad ways in which you can start and operate a successful online business. Sure, there are literally countless ways you can go about it; but we’re talking about working formulas here.

Most businesses fail because people neglect to follow the necessary steps or to take the time needed to build up their respective business. One of the most important aspects of any Internet business is the niche market.

Niche markets are cost-effective and will always improve your conversion rates. You’ll receive more traffic from your specified market, and thus more visitors are more likely to purchase your products. But you still need to know if your market is viable.

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How to Research Markets for Business Startups: Part 3

22 January 2009

Taking Care of Your Primary Research

After the initial research is over, i.e. library, internet, books, etc, you can begin to research through more specific avenues. This will be your original research, conducted to see where your products stack up against others the market is offering, and, more importantly, to see how your customers may take to your business idea. You can gather this information by putting together focus groups and/or conducting surveys to see what “average” individuals feel about your ideas.

While you’re working to plan this primary research, here are a few questions that you need to ask yourself before moving forward:

How will I indentify and target a small group for selection?

What is the absolute best way I can get opinions out of the selected group?

How do I go about choosing the members of the group and phrasing the questions to be asked?

How do I analyze and interpret the results from these surveys and focus groups?

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How to Research Markets for Business Startups: Part 2

05 January 2009

Vital Information about Customers

Customers supply the revenue that enables your business to thrive. Without them, you’re looking at immediate failure. As such, it’s always vitally essential that you work to research everything there is to know about your customers before you take the plunge into business. You need to precisely target your audience. Ask yourself the following questions:

What are the reasons my targeted group (niche) will purchase products/services from my business?

What are the characteristics of my targeted niche, i.e. gender, status, employment, location, habits, ethnicity, background, age, etc?

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How to Research Markets for Business Startups Part 1

23 December 2008

Introduction to Market Research
In the world of business, it’s an ever-changing atmosphere that runs constantly hot and cold, habitually black and white, and never completely the same way twice. Today’s business is so far removed from the business of a few years ago that most attempts to start a business with a 2002 formula - for example - unequivocally and utterly fail in the 2008 climate. For this reason, market research is vital if one would hope to find out the crucial aspects of the marketplace that will help a business succeed in the long-term.

It’s essential that a person starting up a business knows if there will be enough demand for their products and/or services in the marketplace. In order to gain the biggest advantage for sustainable success, businesses need to flourish within their first year of operation. Most businesses are failing simply due to a lack of basic market research. It’s this caution-to-the-wind, head-first dive into business that will ensure nothing but failure.

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Why you Need Feasibility Studies

07 November 2008

In the realm of business, countless measures are taken to ensure success. From risk assessment to feasibility studies, people work tirelessly to implement various strategies that give any particular venture the best odds for survival. If you’re asking yourself what a feasibility study is, it’s very easily defined.

Simply put, feasibility studies are groundwork investigations into the prospective benefits correlated with undertaking a particular activity or project. A feasibility study’s main goal is to take into account all conceivable factors associated with a task, and then determine if the time and other resources invested will return a wanted result. Most feasibility studies are highly detailed and fully examine every plausible angle.

For these reasons alone, conducting a feasibility study is undoubtedly in your best interest. However, the decision to carry out a study is one that should never be taken lightly. You will have to invest a lot of time and a lot of money into your study.

Conversely, not implementing a feasibility study can prove to be infinitely more damaging due to expenses and time lost recouping a loss. It’s always in your best interest to make the best possible use of a feasibility study. You’re going to need a clearly defined course of action consisting of multiple business models or scenarios that you want to explore.

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