Small Business Can

Market research is a process – an ongoing process - by which you get to know your target market. It involves the collection and assessment of information relating to your goods and services, your clients, your competitors, your industry and the challenges in the marketplace.

It is also a critical part of the strategy for arriving at a well prepared marketing and business plan.

What are the benefits of market research?

Market research and analysis can provide many benefits for people starting their own businesses.

1. make decisions about pricing, promotion, product and location of the business

2. understand how the product or service meets the requirements of the target market

3. gain information about how competitors operate, deliver their services and their pricing

4. assess client needs in order to meet them.

Market research can also help you to answer questions such as:

1. Who buys your products?

2. What goods and services are people likely to buy?

3. What are they willing to pay for them?

4. Where, when and how often are they likely to buy?

5. What is the best way of reaching them?

6. What changes do they want in your product or service?

7. How should your products look, feel, taste etc.?

8. How many potential clients exist in your area?

9. Is there sufficient demand for your product to make the business viable?

Conducting market research?

You can undertake it yourself or you can have the research carried out professionally. If you decide to have the research carried out professionally, choose a reputable firm with expertise and credibility in this field ie get references. If you want to do it yourself, there are two techniques available to you.

Desktop research

This means using other people's information for your research. This can include:

• Internet

• Books

• Reports

• Newspapers and trade journals

• Government agencies

Field research

This means gathering research information yourself. This can include:

• Observation

• Surveys

• Asking clients what they think, e.g. focus groups.

What should I research?

There are four components of market research.

1. external environment—research factors you can't control, for example, economic conditions

2. internal environment—research factors you can control, for example, the skills of staff you might employ

3. client profile—research detailed information about your clients, for example, where they are, what they need and what they want

4. competitor profile—research detailed information about your existing and possible future competitors, for example, who they are, what their strategies are or are likely to be and what their strengths are.

Let's look at the client and competitor profile in more detail.

Client profile

A client profile contains detailed information about your clients—who they are, where they are, when they will buy and why they will buy. It helps you to understand the people who are likely to want to spend money on your products and services. This information can help you develop strategies to generate more consumer interest and to distinguish your business from competitors.

Competitor profile

In a competitive environment, knowing your competitors is almost as important as knowing your clients. That's what competitor profiling is about. This form of market research involves finding and analysing specific and up-to-date information about your competitors.

You can find valuable information about your competitors by:

• analysing their advertising materials and other promotions they undertake

• reading directories in which they list their businesses

• consulting official sources such as licensing bodies

• shopping in their places and perusing their websites

• gathering information about their past clients

• observing their business practices over time

• getting yourself on their mailing lists so you receive regular information regarding their latest strategies.

Information you gather about your competitors can help you to determine their competitive advantage. Once you've done this, you can concentrate on countering their competitive advantage with your own, quickly and effectively.

Assessing the facts

Once you have gathered your research and data you can begin to assess the facts about your market. Firstly, decide how much weight to give to the various pieces of information you have gathered. The questions you can ask are:

Making judgments about the market is the hardest part of the exercise. If you have been lucky, the information will be easy to arrange and solutions will be clear. If they are not, then it is recommended that you talk with your accountant or your other advisers before you turn the research into action.

Some vital questions

Now that you've completed your market research, it's time to take a long hard look at your business and ask yourself the all important question:

Can my business operate in this market?

Here are some related questions:

• Does my business have the capacity, including sufficient capital, assets and human resources, to deliver

• Can I compete successfully with other suppliers to this market?

• Do I have enough working capital to set up my business in this market?Do I and my employees have the skills and knowledge to operate successfully in this market?

If you can answer 'yes' to all of these questions then you're well on your way to embarking on a successful business venture. If you answered No to any of these questions or weren't sure of your answers, then you may wish to review your business concept. Continue to conduct sound market research throughout the life of your business to ensure the ongoing viability of your business in its marketplace. Factors within your control and outside of your control will change over time, as will the habits of both your clients and competitors.

Who can help?

Sometimes the industry that your business is in has a trade or professional association. These associations have market information and are happy to help their members. They may have already carried out market research studies and surveys and may be aware of trends and future opportunities. Government bodies can also be an excellent source of general information in any given area or industry.

 

The marketing process made simple

Put simply, marketing is about matching every part of your business with your clients so that:

• you meet their needs
• they are aware that you meet their needs
• they are motivated to buy from you
• they are motivated to keep buying from you.

If you don't achieve these outcomes, clients may not buy from you. It won't matter if you make the best product in the world or are very good at client service or administration-marketing is vital to the success of your business.

 

 

 

The marketing process involves three steps:

1. researching-so that you know who your clients are and what their needs are. Then you can match your business with their requirements
2. developing and implementing your marketing plan
3. reviewing and improving.

Parts of the marketing process.

Research your market environment

Your research involves both market research and consumer research.

Market research involves researching your industry and your competitors and establishing who your target clients are for your goods or services. It's finding out:

• who your clients are, what their needs are and how much they are prepared to pay
• who your competitors are, what they sell and at what prices.

Consumer research then involves finding out the behaviours, whims and preferences of clients in your target market to determine the best ways to market your product to them. Consumer research is also called marketing research.

Only once you've completed your research can you decide how to position your goods or services in your target market and develop a marketing plan to achieve your goals.

Develop and implement your marketing plan

A marketing plan identifies the tactics you'll use to attract and keep clients.

It also documents key points about your marketplace and the people and businesses in it so that someone (including you) can read through it, review the research supporting your plans, check the conclusions it draws and the actions it contains. This means you're able to review it, reflect on it, alter it and adjust it-before you've spent a cent.

A marketing plan can contain the following:

Summary of your market and consumer research results This could include:

• a description of your target market
• why there will be a demand for what you're selling
• your present market position, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
• the impact of current or anticipated marketing conditions
• assumptions
• the results of your consumer research.

Your marketing objectives and measures of achievement . These are:

• the marketing objectives you wish to achieve
• your measures of achievement-the way you'll define and measure the success of your marketing efforts.
• Your marketing strategy and tactics. These could include:your strategy for achieving your marketing objectives
• your tactics to achieve your objectives. These are usually expressed in terms of the marketing mix. The marketing mix contains the five Ps of price, product, place, promotion and people.

Action plan for achieving your objectives This could include:

• the specific actions necessary for implementing your marketing strategy and tactics and communicating it to stakeholders such as staff, especially salespeople
• the people who will be responsible for implementing your marketing activitie
• the cost of each marketing activity
• a time schedule for the implementation of your plan.

Marketing budget .

• This will show the funds you plan to spend and the marketing activities you plan to spend them on.

Review and improve

If your marketing plan is written down, it can be much easier for you to see how well it has performed. Once you have completed and implemented your marketing plan, make sure you regularly consult and review it as your business grows. Determine how well it has increased your sales and profits and make any necessary improvements. Where possible, establish goals and benchmarks so that you can further identify where improvements can be made.

 

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is also known as on-line marketing. It is crucial to the success of any business to incorporate SEO into the design of their website and also to use it to promote their on line presence, their business, products and services.

Emma Smyth

BSc(Hons) MSc

Innovate NI

Managing Director & Marketer

www.innovateni.com

 

 

Byers explains that smaller companies need to pay extra attention on how they spend their cash because if they run out of cash, it is game over for them. Byers uses the example of Palm Inc. to show how well the company managed their cash flow.

As a start up you need to develop a strategic perspective from the word go.

How Do You Define Success For Your Company?: Click the pic to the right

This  will guide you through some of the things you might want to consider when you develop your ideas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clearly define your business idea and be able to succinctly articulate it. - Know your mission.

Examine your motives. Make sure that you have a passion for owning a business and for this particular business.

Be willing to commit to the hours, discipline, continuous learning and the frustrations of owning your own business.

Conduct a competitive analysis in your market, including products, prices, promotions, advertising, distribution, quality, service, and be aware of the outside influences that affect your business.

Seek help from other small businesses, vendors, professionals, government agencies, employees, trade associations and trade shows. Be alert & ask questions,

 

It is not only about future trends and being aware. The pendulum swings between the action and reaction to trends.You need to decide what position your company is taking on the pendulum between the trend extremes, for example embracing technology versus embracing nature.

If you want to be in business for a long time, you need to develop a vision of the future and the place of your business in that future. You need not only to be aware of the trends in your market area (technology, competition, trade regulations, etc.) but also have a sense of the general direction in which the world is developing.

Advertising

You need to look at your advertising in the same way that you look at other areas of your business-that is, set clear objectives and goals.

Are you aiming at a certain location? This will dictate the type of media and the type of presentation that is used. Or are going for numbers ie quantity of leads, or quality. In other words, is it a shotgun approach or are you zeroing in on specific age groups or income groups with your campaign?

How much to spend?

Deciding how much to spend on advertising means thinking about your costs and cash flow, as well as your intentions in the market.

One of the most important questions to ask is, 'What do you want to do in the market this year and in the longer term?' As you plan your spending to suit your goals, think about last year's budget, what you can afford to spend and your plans for expansion in the future.

Some businesses take a different approach and devote to advertising only what they can afford to lose. Although at first glance this policy may seem safe, it can lead to a waste of money because:

• the amount is too small to make an impact in the marketplace
• your expansion is so slow that competitors have time to out-manoeuvre you.

This approach leads to cutbacks in advertising when business declines-often with the result that sales only decline further.

When considering your budget, remember to cost the goods or services you intend to advertise to ensure you can make a profit on them. Remember, if you're not making a profit, then the more you sell, the more money you're going to lose.

Tools to use

Once you have finalised your advertising goals and have settled on the budget, you then need to look at the tools to use. Some people call this the promotional mix, which can include:

• media advertising-which includes newspapers, magazines, television, Yellow Pages, billboards, radio, your local community papers and the internet
• direct mail advertising-which includes letters, newsletters, brochures, fliers, inserts into newspapers or magazines and email.
• Internet advertising - which includes all of the new media

Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The type of media that you finally end up using can depend on your type of business as well as the audience you are trying to reach.

Develop an action plan

Once you have finalised the tools that you will be using for your promotion and are satisfied with the promotional mix, develop an action plan and a timetable. This plan is intended to set out the time schedule as well as what you intend to do, how you intend to do it, when you want to do it and who can do it.

Special promotions

Most advertising campaigns include provisions for special promotions throughout the year for occasions such as Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and special sales. Include these in your action plan.

Advertising checklist

Once your advertising campaign is ready, use this checklist for a final review before you put it out in the market.

	Does your advertisement have either a dominant illustration or a powerful headline to instantly telegraph your message and capture attention?
	Is your advertisement designed to reproduce well in newspapers if this is the tool you're using?
	Have you created a distinctive and recognisable format for your advertisement?
	How do you sign your name, i.e. have you a logo that is easily recognisable?
	Is your advertisement well organised and easy to follow?
	Does your advertisement have a clean and uncluttered look?
	Does the main illustration demonstrate a benefit or show the merchandise in use?
	Is your main illustration big enough?
	Does the advertisement have your contact details and any other information your potential clients may want to know?
	Have you used simple and direct language with everyday words that are easily understood?
	Are your prices clear and visible so that they are easy to find and easy to remember?

Monitor results

During and after the advertising campaign, measure and analyse what has been achieved and whether you are obtaining the maximum advantage from the cost involved. You can calculate whether sales have increased, whether your business image has improved, whether the marketing goals have been met and the feedback and reaction from clients.

Who can help?

In the same way that you would regularly seek help from your accountant and solicitor, it is wise to obtain the services of someone with knowledge and experience in advertising. If you

Logo
You'll want to create a polished image from the beginning and some kind of unique visual hook for your company, and then splash it on your business cards, stationery and anything else you can think of. But that doesn't necessarily mean spending thousands on a designer to come up with an icon that expresses your business. You can network with other entrepreneurs, and there's bound to be a graphic or web designer among the group who will charge significantly less than big design firms, and they may be willing to trade services or be open to payment plans.

Business cards
Many marketing gurus say that a great business card can be your most effective marketing tool. Pack it with as much information as it will hold, not just contact information. Good graphics are important, but not as crucial as actually describing what your company does in a line or two. Maybe put the contact information on the front and list your products or services on the back. Consider a fold-over business card for twice the display space! In any event, your business card must be different, memorable and prospects must want to keep it.

Website
You should get this up and running before you open for business. You don't need to spend a lot of money on one, with all the site-building options now available. But it should be well-designed and helpful. You might even want to start putting a blog on your site right away to start up a "conversation" with your customers. Using the website as a primary ‘marketing material' for a start-up is good because you can't tell the size of a company by their website.

Brochure
This can be a virtual one, in PDF format on the internet, or a black-and-white, two-colour or even four-color paper handout. In any case, it's important to have one, because it can cover a variety of general needs that no other single marketing document can handle, ranging from distribution at a trade show to a handy mailer for people who want basic information about your company.

Company clothing
Be your own billboard! You might want to consider putting this really high on your checklist. Wearing clothing with your company brand can start tongues wagging everywhere you go. People will ask you what you do, and then you can recite your pitch and ask for the order.

E-mail signature
Don't let any e-mail escape your computer without tagging it as a marketing message. Come up with a catchy e-mail signature and include your name, business name, contact information, tag line, web address and even a one- or two-line announcement at the bottom of the signature about a new book, product, seminar or service offering you've announced.

Packets for specialised needs
Depending on the initial focus of your company, you'll need to develop packages of materials that are formulated around particular needs. If sales are hugely important at the beginning, you may need to come up with a folder full of brochures and spec sheets. If public relations are an important early consideration for you, you'll need to produce some press releases and a media kit.

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