For larger companies that make significant
profits, market research is easy – they simply outsource it to a specialist
company that can deliver the results they want. For smaller companies, though
it is a different story – particularly for those that are new to the market.
Contrary to what you may be told by others (usually the market researchers
themselves!), undertaking market research does not have to be an expensive endeavor. Today, we are going to teach you a few tricks of the trade that will
help you to better understand your market. The best thing is that the
techniques we discuss are inexpensive and easy to manage. Read on to find out more…
The Internet is Your Friend
In the past, it was relatively expensive to
undertake market research – sure, you could just stand on a street corner and accost
people as they walked by, but this is largely unreliable as a method of gauging
opinion. Usually, though, the only option for obtaining reliable results was to
hire a market research specialist. Fortunately, the internet has arrived and it
has opened up many avenues for us to explore our markets. For example, we can
create a poll and target our potential customer base.
The best way to reach your audience is to
create a poll online, but the type of poll you develop will depend on whom you
want to reach and what you want to achieve. For example, are you looking to
target your existing customers? If you are, then you can send them an email
directing them to your poll, or you can send an email with the poll attached.
Alternatively, you may want to target a completely unrelated group in an
attempt to establish how to attract a different customer base, in which case
you will need to establish the best way of targeting your potential customers
online. For example, you might want to ask younger people, in which case you
can link a survey from one of the social sites that has a younger demographic.
Depending on the type of person you want to
target, you will have to ask questions in different ways:
1.
To target existing customers:
a.
Find there contact details
online and direct them to the opinion poll. Or, have the poll appear on your
website and send emails to your customers asking them to kindly complete the
form.
b.
Ask them how they feel about
your service
c.
Ask them how you can improve
d.
Ask them what else they may
like you to offer
2.
To target potential customers:
a.
First place the poll somewhere
that you know they will visit
b.
Ask them what they think of the
sort of service you offer
c.
Ask them what price they are
willing to pay for the service
d.
Ask them how often they will
use the service
e.
Ask them what sort of things
attracts them or turn them off from the services that you offer.
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