When starting a business, there are many things to work on. But the place to begin is market research.
Every business has to understand its “why,” the motivation behind starting a venture or introducing a new product or service. Market research will identify the problems you solve for customers, plus discover things you haven’t realized.
Knowing your customers – what they want, what they think – and making sure your products/service are viable are crucial to grow your future business.
Primary research is done by you or someone working for you. Firsthand, you learn about customers who buy what you sell, their decision-making process, and why they make the purchases they do.
Your findings can be broken down by demographic information, such as age, gender, income, living arrangements, or any other relevant attributes.
This information can all be used to build an efficient business and strategy.
Primary market research will show you the relevancy of your products/services to your intended target customer. It will guide you and provide a solid foundation to see beyond the trends and get a reality check.
There are a number of ways to conduct primary research, such as one-on-one conversations, online or paper surveys, direct observation, or focus groups. Remember you will need to make sure the participants reflect your target market.
Primary research is tailored to answer your specific business questions. The primary data you collect is not only up-to-date and authentic but also addresses your business’s specific marketing needs.
This is crucial information your product and your value proposition rely on and stand for.
Unfortunately, the most common challenge to overcome is the cost, time, and effort required for primary research.
Here are a couple of suggestions.
If you are trying to open a restaurant, your primary research should focus on going to one of your competitors to check their service, the food, the number of patrons served at different hours of the week including weekend, how long does it take to turn a table around, and so on. These visits will give you a better insight of what to expect.
Another example is to conduct a survey and ask pertinent questions regarding your products/service. You would direct the survey to a targeted audience that shares similar characteristics as your potential customers. Using a tool like Survey Monkey can help a lot.
Your next step will be the consideration of secondary research. You will want to know if research from other sources confirms your answers. Secondary research also helps you interpret the data you collect and provides insight into general trends for your industry.