Market research secrets: these powerful tools are not just for big companies

As I work with clients to develop their marketing messages and strategies, we arrive at the question of their clients’ needs, perceptions, or concerns. While some regularly survey their clients on a variety of topics, most smaller businesses don’t, in part because they don’t know how.

Many of us have participated in a focus group about a product or service, or agreed to partake in a telephone survey. When we use the term ‘market research’, this is often what comes to mind.

If you are a small business owner, you may be thinking, “What does market research have to do with my business?”

It has a lot to do with your business because there are many ways you can conduct this research on your own behalf, and it is very smart to do so.

When you attend an event and complete an evaluation, you contribute to market research. Every time you check out at the grocery store and the clerk asks if you found everything, besides giving you good service, you are telling them what you would like to buy from them in the future: more market research.

Let’s define market research as any technique we use to learn more about the environment in which we do business. Optimally, our networks provide us with ongoing information about the state of the business environment. But sometimes we need to answer specific concerns or questions. This is where proactive market research comes in.

The market in which we do business includes our clients’ needs and concerns, our competition, as well as the larger trends in the region or industry where we work. New building codes impact builders and building designers, for example. Changing requirements for registration as a counselor cause a shift in who practices counseling under what license. The economy is always a factor, and it influences each market in unique ways. During the big boom a few years back, my potential clients had so much work it was difficult to get their attention. They were more focused on hiring enough qualified people to complete the projects they already had, than on trying to find more. Today many firms need to make their marketing more compelling to stand out in a more competitive field.

While there is an important internal component to developing marketing messages and strategy, to create one that is informed and responsive to the marketplace, we have to learn about what is going on out there. Integrating the two perspectives produces results most compelling to our target audiences.

In Part 2, you’ll find several suggestions for ways to employ market research to strengthen your marketing no matter how small your business.

Read an article by Barbara on market research for small businesses.