Market research is something that few small business owners pay much attention to. It’s something that tends to belong in the realm of the big corporates with lots of money in their marketing budget. However, this is a myth that the small business owner believes, at his/her peril!
Keeping up-to-date with market shifts is vital for the small business owner but this need not be onerous or arduous.
There are a couple of critical success factors that the small business owner needs to understand for market research to be cost effective and relevant.
First:
What is the purpose of the research. Do you have a problem you need to understand better? Are you wanting to explore possible strategic directions before implementing? Do you need to obtain a better understanding of what shifts your customers are going through, before they affect your bottom line? Without a clear understanding of what you want to research and why, you will be wasting your efforts as you won’t end up with anything useful at the end of it all.
Second:
Select the appropriate method for your research. Will you meet with people face to face, email the survey out or conduct the questionnaire over the telephone? There are a number of options, each with their own cost implications, collation challenges and accuracy boundaries. What will suit your requirements best?
Third:
What actual questions will you ask. Will they be firm questions asking for a rating on some predetermined scale, or will they be open ended questions asking for perceptions, ideas and thoughts? Again bear in mind the collation challenges these fact. After all you want the results to be presented within a framework that enables you to do something with them!
Fourth:
Compile the results, determine the recommendations and develop the action plan. This last part is the most critical. The first three steps are irrelevant if you don’t pull together the outcomes in a logical framework, make recommendations and then implement changes. Information is nothing without action so make sure that your research findings are put to good use in determining a new course of action.
There’s a wonderful saying that goes “if you keep doing the same things the same way, you will keep getting the same results.” Don’t let that be you. Get the feedback and then change your course so that you have something bright to look forward to.
Market research is a critical aspect of any well developed marketing plan, used wisely and ethically it can provide you with a crystal ball into which much can be seen!
Tags: customer feedback, Market Research, research, Small business
