Most entrepeneurs brim with energy and rush into launching their businesses without taking time to write a marketing plan, much less conduct market research. Market research is absolutely essential for small business marketing. Without market research and a strong marketing plan, you may make all sorts of mistakes, from selecting a poor location for a walk-in business to charging too much or too little for your products. Whether you're looking to open a hair salon, launch the next eBay, or develop a consulting business, asking these five key market research questions and developing the answers will help you create and manage a more profitable online business.
1. Who Else is Selling What You Want to Sell?
This is the first question, and arguably the most important. For bricks and mortar businesses, take a good look at the local business environment and list your competitors. Visit their stores with a critical eye, examining the store space, fixtures, merchandise, pricing, and staff. What do you like, what don't you like? Can you search online or through local newspapers to review their advertisements, their pricing strategies, and news items? Online businesses must conduct a broader sweep to gather as many online competitors as they can.
Be sure to account for the two big gorillas in online commerce - eBay and Amazon. Both have dozens upon dozens of merchandise categories and individual stores. These two ecommerce giants may account for the largest competitor in your marketspace. As you develop your marketing plan, you'll need to account for the activities of these and other key competitors. Gathering this type of competitive intelligence is essential to sound small business marketing.
2. How Easy is it for You to Find Competitive Intelligence?
Was it very easy or quite difficult to find your competitors? Where are they advertising? Start noting where and how they are advertising. For online competitors, can you tell which keywords they are using for search engine marketing purposes? Use a free keyword analysis tool and type in a few keywords to determine which ones you should include in your own online marketing strategy. As part of market research, all entrepreneurs and small business owners need to examine their competitors' marketing plans and strategies. Understanding search engine marketing, or search engine optimization (SEO), and using competitive intelligence surrounding SEO helps form the basis for a strong small business marketing plan.
1. Who Else is Selling What You Want to Sell?
This is the first question, and arguably the most important. For bricks and mortar businesses, take a good look at the local business environment and list your competitors. Visit their stores with a critical eye, examining the store space, fixtures, merchandise, pricing, and staff. What do you like, what don't you like? Can you search online or through local newspapers to review their advertisements, their pricing strategies, and news items? Online businesses must conduct a broader sweep to gather as many online competitors as they can.
Be sure to account for the two big gorillas in online commerce - eBay and Amazon. Both have dozens upon dozens of merchandise categories and individual stores. These two ecommerce giants may account for the largest competitor in your marketspace. As you develop your marketing plan, you'll need to account for the activities of these and other key competitors. Gathering this type of competitive intelligence is essential to sound small business marketing.
2. How Easy is it for You to Find Competitive Intelligence?
Was it very easy or quite difficult to find your competitors? Where are they advertising? Start noting where and how they are advertising. For online competitors, can you tell which keywords they are using for search engine marketing purposes? Use a free keyword analysis tool and type in a few keywords to determine which ones you should include in your own online marketing strategy. As part of market research, all entrepreneurs and small business owners need to examine their competitors' marketing plans and strategies. Understanding search engine marketing, or search engine optimization (SEO), and using competitive intelligence surrounding SEO helps form the basis for a strong small business marketing plan.
3. What Merchandise Do They Carry? (or Services?)
What products are your competitors carrying? Are these products you can find anywhere or do they have private label items to enhance value? Do they have a big selection - or a small selection? For online companies, what is the depth and breadth of the product offering? Lastly, for service companies, what services are your competitors offering - and to whom? Can you tell?
Knowing your competitors product strategies is an important component in a marketing plan. Develop your market research to encompass a product survey.
4. What are the Prices?
As part of the product survey, compare prices for merchandise. Do your competitors price on the high side of the spectrum or the low side? Are they using pricing as a marketing or advertising strategy to drive customers into the store? Do they discount heavily or offer specials? Price can be an important component of a marketing plan. Just be sure you do not rely too heavily on a discount strategy. Offering too many sales, coupons and special offers to drive customers into the store or to your website can backfire into training customers to wait for a special sale.
5. Who's the Marketing Leader Among Competitors?
Can you tell who's the market leader? You need to understand where your customers are now taking their business. For online businesses, which competitor comes up first in search engine rankings? Who is paying to have their ads highest on Google, Yahoo and the like?
You may also wish to look through press releases, news clips and more to determine which company or companies appear the most frequently in the news. Consumer report or review sites online are also an excellent place to find out what your customers think about your competitors and to get a good understanding of who the market leader is in your industry. After all, it's the customers who count, for they will ultimately vote with their pocketbooks as to who is the most successful business in the industry - and you want them to vote for yours by spending money.
Small business marketing success goes hand in hand with writing solid marketing plans, conducting market research, understanding competitive intelligence, and forming a marketing strategy.
What products are your competitors carrying? Are these products you can find anywhere or do they have private label items to enhance value? Do they have a big selection - or a small selection? For online companies, what is the depth and breadth of the product offering? Lastly, for service companies, what services are your competitors offering - and to whom? Can you tell?
Knowing your competitors product strategies is an important component in a marketing plan. Develop your market research to encompass a product survey.
4. What are the Prices?
As part of the product survey, compare prices for merchandise. Do your competitors price on the high side of the spectrum or the low side? Are they using pricing as a marketing or advertising strategy to drive customers into the store? Do they discount heavily or offer specials? Price can be an important component of a marketing plan. Just be sure you do not rely too heavily on a discount strategy. Offering too many sales, coupons and special offers to drive customers into the store or to your website can backfire into training customers to wait for a special sale.
5. Who's the Marketing Leader Among Competitors?
Can you tell who's the market leader? You need to understand where your customers are now taking their business. For online businesses, which competitor comes up first in search engine rankings? Who is paying to have their ads highest on Google, Yahoo and the like?
You may also wish to look through press releases, news clips and more to determine which company or companies appear the most frequently in the news. Consumer report or review sites online are also an excellent place to find out what your customers think about your competitors and to get a good understanding of who the market leader is in your industry. After all, it's the customers who count, for they will ultimately vote with their pocketbooks as to who is the most successful business in the industry - and you want them to vote for yours by spending money.
Small business marketing success goes hand in hand with writing solid marketing plans, conducting market research, understanding competitive intelligence, and forming a marketing strategy.
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