Running a small business or working as a solopreneur lets you be your own bossand allows you to create an enjoyable, sustainable income. However, many business owners fail to meet their goals in the early days, and much of this struggle is due to difficulty in building a client base. One the keys often overlooked is market research. Here are a few reasons why market research is so important and how to make the most of it.
What is the Demand?
Businesses face a bit of a dilemma: Offering broad services means there will likely be considerable competition in your field, but targeting a niche area may lead to little demand. Choosing how to market your business is essential for maximizing your potential, as targeting the field with the most demand lets you charge the best prices if the area you’re competing in isn’t overcrowded. This research also helps you find the best way to reach out to potential clients. Retirees, for example, might be best targeted by mail or other traditional techniques. Older millennials, on the other hand, might be easier to reach through social media.
Who Are You Targeting?
Building a client base is the ultimate goal of small businesses, but you also need to know who is potentially receptive to what you have to offer. Outreach efforts are especially important in the early days of launching your business, and any money spent on advertising needs to go as far as possible. What age ranges are you targeting? Are there geographical factors? Don’t spend hard earned money on advertising efforts if you don’t know the specific demographics of your target audience. This is a good reason to focus on your social media outreach early on as posting on social platforms is free. Feedback from potential and current customers can also serve as free market research and help you find out the best client base.
Setting the Right Prices
Once you’ve found the best way to market your business and who you’re targeting, you’ll want to find the optimal price to charge for your services. Here, it’s important to know what your competitors are charging. Note that simply undercutting your competitors won’t necessarily be enough, as you might run into trouble generating sufficient revenue even if you book a full schedule, and low prices are sometimes viewed as an indicator of poor service. Again, market research is the key: Finding the market that will pay you the best rate for your services will give you a better foundation for your business, even in the earliest days after launch.
Is it Worth Paying an Expert to Conduct Market Research?
Your skill and customer service abilities are crucial for running a successful business. However, you’ll need to ensure you’re able to build a proper client base and charge a fair price if you’re aiming to break the six-figure barrier. Although hiring a marketing consultant isn’t always cheap, it offers an objective, solid means to find out who to target, where the find them, and how to find the right prices to charge. Any marketing research investment can potentially pay for itself many times over the years.
Identify Your Market and Earn Their Trust
Now that you’ve got your target market in sight, it’s time to develop a relationship with them and showcase what you have to offer. By nurturing these relationships, they will grow to know, like, and trust you, which will make them groupies singing your praises when you release your next product. In my next livestream training, I’m discussing 4 ways you can work smarter, not harder, for six figure sales, and marketing to your ideal clients is the first and most important step in this process. Follow me on Facebook to get the livestream notifications!