Market Research for Dummies 101

Here are the first couple of steps to take when starting your market research for your small business. Just sit down and do it.

Demographics

Doing research for your business is a must, but it also is so overwhelming. Only the experts do that right? The experts and the successful business owners do the research. You want to be successful right?

First step: be patient and do the research. But what does that mean?

1. Google 'population in [location of business]' -> check out stats on the Census Bureau website for that area to get an idea of amount of people in the area, age, race, health, housing, and more.

2. Copy and save that information into an organized Google Excell Sheet

Interest Level

Time for more research. How do you know if the poeple in that area would even be interested? You have to draw enough interest to even make a profit. Did you pick a good location? How do you even figure that part out?

Second step: Be patient. Let's phone some "friends" and get some answers.

1. You have multiple options for this part.

2. Be a surveyor. You can do a whole focus group type of experiment if you want. I honestly don't know how that would work, but honestly seems a bit too time consuming and costly if you are just starting out. So, instead sign up on Quora, Reddit, Final Thought, Stack or any other forum pages (Google it) and create a profile. From there, ask your questions you want to know about the market/business starting. Engage with others on the platform and answer qeustions back.

3. Use Google Forms to create a survey to share on those forum pages.

4. Search on Facebook for related groups to your business/industry. Engage first! Then after some time post your question/survey.

Ask Experts

1. LinkedIn is great source for asking industry professionals and experts. Engage and set up informational interviews on how they gathered research or what they know about the market, etc.

2. You can literally call around to some businesses in the same industry or even competitors. Set up an informational interview. Prepare solid questions to ask them about the market and any lessons they have learned in that specific area.

3. Seek out counseling from the local Chambers of Commerce and talk to someone in the appropriate department to give you some insight to the market and competitors.

4. Most states have resources for finding advice on their state website. Google small business association [insert state].

It will be a bit stressful and overwhelming at first. But believe me it will save you time and money down the road. Break down these tips given in this blog into smaller tasks and just tackle a couple at a time. It'll make things less scary and more manageable. You can do this! I believe in you!

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