Carrying out thorough market research is a very obligatory step when starting any business unless you don’t mind seeing your business crumble. And when you decide to undertake it, it should be the second step, coming only after the conception of the business idea. This is because the research will help you come up with relevant and competitive strategies. It is of great significance to let the research take a relatively long period of time since some businesses are always seasonal. For example, if you want to start an online consultancy where you will be assisting students who are unable to consult their supervisors in doing their academic projects/ writing theses and dissertations (but not doing the projects for them), you should experiment for at least a year. This is the reason, from the very beginning; you will be looking forward to hiring other professionals to assist you in assisting your clients as they do their projects since you can’t be an expert in all fields. But since this business is seasonal, you may start it when no student is doing a project/ writing a thesis and fail to get any client. On the other hand, you may start it when every student is writing a thesis/ doing a project and get a false impression that the business is very profitable. So, before you can hire people to assist you or spend much on advertising your business, you should try the business for at least a year then start planning.
How to carry out market research
1. Trying out the business but investing little time and resources.
It is clear from the introduction that trying out the business without investing too much time and resources is the most effective way to carry out market research. This will act as a stick in testing the depth of a river rather than spending all your resources and time and resigning from your job which will be like testing a river with both legs. This will give you the exact idea of what to expect before finally deciding whether the business is worth venturing into.
2. Web search
Both Google and social media can be very helpful in doing this. If your conceived business idea is about selling bodywear or footwear or hairstyle, social media can help you know the popularity of different designs by checking people’s comments on various outfits. If your idea is about manufacturing or trade, google can load you with very helpful statistics.
3. Observation.
You can just look around in malls, streets, schools, etc. to see what people love and base your decisions on what you see.
4. Ask people what they love.
You may ask your family members and friends which designs/ brands they love most so that you can put more of them in stock.
5. Books.
Books are some of the most reliable resources for research.
Importance of market research.
1. Help you in planning
As discussed in the introduction, after market research, you will have an overview of how the business looks like. This can help you in decisions like
- How much time you should allocate for the business
- How many people you should hire to assist you in the business and whether you should hire them on a full time or part-time basis.
- What equipment/ tools do you need for the business?
- Etc.
2. Put you on a competitive edge.
Knowing which brand is more popular, where and among which group of people can help you come up with competitive strategies.
3. Will save you from unnecessary expenditures.
Maybe you initially wanted to purchase some equipment for the business, but after the research, you find it unnecessary. You will save the money you would have spent on buying it.
John Michael 