Finding Your Market In The Business World

By Author: Charen Smith
Total Articles: 25
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It is very difficult to pass a test if you are not familiar with the material covered on the test. In business, it is very hard to succeed (if not impossible) if you are not familiar with your customers. You must be intimately familiar with your target market in order to become a successful entrepreneur.

To know your target market, you have to have an open mind. Many entrepreneurs do a great job of researching their market, but they don't go into it with an open mind. They go into it thinking that their plan is right and that it will work. When they encountered obstacles, and see information that should tell them that their plan is flawed, they either ignore it or explain it away. Both of which can be deadly to your business.

Let's go over how to plan your product and get to know your market.

Determine who your market is

When you develop a product or service, you are doing so with the idea that your product or service is needed on the market. For instance, say you have developed a software program that performs a task that previously had to be done by the user. It seems like there is a natural ...
... need for that program, right? But you have to investigate more thoroughly before you launch your product.

Ask yourself as many questions about your product as possible. Who will use this product? Why would they use it? Would they continue to use it? How much would they be willing to pay for it?

Once you think you know the answers to theses questions, it is time to verify them with some hard-core research.

Researching your market

The research phase, for many companies, is the make or break point. A well-planned research effort might show you that your product really isn't needed on the market, at least not right now. Even though that result would be disappointing, it would potentially save you bundles of money in wasted time and production. On the other hand, a poorly executed research effort will not give you the answers you need, which probably will result in wasted time and money.

When conducting your research, whether you do it yourself or you pay someone to do it, you want to again ask those questions that you asked before. Only this time, you are asking your customers, not yourself. Ask the people that you think would use your product if they would, indeed, have a need for it. If so, ask them why they would use it, and how much they would be willing to pay for it.

Here is where having an open mind is so important. As I said, you might learn during the research phase that there really is not a need for your product. If that is what your research is telling you, listen to it. Either scrap the plan or adjust it to meet a current need. Do not ignore the results of the research simply because they are not what you wanted to hear.

Follow up on your research

If your research does reveal a need for your product, and a sizable market for it, then you are on your way to success. But you still have to follow through by delivering a quality product at a reasonable price, and you have to direct it towards your target market.

Use the results of your research to guide your advertising strategy. Design your color printing ads and radio or television ads with your market in mind. Do everything in a way that targets the people that you have identified as your potential customers.

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