Market Research

The best way to start any research is, to begin with, your goals. First, outline clearly what you are aiming to achieve with your research. This will ensure your research has a clear scope and direction. 
Some broad areas of research are outlined below. 
 
Customers 
As with any venture, it is vital to understand your customer when beginning a new professional services venture. Create a clear outline of your customer to help direct your business. Some questions to ask include:

• What is the size of your market? 
• What are the demographics of your market? 
• What do your customers value?  

Speak to customers
The most direct method of research is speaking directly with customers. This can be done via a phone call, in person, or online (eg via a survey). 
Review existing customer research 
An alternative method is reviewing existing customer research. Research that has already been conducted may be sufficient to satisfy your research goals. Search online, or contact industry bodies to see if there has been previous research conducted. 
Competition
Consider the level of competition that already exists in your intended industry. For example:

• How many other companies exist with the same services in your area/ geographic region?
• What is the pricing range in the industry? 

Demand
An important element to consider is the demand for the services you intend to offer. Research how much demand there is for your offering. Google Trends can be useful for this type of research. 

Thanks for sharing such useful information. It is very important to choose the best market research techniques for your business.

Market research is a critical tool for business yet often overlooked or underutilized.   Are real customers willing to pay real money for your product or service?  If so you have a real business.  Do not just ask your friends & family for feedback, they do not want to hurt your feelings and will not be objective.  Do market research with real customers.  Whether you conduct qualtitative (focus groups or a listening tour) or quantitative reseach using Zoomerang or Survey Monkey for example does not matter.  Just make sure you ask questions in an objective way so you get real feedback that is useful.   Unless you have expertise in house it makes sense to engage an indepeendent outsider who can help draft the questionaire otherwise it can be garbage in and garbage out wasting time with useless informtion.    Research does not require big budgets but it does need to be objctive to gain real customer insights.

Hi Steve,

Great to see you're doing a survey.

Looking at the questions, I'm struggling to see what you hope to learn. Are you looking to find out what problems people face at a major appliance retailer?

Brian