Running a small business or launching a start-up company is very time consuming. Most of the time it feels as if there aren’t enough hours in the day to get the job done. Because of this, many small businesses skip some of the most important details in securing their success. Market research is one of these crucial steps that many businesses omit. How can you go ahead with a plan to sell a product when you don’t know if it’s going to sell? How can you set a price when you don’t even know your customer’s price sensitivity or your competitors’ prices? Market research, although time consuming and frequently omitted by small companies, is largely necessary to ensure a business’s success. This article will define market research and provide a step-by-step approach to tackling the subject as a small business.

Market Research – An Introduction

Market research is the process of collecting data on consumers, competitors, marketing and sales channels, and the forces affecting your industry. Consumer research usually contains data on basic customer characteristics and their buying behavior. Competitor research includes gathering data on product lines and pricing, competitors’ current advertisements, and some perceptual mapping. Channel research simply means that you must view the overall picture. How do you fit into the industry value chain? Who are the best suppliers, distributors, and retailers? How will your product reach the end consumer? Finally, gathering industry research involves analyzing Porter’s Five Forces along with market history and probable forecasts. Legalities and any political issues that may concern your business fit in here as well.

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Every successful entrepreneur and business has a BRAND, The one thing you must have if you want to be successful is Branding that is consistent with you and your business.

Branding separates you from your competition and gives you credibility. It’s what makes people want to tell other people about you, and makes them want to invest and buy from you again and again. Without branding businesses cannot survive.

Your Visibility is more important than your ability. It is important to be visible. To increase your visibility Branding is important to the recognition of your business. People need to know who you are, remember you, prefer to buy from you and refer other people to you. See the following and you should aim for Brand Insistence and Brand Advocacy.

Always under promise and over deliver

Launch then link all elements of your business and any other businesses you have to that Brand. There should be congruence throughout your business so everything relates to everything else.

In other words your signage, websites, stationery, business cards and everything in your business should reflect your logo and slogan and have the same colors and text so they are uniform and people will remember you. It is best NOT to use your name.

Appearance is also a key element, you should dress according to the type of business you are in, and the type of image you wish to portray. Remember your appearance reflects your business, so dress accordingly in congruence with your business.

Using Hotmail, Gmail and other similar generic email addresses does not give status to your business, Use email addresses that reflect your business, preferably the same email address as your website. Before using your first name in email addresses consider that first names in email addresses tend to indicate a small company. If you are looking to appear as a big company use something more corporate.