If you’re thinking about launching a new product or service or writing a business plan for your company, you’ll need to do some research to understand how big your market actually is. To get an accurate picture of this market size, it’s important that you research both the global and local levels of competition. Your market research has to be thorough and coherent to woo your investors and get meaningful insights of the market dynamics.
Doing market research can feel overwhelming, but with the correct structure and some handy hacks, this task can become effortless.
This article will show you how!
- Leverage Google And Other Search Engines For Finding Information About Companies And Product
Google is a great place to look for information about companies and products. You can search by industry, company name, or keyword. If you’re looking for an example of a business that has done well in your market space, look no further than LinkedIn. Use LinkedIn as a resource for finding businesses in your market space. You can search by industry and location to find companies you may not have known about before. Be sure to check out their website and social media accounts, too!
You might also want to check out other social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook where there are many people who are actively engaged with their local businesses. Another good place to find insightful details for your business is the market research outlines of credible market research companies. You can easily find market research reports online by searching for “market research” + the industry you’re interested in. These reports will give you insights into what consumers are looking for, what their spending habits are, and how they feel about certain brands.
2. Start Your Research At The Global Level And Then Scale Down To The Local Market Level.
Starting your research at the global level and then scaling down to the local market level is an important step to ensure that your research makes sense. If you’re trying to sell a product in North America, it’s important that you understand what the North-American market is looking for, as well as how consumers behave within this region. From there, dive into local markets by searching for “market research” + country name + industry. This will give you more granular insights into what consumers are looking for locally as opposed to internationally.
When starting out, it’s crucial to understand how big the market actually is. If you don’t know what kind of competition exists in your industry, how can you possibly start building something that will compete effectively? By understanding where your competition stands—and more importantly, who their customers are—you’ll be able to create a product that meets their needs while also providing value beyond just being “good enough.”
The next thing we recommend doing is looking into trends across various countries around the world. What did they do right? What did they do wrong? How did this affect sales numbers or profits per unit sold? These questions will help inform future decisions about whether or not certain products should be released into other markets based on past experience.
3. Avoid Using Outdated Data
When you are doing your market research, it is important to avoid using outdated data. This can be extremely detrimental to your business model and reputation. It’s also not a good idea because even though it may seem like a small thing in the grand scheme of things, there will be people who will notice this and think that you’re not very serious about what you do or how much value they should expect from your products or services.
You should always make sure that any information used in your market research is as recent as possible (within six months or a year; at max). If it has been over a year since the report was published on the topic at hand then consider whether there has been any significant change in the industry since then; if so then maybe now would be an appropriate time to update our knowledge base with new trends based on those changes. If not, then maybe it’s time to consider doing some more research and analysis on the topic at hand.
4. Quote Numbers From Reliable Sources
Ensure you are quoting figures from reliable sources, and that the figures you are quoting are in conformity with each other. For example, you cannot state that you assume market growth at x% per year and then proceed to quote a different number in the entailing sections.
Double-check if your assumptions are based on data that is accurate and relevant.
If it’s not, then don’t use it!
Know when to use assumptions and when not to make an assumption: if there is no counter-proof of your assumptions (e.g., “we assume that our target audience will grow by 10% per year”), then go ahead and make them, because they’ll help drive your business forward towards achieving those goals!
5. Research Your Competitors’ Business Models, Products Or Services, And Customers
You should also make sure that you do some proper research on your competitors. Doing this will help you find out what kind of business model is in vogue, what products or services are prevalent, who are your future customers, and how much money you can make by capturing your competitors’ market share.
Research the business model, products or services, and customers of major players in the industry. This will give you a good idea of what works, what doesn’t, and where there is a gap in the market that you can fill. This will give you an idea of how they operate and help you come up with a strategy for your own business.
Let Business Plans USA Help You
While it can be difficult to find the time and resources necessary to undertake thorough market research, we’ve found that these five hacks make the process much less painful than it could otherwise be. By following these steps, you can get a much clearer picture of your market and the competition than you would otherwise. This will help you tailor your business strategy to meet the needs of your customers, as well as give you an edge over other businesses in the industry that haven’t taken the time to do their research.
If you want to know more about market research and how Business Plans USA can help you get started, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.
