Larry on Business: Pillar 1: Market Research

This continues our 8-part series on Bryan Pope’s “The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing”

The following comes from Bryan Waldon Pope’s An Introduction to the 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing. Once again, I suggest you purchase the download from Bryan’s web site and follow his blog.

Introduction to Pillar 1: Market Research

“Engaging in market research will begin with establishing a marketing team and
completing a SWOT analysis. Establishing your marketing team is essential to everything
else you do, and it isn’t difficult or costly. Your SWOT analysis (that’s Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) will become an important planning tool in your
marketing.

Most small business owners think market research is too expensive or the results of
such efforts are useless to their business activities. There are simple and cost-effective
ways to determine why your clients do business with you, why your competitors’ clients
do business with them and how to win the long-term loyalty of more of those people in
both camps. Ongoing market research is a vital part of any serious marketing effort.

Under this pillar, we also complete primary and secondary market research. Primary
market research is research you do yourself, directly with your audience of clients or
potential clients. Secondary market research is research that has been conducted by
another party, then sought out by you. Examples of secondary market research include
information from the census, information provided by trade associations, and information
available from list companies. Primary market research can include surveys conducted by
your company, sampling events, and so on.”

Simple Way to Start

“A simple way to begin using market research as a tool for directing your marketing
efforts is to survey your existing clients. A simple survey conducted at the completion of
rendering a service or delivering a product can let you know if you are offering the
products/services that best meet your clients’ needs. Based on the feedback received, you
have the opportunity to adjust your offerings to better meet the needs and wants of your
clients.

You can also simply ask your clients why they do business with you. You may be
surprised at some of the answers you receive. Make sure you take them into consideration
as you develop your messaging, strategies, and campaigns. One other method I like as a
starting point for getting into the mode of being research-minded is to ask clients this
question: “If you were CEO of our company for one day and could make any change or
enhancement you wanted, what would it be?” This approach tends to open people’s
minds up a little more and really share what they are thinking and feeling.

Keep surveys brief and make the information gathered applicable to your specific
goals. The less questions asked and the less personal the information, the greater the
response. Strike a balance that allows you to discover those issues important to you while
leaving your client feeling comfortable. Remember, in-person or on-phone surveys are
considerably more effective than written surveys.”

Begin to Build Pillar 1: Market Research

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I currently have an operable, knowledgeable marketing team?
Have I recently completed a SWOT analysis for my company?
Do I actively conduct meaningful market research with both my existing clients and my prospective clients?

(If you answered “No” to any of the above questions get hold of Bryan’s audio programs on these specific topics and turn those No's into Yeses!)