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Is There Anyone Out There? How To Identify a Market For Your Small BusinessYour QuestionnaireBefore you launch into grilling everyone you meet asking whether they would buy your product, you need to set some time aside to carefully think about what information you would like to collect. You have to design a structured questionnaire for either you or the interviewee to complete. Here are some thoughts on putting a focused questionnaire together. Name and Address Include a space to collect names and addresses. As well as being a potential marketing list, the information may be useful if you wish to clarify anything. However, think carefully about whether you wish to collect the names. Today, because of the volume of junk mail we get, people are reluctant to give out their addresses. By asking them you may be putting them in a negative frame of mind even before you start with your questions! So you may not get the answers you are looking for or it may even prompt a refusal to take part. Generic Information Collect some generic information about the interviewee. Prepare a range of ages bands, for example 25 to 35 so you can categorise the person. Are they male or female? Are they employed, self-employed or unemployed? What income bracket are they in - £20,000 to £35,000? What is their marital status? Think of any other information which would be useful to help you analyse the responses. Prepare Your Questions Your questions could be any one of these. What are their buying habits? When and how often do they buy a product similar to yours? What do they look for in that product? What turns them off? What’s the minimum and maximum price they are prepared to pay? Where do they buy it – local shops, supermarkets or on-line? Which is their preferred method if they had a choice? Is good service important to them or do they prefer a cheap and cheerful approach? Survey OptionsArmed with your questionnaire you can now hunt down your target customers and get interrogating! What options are available to you when you’re ready to start your survey? Face-to-Face Your first option is to go knocking on doors and ask people if they can spare you 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can stand on the street and grab people as hurriedly walk passed you with their head down! Face-to-face is certainly the cheapest method but it can take time and be prepared for rejection after rejection. If your product is being sold to businesses then you will have to call at each of their premises. You will probably have to make an appointment to speak to the right person which means you will have to make another journey back there – all for one questionnaire! This is also a time consuming method especially as you have to conduct a number of interviews to make the exercise worthwhile. Telephone With this method at least you’re not standing on a windy street corner or walking the streets! The downside is that this route is more expensive. Your rejection rate to participate will probably also be higher because it’s easier to say no when you can’t see the other person’s face. How many times have you done this to the fitted kitchen company who rang while you were having dinner? Depending on your budget and the number of people you want to interview, you could employ a specialist firm to do this exercise for you. However, if you have the patience, the time, the budget and a positive outlook then it’s worth considering. Discussion Groups If your target customer is easily identifiable then you could ask people to join a discussion group. Chaired by you, your questionnaire is used to prompt discussion from where you can gather the information you need. Unlike in the first 2 options you are asking someone to give up at least 1 to 2 hours of their time so you may have to provide an incentive for them to turn up – a light lunch or sandwiches for example. Administratively this method is harder – you have to find participants, get commitment and organise a venue etc. However, you are likely to get a very good understanding of your potential customer’s needs and requirements because of the in-depth discussion which groups such as these prompt. Post Less expensive in time and telephone costs, this tends to be the popular approach. Also the success or reply rate can be higher because people can complete the questionnaire in their own time and not feel uncomfortable with the interviewer’s presence. To prevent your questionnaire being put in the bin your cover letter has to be clear and to the point. However, the response rate can be low so you should consider an incentive to encourage participation – entry into a grand draw, a discount voucher for redemption once you are open for example.
By now you should have all the information necessary to decide whether there are potential customers out there who may be prepared to buy your product. You are now ready to move onto the next stage of your plan which is to consider the legal status of your business. Click here for the next step |
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Free E-Book on Setting up a Successful Small Business
If you don't have the time to go through all the steps, why not request our FREE 82 page e-book, 'Steps to Setting Up a Successful Small Business' Just complete the request form below
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Steps to Setting Up a Successful Small Business So You Want To Run a Business? |
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