Testing a new product or service before you launch is a no-brainer but usually costs a bundle in market research expenses. With Samplify, business owners can access a sample pool of respondents without the big cost or wait time. Because Samplify makes the process simple with custom templates and targeting attributes, and you can access their pool of tens of millions of consumers and business professionals, you’ll get comprehensive research quickly and efficiently. Researchers have complete control of their research and have 24-hour access to reports on any project activity.
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Posts Tagged ‘market research’
Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Samplify (Online Market Research Tool)
January 2nd, 2013 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichWeb.com Small Business Toolkit: Census Bureau Easy Stats (Statistic Tool)
December 17th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichWhen choosing a location for your business or narrowing down your target market, having the latest statistics at your fingertips is an invaluable tool. Luckily, the Census Bureau has introduced an online tool developed to make statistics quicker and easier to access. Easy Stats provides selected demographic and economic statistics from the American Community Survey and allows searching by geography down to the local level, including incorporated places like cities and towns and census designated places. You can also view detailed race, age and gender breakdowns, and compare communities.
Google+How to Survey Customers With a Focus Group
August 16th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichBy Maria Valdez Haubrich
Facebook and Twitter are great ways to get a feel for customer opinion—but sometimes you need more in-depth insights than these social media tools can provide. If you’re developing a new product, revamping your website or considering expanding your service offerings, it may be time to hold a focus group to find out what your customers (and potential customers) really think.
A focus group is a small group of people who are part of your target market, brought together to talk about your business for a couple of hours. To get started creating a focus group, you’ll need to determine the makeup of your target customers, such as income, age range, gender and other factors.
Although some entrepreneurs build focus groups from friends and family, this generally isn’t a good idea since these people have a vested interest in your success and may not be honest about what they really think. Instead, gather focus group members from existing customers, approach people at a local mall or public area to participate, or buy names from list rental companies.
You’ll want to keep your group relatively small so everyone has a chance to talk. About 6 to 10 people is usually optimal. Create a backup list in case people decline at the last minute. You’ll also need to pay, usually about $50 to $150 depending on the time involved and the complexity of the topic.
You can hold a focus group in your business’s offices or any quiet place where you can be undisturbed. Create a form that each person fills out to capture details such as age, gender, income, marital/household status and anything else that’s pertinent to what you’re researching. You’ll also need to record the group, ideally by using a video camera and having someone take notes. (Make sure participants sign a form agreeing that they can be recorded.)
What do you talk about? That depends on what you’re researching, but you should create a list of topics and questions beforehand. For instance, if you’re researching packaging for your new product, you’ll want to show the participants different color, name, font and packaging options. You might also want them to try opening the packaging, display the packaging as it might appear in a store, or ask them what feelings the packaging evokes.
Choose a moderator (not necessarily you) to lead the discussion and make sure everyone gets to talk. The moderator can guide the discussion back to productive areas and probe for more information.
Once the focus group ends, immediately review your notes and clarify anything that is unclear. Also write down your first impressions about what was said. Go over the information with your business partners or key managers.
Focus groups are only one part of market research, but done properly, they can be a very valuable part.
Image by Flickr user ByJoeLodge (Creative Commons)
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StreetAdvisor: Neighborhood Reviews: Small Business Resources
May 30th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichThinking about moving your business to a new area or maybe adding another location? There is no better way to find out about a neighborhood than to hear from the people who have lived there. StreetAdvisor makes it easy to find out what people are saying without having to knock on doors. Used by people who want to buy a house in a neighborhood, the site is also perfect for business owners looking for a certain demographic and atmosphere. You can search neighborhoods in any city by type of people who live there (families with kids, retirees, etc.), income (affluent to low income), personality and activities in the neighborhood.
Google+Small Biz Resource Tip: Addict-o-matic
August 16th, 2011 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichFeeling a little obsessed about some latest trend or maybe trying to gather research for a marketing forecast? You can spend hours scouring the Web–or you can have Addict-o-matic gather the research for you. You can instantly create a custom page with the latest buzz from around the Internet on any topic you choose. Addict-o-matic will search the Web for the latest news, videos, images and blogs. After you search, you can personalize your results by designing the layout of your page, moving headline source boxes, around and choosing which of hundreds of top blogs and news sources you’d like to get information on.
Google+Small Biz Resource Tip: Ask Your Target Market
July 28th, 2011 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichIf you’ve ever tried to get market research for your business, whether you need it to create a new product or satisfy a nervous banker, you know the cost and time involved are prohibitive. Don’t people understand small businesses need market research too? Well, Ask Your Target Market understands and has created the technology to help, along with giving you access to the consumers you want to reach. Ask Your Target Market gives you the tools to write surveys and send them to a suitable target market from their proprietary consumer panel, or to a list of your own. For a small price you’ll get a comprehensive report you can sort by a number of options.
Google+Small Biz Resource Tip: BIGinsight.com
May 3rd, 2011 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichNeed some insights into what your buyer is thinking, doing, buying right now? Don’t we all? BIGinsight.com is a new resource tool that gives businesses a comprehensive portrayal of today’s consumer, including feelings on the economy, future purchasing plans, retail behavior patterns and more. Gathering data from several sources such as consumer surveys, the Federal Reserve Economic Database and consumer surveys from China, BIGinsight.com presents the material through news blurbs, interactive charts, webcasts and social media updates. You can sign up for a variety of free reports, email updates and newsletters.
Google+How Well Do You Know Your Competition?
January 26th, 2011 :: Rieva Lesonsky
By Rieva Lesonsky
Want to know one of the secrets to business success? It’s knowing your competition. When you first started your company, you probably did market research where you assessed your major competitors to find out what you were getting into and where you could gain an edge. As our businesses grow, however, many of us get so wrapped up in the day-to-day that we forget to keep tabs on what our competitors are doing.
That’s a big mistake. Ignoring what your competitors are up to or assuming they’re following along the same path they were when you launched can have devastating consequences for your company. Here are some tips to help you keep up on the competition:
Read all about it. Check out trade magazines, industry journals and websites for your industry to find out not only what your specific competitors are doing but what similar businesses are doing.
Use tech tools. One of the best ways to keep up on the competition is to set up Google alerts to the names of key companies. That way you’ll be continually notified what they’re up to. If your competitors have blogs, set up an RSS feed so you’ll get the latest posts delivered directly to you.
Use social media. Visit your competitors’ Facebook pages and follow them on Twitter to see what they’re doing. Since companies use social media to communicate with customers and get their input, reading between the lines can give you insights into new product or service launches, expansion plans or marketing campaigns the competition might be planning.
Get personal. Visit the locations of your key competitors or shop at their websites to see what they’re offering, what kind of service you get and what kind of pricing they offer. Keep an eye out for new marketing methods or sales tactics they’re using.
Think indirect. Direct competitors aren’t the only ones you need to worry about. Don’t forget to keep an eye on indirect competitors. These are companies that compete for the same dollars you are, even if they aren’t in the same industry. For instance, if you own a casual restaurant, your competitors could include fast food chains, fancy restaurants and even convenience stores that sell prepared food.
Assess what you learn. Regularly set aside time to think about the information you’re gathering. Is your competition growing or struggling? What long-term plans can you spy from your research? Are they targeting new demographic groups? Are they expanding geographically?
Your competitors are a key benchmark for your business. Compare how you’re doing to how they’re doing and look for weaknesses that can spell opportunity – and success – for your business.
Image by Flickr user Tony (Creative Commons)
Google+Women in Business: Marketing Strategy For Everyone! Part 1
July 22nd, 2010 :: Monika Jansen
Emily Richards is the smart, funny, and energetic owner of Drew Consulting, a full-service marketing consulting firm based in Falls Church, VA. We were introduced at a BNI meeting (neither of us belongs) by a mutual business associate last winter. When we finally got together for lunch in May, we had such a good time that I realized I’d found not only a new partner and referral source (and vice versa), but a friend. Nice when that happens.
Because of Emily’s deep experience in marketing, I thought she’d have some useful information on marketing strategy to pass along to all of us small business owners. She had so much to say, I’m dividing this blog post into two. Enjoy!
Why did you decide to go into business for yourself? How long have you been in business?
Owning my own business has always been my dream. I began consulting on a freelance basis while still in corporate America. It was something I enjoyed and decided to pursue full time. I’ve consulted for 4 years.
What areas of marketing strategy do you specialize in/most enjoy?
I specialize in the actual development of marketing strategies; business development strategies (companies either in start up phase or expansion of an existing company); and market research. Typically all of the above mentioned areas go hand in hand. In order to develop new business, a business strategy, marketing strategy and market research are all necessary components. Market Research provides quantifiable data that supports my recommendations for marketing strategies. Marketing strategies are a driver in the success in new business development and ultimately, positive impact to the bottom line. These specialties are also what I enjoy most. It’s a nice perk in small business ownership to align your specialties with what you most enjoy.
What are the biggest marketing challenges your clients face? How do you help them overcome those challenges?
The biggest challenges my clients face are depressed economic conditions and a rapidly changing marketing landscape. While these are cliché challenges, they present obstacles I have to overcome on a daily basis. In a recessive economy, it takes more time and creativity to achieve the same results that came much easier in a thriving economy. My clients don’t necessarily have the allocation in their budget for the additional time and efforts. They spent less and earned more in past years. It’s a difficult concept for them to overcome. Secondly, technology is evolving at lightning speed. There are times when I simply do not have the answer as to the impact of a rising social media or interactive trend. I don’t enjoy not having the answer any more than they do. The positive spin to both of these challenges is the benefits of our global communication. There are many opportunities to create a strategy with grassroots focus at a minimal cost thanks to existing social media platforms.
Proving the ROI of marketing is not always easy. How do you help your clients quantify the effectiveness of their marketing programs?
As I mentioned before, I feel proving the ROI of many marketing efforts today are significantly more difficult to quantify. I am very adamant [with clients] that there be some form of capture method to measure the impact of our efforts. It helps tremendously when there is a database that can capture leads, lead sources and sales. But there are many creative metrics [apart from databases] to capture this information ranging from analyzing Google analytics (to determine if a marketing material with a unique URL generated traffic to a site) to analyzing the click-through of an e-blast to monitoring the number of fans to your facebook (before and after a month long posting campaign). I like to measure leads, number of sales and the lead conversion ratio. It provides us the ability to determine how many targeted leads we need to obtain in order to reach the desired lead conversion rate and ultimately revenue goals.
Read Part 2 here.
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