Market research helps you find customers for your new business. Competitive analysis helps you make your business unique. Combine them to find a competitive advantage for your small or local business.

---

Use market research to find customers

Marketing research blends consumer behaviour and financial patterns to validate and enhance your service concept.

It’s essential to understand your customer base from the outset. Market research lets you decrease dangers even while your business is still just a gleam in your eye.

Collect demographic details to better understand opportunities and limitations for acquiring customers.

This might include population data on age, wealth, family, interests, or anything else that’s pertinent to your company.

Answer the following questions to get a good sense of your market:

• Demand: Is there a desire for your product or service?
• Market size: How many people would be interested in your offering?
• Economic indicators: What are the income range and employment rate?
• Location: Where do your customers live and where can your business reach?
• Market saturation: How many similar options are already available to consumers?
• Pricing: What do potential customers pay for these alternatives?

You’ll also want to keep up with the newest small company trends. It is essential to gain a sense of the particular market share that will affect your earnings.

You can do market research using existing sources, or you can do the research study yourself and go direct to customers.

Existing sources can conserve a lot of time and energy, but the details may not be as particular to your audience as you’d like. Utilize it to answer questions that are both basic and quantifiable, like industry patterns, demographics, and family incomes. Inspect online or start with our list of market research study resources.

Asking consumers yourself can give you a nuanced understanding of your particular target audience. But, direct research can be time costly and consuming. Utilize it to answer questions about your particular company or consumers, like responses to your logo, enhancements you might make to the buying experience, and where customers might go rather of your service.

Here are a couple of methods you can use to do a direct research study:

• Surveys
• Questionnaires
• Focus groups
• In-depth interviews

For guidance on deciding which methods are worthwhile for your small or local business why not book a free consultation with one of our advisors.

Use competitive analysis to find a market advantage

Competitive analysis helps you gain from businesses completing for your prospective consumers. This is key to specifying a one-upmanship that creates sustainable profits.

Your competitive analysis should recognize your competition by product line or service and market segment. Evaluate the following qualities of the competitive landscape:

• Market share
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Your window of opportunity to enter the market
• The importance of your target market to your competitors
• Any barriers that may hinder you as you enter the market
• Indirect or secondary competitors who may impact your success

Important factors to consider include the level of competition, the threat of new competitors or services, and the effect of suppliers and customers on price.

Free small business data and trends

There are lots of reliable sources that provide customer and market information at no charge. Free statistics are easily available to help prospective little company owners.

Consider the following federal business statistics in your market research and competitive analysis:

Focus	Goal	Reference
General business statistics	Find statistics on industries and business conditions.	NAICS, USA.gov Statistics, Statistical Abstract of the United States, U.S. Census Business Builder
Consumer statistics	Info on potential customers and consumer markets.	Consumer Credit Data, Consumer Product Safety
Demographics	Segment the population for targeting customers.	U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Economic indicators	Know unemployment rates, loans granted and more.	Consumer Price Index, Bureau of Economic Analysis
Employment statistics	Dig deeper into employment trends for your market.	Employment and Unemployment Statistics
Income statistics	Pay your employees fair rates based on earnings data.	Earnings by Occupation and Education, Income Statistics
Money and interest rates	Keep money by mastering exchange and interest rates.	Daily Interest Rates, Money Statistics via Federal Reserve
Production and sales statistics	Understand demand, costs and consumer spending.	Consumer Spending, Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Trade statistics	Track indicators of sales and market performance.	Balance of Payments, USA Trade Online
Statistics of specific industries	Use a wealth of federal agency data on industries.	Statistics of U.S. Businesses