Markets

Some people who start small businesses know at least one of their potential markets really well. That's why they choose to start their business - they are convinced that they will be able to sell their products to this particular market. If they are right, there will come a time when their market is saturated and they will want to look for a new one. If they are wrong, their need for a new market is even more critical. And if they didn't have a particular market in mind to begin with, they have to target one before they start putting their business together.

What's needed is a market survey. Market size, growth, segmentation and participants are all included in such a survey. The market survey tells you that your business could prosper or not.

If the market is not growing, it will be very difficult to make a substantial number of customers switch suppliers. If the market is growing, you can expect to attract a portion of the new customers at a comparatively low cost. If the market is segmented, is there a segment for which you will have an advantage? If the market is dominated by one company, what are its weaknesses? This is the kind of information you need to determine what your marketing costs are going to be and how you should present, and possibly even design, your product.

For a small business entering a local market, you can easily do your own informal market survey just by talking to people. Start with people you know are active in the market you're planning to enter and get more leads for further information from them. Once you have surveyed a good cross-section of your target market, you can extrapolate to determine the size of the market, the size of any segments and how fast it is growing.

The more information you have, the better you'll be able to make good, well-based decisions and the faster your business will be on a solid footing.

FIRST PUBLISHED AT SUITE101.COM