Business Planner’s RoadMap: Set Market Research Goals
How do you research your market? You need to prove your business case. You must prove that your products and services will sell and make you a profit. Keep in mind that the time and energy invested in market research is for you. It is a confidence-building process that will enable you to decide whether or not to start your business. Each additional piece of research will either increase or decrease your confidence in your business idea. If you discover enough positives, you will start your business; negatives should cause you to back off or try different ideas until you get enough positives.
Secondary and Primary Market Research
When you set out to research your market, you will be exploring two main categories of research: secondary and primary. Secondary comes first, because you will do much of your secondary research before narrowing your focus to primary research. In other words, check out the big picture and then move into the smaller or more localized market research, beginning with a more general approach and moving to more specific.
Secondary market research is the information you will obtain from other sources, such as Statistics Canada or the US Bureau of the Census, reports, articles in trade or consumer magazines, and the Internet.
Primary market research is the information you gather yourself by talking with and surveying customers, competitors, and suppliers. Typical methods for conducting primary market research are observation, personal interviews, focus groups, formal surveys, mail surveys, and telephone surveys.
The following table offers a number of ideas on where to access information and assistance.
Sources of Assistance and Information Checklist
Download an editable .docx copy here
Download a .pdf copy here
Tip: The Internet has made it easier to research.
It is unquestionably the largest collection of public information in the world, and it’s growing every minute.
Any of the sources in the table above can be located in moments by searching the Internet with your browser.
Dan’s Strategic Market Research Objectives
After listing my assumptions and reviewing the Sources of Assistance and Information, I wrote my list of strategic market research objectives. View the example.
Example: Strategic Market Research Objectives
Action
Download the Strategic Market Research Objectives Worksheet
- Using the Strategic Market Research Objective Worksheet, write a list of your Strategic Market Research Objectives as you understand them at this moment. Don’t worry about perfection or missed areas at this point. Write at least five to ten goals, more if you can.
- Using the Sources of Information and Assistance checklist table above, identify potential secondary and primary sources for each of your strategic objectives.
- Print or write your Strategic Market Research Objectives and hang copies in visible locations (your desk, your fridge, and your bathroom).