Now that you have a list of who your potential customers are, it’s time to reach out to them.
Market research is simply the act of gathering information about your consumers’ desires and preferences. It also involves extensive demographic research and analysis of what one’s customers’ buying habits are.
More than anything else however, we strongly suggest engaging actual customers in the area you are looking to conduct business. Getting a sense of how they feel about what you’re selling, as well as learning about other contributing factors, can dramatically change the way you market your business.
With the information gathered from market research, a business can change their marketing strategies accordingly in order to best reach their goals. Launching a startup without collecting this data first, is literally going in blind.
Additionally, you should find ways to acquire customer feedback during your market research process. Consider offering incentives to get your customers to fill out surveys. These can include coupon codes, free merchandise, etc. For more ideas on how to do this, check out this list of 10 affordable survey incentives.
Your customer surveys should contain information relevant to your business; such as customer demographics, buying habits, opinions of your brand, and what solutions they are looking for. You can then use these surveys to compile customer data and improve your online strategy.