Marketing Strategies - Are You Making This Marketing Mistake?

In order to ensure that the new products and services they launch stand the best possible chance for success,‭ ‬Corporate America employs a variety of marketing research techniques before investing time and resources in development.‭ ‬A little basic smarts and network know-how will allow you to do the same thing for yourself.

In this article,‭ ‬I'll show you how you use powerful market research tools to save you time,‭ ‬money,‭ ‬frustration and maybe even‭ ‬ultimately your business.‭ ‬So let's get started.

Once you have a clear idea in mind for your new product or service,‭ ‬you‭’‬ll want to do what Corporate America commonly calls a‭ ‬concept test.‭

First of all,‭ ‬you‭’‬ll need to sit down and clearly delineate exactly what your product or service is,‭ ‬including what features and benefits it will offer and how much it will cost.‭ ‬Typically,‭ ‬you‭’‬ll write‭ ‬2-3‭ ‬paragraphs describing your idea,‭ ‬making sure to clearly explain the benefits to the consumer.‭ ‬Really invest some time here and have other people read your description to make sure,‭ ‬A‭) ‬your word choices are clear and,‭ ‬B‭) ‬you‭’‬ve hit all the major highlights.‭

Congratulations‭! ‬You now have a‭ ‬concept statement.

Next,‭ ‬develop a survey to gauge the reaction of your target market,‭ ‬covering the basics:

Purchase interest‭ (‬i.e.,‭ ‬How likely are you to buy this product,‭ ‬if it were available to you‭? ‬A‭) ‬Definitely will buy,‭ ‬B‭) ‬Probably will,‭ ‬C‭) ‬I might,‭ ‬D‭) ‬Probably will not,‭ ‬E‭) ‬Definitely will not buy.‭)
Overall Likes and Dislikes‭
Value‭
Uniqueness‭

Make sure you include a range of possible responses for each question.

From here,‭ ‬you‭’‬ll need to determine exactly what the target market is for your new product or service‭—‬if your product is a new all-natural diet soda,‭ ‬for example,‭ ‬your target market might be health-conscious women,‭ ‬ages‭ ‬20-45.

Talk with friends,‭ ‬family,‭ ‬and friends-of-friends,‭ ‬as well as those of your employees.‭ ‬Anywhere from‭ ‬50-200‭ ‬people will work.‭ ‬Giving respondents an anonymous way to return your survey will help to ensure unbiased feedback.

When your surveys have been returned,‭ ‬decide what your minimum requirements will be in order to take the next step.‭ (‬Do this even before you take a peek at your data.‭) ‬Large corporations call this an‭ ‬action standard.‭

As a small business owner,‭ ‬an action standard that makes sense would probably be how many people are likely to buy your product.‭

The rule of thumb‭ ‬some‭ ‬professional marketing research firms use to gauge‭ ‬true demand is that‭ ‬80%‭ ‬of the people who answered that they would‭ ‬‘definitely purchase‭’‬ your product actually will‭—‬while only‭ ‬20%‭ ‬of those who answered they‭ ‬‘probably will purchase‭’‬ will do the same.‭

Using this rule of thumb,‭ ‬let‭’‬s say your data shows true demand of‭ ‬20%.‭ ‬Now you have to take into account the role of advertising and exposure.‭

Let‭’‬s say there are‭ ‬10‭ ‬million potential customers in your market,‭ ‬but you‭’‬re advertising on a shoestring.‭ ‬With the budget you‭’‬ve got,‭ ‬how many people can you make aware of your product‭? ‬Five percent‭? ‬That means‭ ‬50,000‭ ‬people will become aware of your product.‭ ‬With‭ ‬20%‭ ‬true demand,‭ ‬you might expect‭ ‬10,000‭ ‬buyers.

So‭—‬is‭ ‬10,000‭ ‬buyers enough to make your new product viable‭?

If not,‭ ‬it‭’‬s time to go back to the drawing board,‭ ‬using the feedback you received to strengthen your overall concept.

If so,‭ ‬it‭’‬s time to move confidently ahead‭—‬knowing the market is with you.‭