The Golden Rules of Successful Marketing Research
Guide to Using Market Research Effectively to Help Your Business
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The Golden Rules of Successful Marketing Research
Introduction
As a successful business owner you probably already know the importance of marketing research
for your business. We’ve all heard about the importance of researching a niche to ensure that it
will be successful. And we know that planning is key to the success for any business.
But just how do you apply the golden rules of marketing research in a practical, easy to
understand way?
This report will guide you through the pitfalls of poor marketing research and show you how to
effectively research any niche online.
For the purpose of this report, we’re going to concentrate on marketing research methods for
online business owners. We’ll give you the tips, tools and resources you need to get started in
market research.
Let’s get started!
Marketing Research 101:
By now you probably know the importance of choosing a niche for your online business. The
benefits of choosing a tight niche market are many, and they include:
* Knowing your market fully so that you can provide solutions to their problems.
* The ability to speak directly to the core of your target market and connect with them on a deep
level.
* Being able to niche all of your advertising efforts to target one specific market – this means a
better return for your advertising dollars.
* Constructing a business system that is completely tailored to one specific market – this means
you waste less time on unrelated projects.
But just how do you effective research a niche market?
A good starting point for any online business owner is to first start with a topic they are familiar
with. This doesn’t necessarily mean all markets/topics will make you money, but it gives you the
option of possibly finding a niche you are familiar with and also makes you money.
This is important because you will potentially be spending a large amount of time building your
website, writing content and promotions for your niche market. The more familiar you are with the
topic the better.
So lets start by writing down all of the things you know something about and may enjoy writing
about. This could be anything from a special hobby you have to a practical skill. Don’t worry just
yet whether the topic will make you money, simply jot down all of the things you are familiar with –
the research part will follow later.
Once you have your list ready the next step is to narrow it down. Ideally, you want to end up with 3
or 4 topics you’re more passionate about.
Finally, when your short list is ready, it’s time to research each topic for profitabity.
Research – Getting Started:
Researching a niche market doesn’t have to be difficult, you just need to apply a little common
sense and a few practical tips.
Here are some good places to start your online niche market research:
Forums and Discussion Boards – These are great sources for finding out what people want and
need. Read through a forum related to your topic and see what people are discussing. Look
particularly at what problems and issues they may be having.
You can even join in and ask questions to learn more about your market. It’s important that you
read the rules of each individual forum and apply proper forum etiquette to avoid being banned. If
in doubt, just remember the basic rules of etiquette – don’t take more than you give, be polite and
courteous to all members, don’t use someone else’s space as your advertising medium, and just
be nice.
Amazon.com – I highly recommend this website as a good starting point for research. Take a look
at all the different categories on Amazon – do you see your potential niche listed? Look through
the books and products for each niche and take a few minutes to read the customer feedback and
reviews.
Amazon is a fantastic source of knowledge and spending just a few minutes there can provide
many answers about your potential niche market.
Ezinearticles.com – This is another great website for getting to grips with different niche markets.
You’ll find a number of niche markets to choose from. Take time to look through the different
author websites to get an idea of what products or services they’re promoting.
Magazines – Magazines are great for market research. If a magazine is on the stand it means it’s
being funded by advertisers. And we all know businesses don’t continually advertise unless they’re
making money.
Take a look through the advertising section in your niche magazines. What products are on offer?
How are they being promoted. This will give you a good idea for the viability of your potential
niche.
Take a poll – If you already have a website and/or subscriber base you’re one step ahead of the
game because you can directly ask your readers and visitors what it is they want to see. People
are always happy to provide feedback so don’t miss this opportunity for tapping into potential
further products and services for your market.
Research – The Next Step:
All of the above will give you a good foundation for your market research. That information alone is
enough to help you get started and even launch in a successful niche market. However, like with
most things it pays to be extra certain before you jump in.
You’re next step of your research then should be – keyword analysis.
What is keyword analysis?
It’s basically a “big picture” of your market through thorough keyword research.
To do this, you need a good research tool such as Word Tracker or other. A good tool can
potentially save you a lot of time and money. So it’s worth paying for this service rather than simply
using the free tools. Free tools can be a good starting point but can’t really replace proper keyword
analysis.
Fire up your keyword tool and type in your niche topic. Your keyword tool should then give you
other keyword ideas and include profitability ratings for each keyword phrase.
Word Tracker lets you keep digging even further to find even more profitable keywords. Dig as
much as you need to until you come up with a good substantial list of keywords.
Armed with your keyword list, you should now have a good idea for whether or not your market is
a viable one.
You can then use these keywords to structure your website, your products, your content, your
advertisement, and to help you connect with your target market. Keywords mean so much to your
business which is why it’s important to take the time to do this step as properly as possible.
Research – The final step:
Now that you’ve taken the time to thoroughly research your niche using all of the above methods
it’s time for your final step.
That is applying common sense.
Before jumping into your chosen niche take a look at the big overall picture for your future
business. Market research isn’t enough unless you have a fundamental grounding and plan for
what you want to achieve.
It’s great that you’ve chosen and researched a niche and that you feel it’s going to be viable but
how does it meet up to your long term business goals?
Look at your chosen niche and ask yourself a few questions:
* Is this a niche I feel comfortable writing about and representing? Some niches are great money
makers but if it’s very obscure or even embarrassing (excessive sweating or bad breath for
example) you may not be comfortable representing it. There are options such as using a pen
name, etc. but will you ultimately be inspired with your niche?
Being inspired is important because it’s this feeling that will fuel your drive and enthusiasm for your
business. So ask yourself whether or not the niche you have chosen is one that you feel
absolutely comfortable with and that inspires you to succeed.
* Am I knowledgeable about this niche or am I willing to learn? You don’t have to know everything
about your niche since all the research and planning you’ll do will soon make you an expert
anyways. But you do need to have a basic grasp of the concept and be willing to learn. For
example, if your niche is healthy eating for children it’s important you understand the basic steps of
healthy eating and know how to related that information to your market.
And if you don’t know a lot but are enthusiastic about the topic then this will drive you to research
and learn more about a particular niche. The key here is to want to do the research and learn if
you don’t know.
* What are my long term plans for my niche market? Many niches are one-hit wonders. This
means you may be able to sell one product but will struggle to find followup products. At this point,
you’ll want to ask yourself what possibilities does your niche allow you? And what is important to
you?
Are you okay with a niche that only allows you to sell one or two products? Or would you prefer to
choose a niche with endless product possibilities? How big do you want to go with your niche – the
sky’s the limit or are you happy with a little extra money?
All of these questions will help you put together a “big picture” for your overall niche and business.
Then you can make decisions according to your vision and needs.
Finding a niche isn’t difficult if you know the right steps to follow. This guide is definitely enough to
get you started on the road to effective market research. And ultimately researching a niche boils
down to a few important points:
Put in the groundwork required to identify a profitable market – this means visiting forums, looking
through magazines, researching related websites and products and so on.
Accurate statistic research is a must – This means taking the time to do a thorough keyword
research analysis using the best tools available. This will potentially save you a lot of time and
money.
There is no substitute for common sense – And ultimately using your good old common sense to
see if a niche market is right for you and your vision. No tool or research can provide you with this.
So it’s time to whip out your trusty gut instinct to get you through this step.
These three steps are the core of your market research. Apply them often and properly and you’re
sure to succeed.