Did You Do The RESEARCH???

Feels like college again….research, research, research. Starting and owning a small business is not an easy job. I’m writing the article knowing that a lot of the things I will mention we ourselves have not done. We are totally not hypocrites, how dare you even think it. Oh, what’s that you say, you weren't thinking it? Oh well, must be my guilty conscious, lol.  According to the U.S. Small Business Administration to run a successful business, you need to learn about your customers, your competitors and your industry.

Learn Your Customers

Who is your target audience for sales and services? Is it men, women, adults, teens, children? Learning about your customers helps improve sales. Believe it or not, just knowing the form of payment your customer type prefers can improve your sales. Say you have an elderly couple wanting to buy from you, they may only pay by check but you don’t accept checks so that could be a loss in sales.  Maybe there is a younger couple who wants to purchase something and they don’t carry cash, only debit or credit. There are lots of possible scenarios, for each you should be prepared for. You should know your target audience and make any necessary changes needed to accommodate them. What forms of payment they prefer to use, what they like to buy, when they like to buy it are all things you should know. Knowing your target audience should also have an impact on your marketing as well. Whether it’s by flyers, brochures, email, text or an app, you should know the best method and use it to your advantage.

Know Your Competition

        Google is a great tool….use it or whatever search engine you prefer. I have searched using keywords that describe our products to see what comes up. This is good because it shows you who has similar products. It also shows if your products are showing up in these searches and if so, how far at the top of the search results are you. This is just my FREE method for checking out the competition. I know there are many more feel free to share in the comments below. Seeing where you show up and how many others offer the same or similar products is a way to improve your business. Maybe you need a new advertising strategy or you may even need to change or switch up your product ideas.

Know Your Industry

If, like us, you corner the market in your area, that can be a good and a bad thing. Good because no one else in your area does or offers what you do, so you have the opportunity to get all of the local business. Bad because being so unique comes with a different set of battles like just getting your name and what you do out there. Our business is constantly growing but not always in monetary form, sometimes it just in awareness or recognition. If by chance you are in a well-known industry your challenges are slightly different. Yes, you have to get your name out there but you have to be even more innovative in the products you offer and how you present them. All that being said, know you industry, the ins and outs of online sales and in person sales.

        This is one of my longer post but it’s packed with useful information that only touches the tip of the iceberg on business research. Know your customers, know your competition, and know your industry. Did YOU do the research?