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"Marketing is the generous act of helping someone discover the solution to their problem"- Candice Coppola.
I'd like to start this blog article with a recent LinkedIn post from a fellow #founder:
"I once launched a product without understanding my customers' needs or preferences. It felt like blindly shooting in the dark! So, I took the time to truly know my audience, gathered insights, and tailored my offerings to their desires. That's when success truly knocked on my door."- Kendal St. Louis, Founder and CEO, LADNEK Industries.
I feel as if I should just stop writing...
Because Kendal captured "errything" right here☝🏾
So here's some of what can go wrong without focused #marketresearch in your #smallbusiness:
📌You're not understanding your "Target Market" (at least not how you should):
As a #fempreneur you may already have a loyal customer base.
But have you captured as many "hearts and eyes" as you can?
Many times #smallbusinessowners are operating sans a clear understanding of their "target market's" needs, preferences, and behaviors. Without this, you'll end up creating products or services that won't satisfy their #challenges - resulting in low sales - and missed opportunities.
"A poor mind drowns in excuses...a rich mind swims in solutions"-Frank Calabro Jr.
📌You also can't identify your "Competitive Landscape":
As a #businessstrategist, one of my favorite questions to #entrepreneurs is this:
"Who's your competition within a 15-mile radius?"
Why is this important?
Because within that radius, you and your competition are serving the same people.
Therefore, a "focused" #marketresearch plan will help you identify your competitors, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and assess your competitive landscape.
Without this, you'll find yourself struggling to stand out-resulting in ineffective positioning - and zero #competitiveadvantage.
So now that I've given you 2 very good reasons why you must do better-here's 4 ways market research helps you with that.
1️⃣ It offers you "Targeted Marketing":
Market research helps #fempreneurs an opportunity to fully understand those they're trying to serve.
By gathering demographic, psychographic and buying behaviors on your "Target customers" you're better able to tailor your #marketingstrategies and messaging to reach and engage them
This saves time and limited resources, plus, it increases your chances at a successful #marketingcampaign.
2️⃣ You gain much-needed skills to create the "Perfect Product":
One of the greatest benefits of market research is that it helps you gain invaluable insights into any "gaps" in the #competitiveenvironment.
Using research data culled from surveys, focus groups, or user testing, you can then use this feedback to refine your offerings - effectively meeting (and exceeding) your customers' expectations.
It also helps you identify opportunities for innovative product development.
“Building a good customer experience does not happen by accident. It happens by design.” - Clare Muscutt.
3️⃣ It improves your "Customer Satisfaction" levels:
By collecting feedback through interviews, or online reviews, market research helps #femalefounders understand their customers' expectations, and satisfaction levels - in short, what they like/dislike about your products or services.
This allows you to make necessary improvements, enhance customer satisfaction, and build long-lasting relationships with your target audience, ultimately driving customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth.
4️⃣ It helps with your Risk Mitigation:
Here's the thing,
#entrepreneurship involves #risks - and market research helps you minimize these risks by providing valuable information and insights.
Using it, you can validate your business ideas, assess market demand, and identify any potential obstacles or challenges you may be facing.
This allows you to make "informed decisions", which ultimately increases your chances of success.
And that's why I've decided to offer a one-time, face to face workshop, "Unlocking Customer Insights: A Marketing Research Workshop for Small Businesses" on Sunday July 2nd from 9am-2pm.
Here's a #snippet from a recent FB Live for the event:
To view the entire episode, check out my website link:
And here's the flyer⬇️
