Markets

Some people who start small businesses know at least one of their potential markets really well. That's why they choose to start their business - they are convinced that they will be able to sell their products to this particular market. If they are right, there will come a time when their market is saturated and they will want to look for a new one. If they are wrong, their need for a new market is even more critical. And if they didn't have a particular market in mind to begin with, they have to target one before they start putting their business together.

What's needed is a market survey. Market size, growth, segmentation and participants are all included in such a survey. The market survey tells you that your business could prosper or not. If the market is not growing, it will be very difficult to make a substantial number of customers switch suppliers. If the market is growing, you can expect to attract a portion of the new customers at a comparatively low cost. If the market is segmented, is there a segment for which you will have an advantage? If the market is dominated by one company, what are its weaknesses? This is the kind of information you need to determine what your marketing costs are going to be and how you should present, and possibly even design, your product.

Here is a site which offers basic market surveys. Some of them are outdated but what is interesting is that the summary sheets and examples are free. As a result, you can look at some of the markets which you know and see how market surveys are put together and what kind of information is included. There is a great example on the ice cream market which, you'll see, contains all kinds of useful bits of information if you were planning to sell ice cream in the U.S.

After studying a few of these surveys, you might even be able to put together a very credible effort for some target markets of your own and save yourself a pile of money.

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