One of the most overlooked steps in web site publishing, product creation, and article writing is the "chore" of first doing market research.
It's a chore to most people and therefore it is often neglected or shunned altogether because performing the research takes time, a certain amount of "know how" and definitely some amount of your precious time.
But the consequences of not first doing research are almost always negative and will certainly cost you time and money in the long run.
Consider the following scenario:
You want to create and sell a digital ebook on your latest hobby. The title of your book will be Breeding Mosquitos For Fun and Profit. You have to ask yourself:
(a) Is anyone interested in this subject to the point that they will pay me for my knowledge and guidance in this niche?
(b) What is my competition like? Are there similar ebooks available that will cut into my sales projections and goals?
(c) Who are my perfect customers and where will I find them? How am I going to target my advertising and sales messages?
(d) What are the latest advancements and techniques in the field so that I am not trying to sell out-dated or "stale" ideas or strategies?
(e) What is this type of information selling for elsewhere? How much should I charge for my book?
(f) How can I make my product unique, timely, authoritative, and the best on the market?
(g) What questions are my perfect customers asking that I can answer in my book so that they will be more likely to have a reason to buy from me?
Now tell me, if you don't research the market to find answers to these and other pertinent questions, how are you going to know what to include, who to sell to, and how to advertise?
Often, product creators and info publishers assume that they understand the market. They figure that they have the pulse of the niche and whatever they feel about the subject at hand must be representative of the niche as a whole.
But time and again, these kind of assumptions turn out to be wrong.
If you are basing your product or report on your own hunches or intuition about the market and its preferences, you stand to be sorely corrected.
A little bit of targeted market research goes a long way toward "pre-selling" your product or book. Why?
Market research allows you to set the variables of your product in line with what the market has already shown it wants.
Said another way, you take the guesswork out of trying to match what your market wants and is willing to pay for your product. Based on history in your niche, you already understand what others have had to find out by trial and error.
Imagine going on a long journey by yourself to a place you've never been and trying to find your way based upon what you already know. There are lots of pitfalls, roadblocks, and decisions to make as you forge your way into the unknown.
Now, think of how much easier your journey would be if you had someone going with you that had already been to the same destination and knew the route well. You could be forewarned of the deadends, tricky maneuvers, shortcuts, and confusing road signs.
That's what market research will do for you: help you make intelligent choices and hard decisions about your product based on what the customers in the niche have already said they want.
It's like having a guide to your destination that already knows the way and has been successful in making the journey many time before.
I promised some online sources that will help you in doing market research in your niche. Here they are:
1. Free Demographics http://www.freedemographics.com/
From the web site: "Perform fast and accurate market analyses with easy access to current and historic U.S. Census data. Your free subscription provides complete access to data collected from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 Census. FreeDemographics offers you the ability to create your own custom market analysis reports based on a number of selected demographic variables for any geography in seconds.
2. Market Research http://www.marketresearch.com/
From the web site: "MarketResearch.com is the world's largest and continuously updated collection of market research. As your single source for market intelligence, we offer more than 160,000 market research reports from over 600 leading global publishers. Whether you’re looking for new product trends or competitive analysis of a new or existing market, MarketResearch.com has the best research offerings and the expertise to make sure you get the right report every time. See why leading companies trust MarketResearch.com again and again to gain and maintain a competitive edge in new and existing markets."
3. eMarketer http://www.emarketer.com/
From the web site: "eMarketer is the first place to look for market research and trend analysis on Internet, e-business, online marketing, media and emerging technologies. eMarketer aggregates and analyzes information from over 3,000 sources, and brings it together in analyst reports, daily research articles and the most comprehensive database of e-business and online marketing statistics in the world."
4. Click Z http://www.clickz.com/
From the web site: "The ClickZ Network is the largest resource of interactive marketing news, information, commentary, advice, opinion, research, and reference in the world, online or off. From search to e-mail, technology to trends, our coverage is expert, exclusive, and in-depth. Our mission: to help interactive marketers do their jobs better."
5. Research Info http://www.researchinfo.com/
From the web site: "If you are involved in, or have any interest in the marketing research field, we recommend you bookmark this page now. Just as it is for thousands of others, this will become the source you turn to every time you're looking for information on the market research industry. Please feel free to use all the features on this site free of charge."
6. Jupiter Research http://www.jupiterresearch.com/
From the web site: "JupiterResearch provides unbiased research, analysis and
advice, backed by proprietary data, to help companies profit from the impact of the Internet and emerging consumer technologies on their business."
7. Harris Interactive http://www.harrisinteractive.com/
From the web site: "We believe that market research helps our clients understand the drivers of decision making and can strengthen enterprise equity. By focusing on the full spectrum of the dynamics involved in making choices —and especially why those are made— we can help our clients make better choices too. Providing clients with this accurate knowledge will help them achieve measurable and enduring performance improvements.
8. Nielsen-Netratings http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/
From the web site: "Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, delivers comprehensive, independent measurement and analysis of online audiences, advertising, video, consumer-generated media, word of mouth, commerce and consumer behavior, and includes products previously marketed under the Nielsen//NetRatings and Nielsen BuzzMetrics brands. With high quality, technology-driven products and services, Nielsen Online enables clients to make informed business decisions regarding their Internet and digital strategies."
These are just a sampling of the many research sites that will help you to focus in on what your customers actually want based on past behavior and expressions of preferences.
Don't rely on guesswork or intuition. Do a little research, spend the time necessary, and give yourself the greatest chance for success with your next product, book, web site, or other niche creation.
