Before selling anything on the web it is a smart idea to do some market research. What does this entail?

Assuming you have identified a niche you’d like to explore, the first step will require finding others who are buyers in that niche and getting their real opinions. If you are planning to create your own unique product this research can be even more crucial to your initial planning.

Hire Out

This is probably the easiest solution, but not the most cost effective for a small start up business. There are a plethora of companies on the web whose primary job is to conduct market research on demand. Some of these companies will already have stored information you may be looking for as well.

Do It Yourself

If you are looking to dip your toes in the water and get a general feel to see if a niche is one you’d like to pursue, there are some simple ways to conduct your own market research.

1. Friends and Family – Is there anyone in your immediate circle who uses or needs the product or service you’d like to promote? Hold a meeting with them and get their thoughts.
2. Online Polls – Are you on any social networking sites? Throw some questions out to those you are connected with and gather the responses. Twitter is one place you can get some really fast results using a 3rd party polling tool.
3. Amazon and Google Trends – Is the product you are looking to promote already on the market? How is it received? Amazon and Google already carry some handy trend tools that can give you a better idea on what the demand will be. This can help you determine if the market will not only be profitable, but how much competition you may have
4. Online Forums – Take some time to look for your topic of interest and how it is discussed in some online forums. Can’t find anyone talking about it? If not, you may be headed down the wrong path.
5. Post a Question on Yahoo – Want to know who your competition is? Posting the right questions on Yahoo’s Q&A can provide you with answers of how others are currently resolving an issue your product or service promises to fix. You can also search their questions to see how this has been answered in the past.

Taking even just a few hours to conduct a little market research can save you hours or days of fixing a giant mishap in the future.

Don’t Stop There!

Keep in mind, market research is an ongoing process. To keep ahead of the competition and your business growing, include some regular scheduled data collection in your marketing plan. This will help keep your business fluid and growing in the right direction.

Originally posted 2009-09-11 08:50:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter