So you’ve got a business idea and you need funding. You know you will need to put together a business plan to approach banks and venture capitalists. Libraries and the internet can provide a wealth of information on writing a business plan. One of the most important parts of the business plan is the market research. This article will get you started with how to market research. The most obvious thing to do is start with the yellow pages and google to see who is doing what you are doing in the area that you are marketing to. Find out what their business model is. How much do they charge? How much do they do in sales each year? How did they get started? How long did it take them to break even? Then, find out more about their customers. What are the demographics? What sex, age, class, and creed are they? Who are the household decision makers, who are the ones that want the product, and who are the ones that do the actual buying? For example, it may be the dad with the final decision, the mom who does the actual buying and the children who want the product.
This is all important to keep in mind. You want to find some success stories of business who have done what you want to do, but at the same time, you want to show that there is room for you in the market. It would be ideal if it were a barely tapped market where there was a clear need. Demonstrating this might involve collecting data on what people are complaining about. You might even put out a survey yourself. Other sources of information might be town hall meetings or chamber of commerce meetings. It all depends on your market.
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