Definition: The study of the spending characteristics and purchasing power of
the consumer who are within your business's geographic area of
operation; a research method for defining the market parameters of
a business.
Market survey--where you actually speak to members of your
target audience--are an important part of market research. You can
choose to hire a company to do it for you, but conducting the
interviews yourself will most likely give you a much better idea of
the needs of your target audience and will provide you with
insights that you might not otherwise have gleaned.
If you're going the do-it-yourself route, you'll probably want
to act as the focus group moderator. As the moderator, you'll want
to encourage an open-ended flow of conversation and be sure to
solicit comments from quieter members, or you may end up getting
all your information from the talkative participants only. Also,
when conducting any type of survey, whether it's a focus group, a
questionnaire or a phone survey, pay particular attention to
customers who complain or give you negative feedback. You don't
need to worry about the customers who love your product or service,
but the ones who tell you where you're going wrong provide valuable
information to help you improve.
Telephone interviews: This is an inexpensive, fast way to
get information from potential customers. Prepare a script before
making the calls to ensure you cover all your objectives. Most
people don't like to spend a lot of time on the phone, so keep your
questions simple, clearly worded and brief. If you don't have time
to make the calls yourself, hire college students to do it for
you.
Direct-mail interviews: If you want to survey a wider
audience, direct mail can be just the ticket. Your survey can be as
simple as a postcard or as elaborate as a cover letter,
questionnaire and reply envelope. Keep questionnaires to a maximum
of one page, and ask no more than 20 questions. Ideally,
direct-mail surveys should be simple, structured with "yes/no" or
"agree/disagree" check-off boxes so respondents can answer quickly
and easily. If possible, only ask for one or two write-in answers
at most.
Fax/e-mail interviews: Many of the principles used in
direct-mail interviews also apply to these surveys. One exception:
Never send an unsolicited fax that is more than one page. Give
clear instructions on how to respond, and be appreciative in
advance for the data you get back.