IDEAS AND RESEARCH
How To Do Market Research?​
Your business idea is clearly inspired. But it helps to check you’re not the only one who thinks so. Find out how to do market research to validate and refine your idea.
Types of market research for new businesses
As a startup, you need to figure out who’s going to buy from you (customer research), and who you have to beat to get that sale (competitor analysis).
COC Market Research
- 3 Chairman Ways
1 Create A Customer Profile
Describe the person or business that will buy from you. For consumers, think of things like their age, location and interests. For business customers, think of things like their industry, size and location.
Stuck? Start by checking out who buys from known competitors.
2 Hit The Internet
Search for information on the group you’ve just described. There may be existing studies into those types of people or businesses which you can use as a starting point.
3 Start Asking Questions
Find real-life people who fit your customer description and ask them questions like:
What do they need from a business like yours?
Where do they get that product or service now?
What’s good about that current solution? and
What could be better?
BUSINESS PLAN
Why every business should start with a one-pager
Even if you will eventually write a long business plan, a one-pager is a great place to start. It could take as little as an hour to do your first draft and will make your idea stronger. Writing about customers, competitors, income and expenses will help develop your thinking.
How to write a one-page business plan
​You’ll see in the example below that there are nine sections, or things to write about. So give yourself just a small space to write about each. Keeping it short will help you focus on what’s important.
