4 Transformative Market Research Tips to REALLY understand your Customer
Entrepreneurs are coming up with innovative ideas to solve problems every day. But what is it that means some ideas catalyse into successful businesses and other startups never leave the ground?
Understanding your customers is one critical reason and here are 4 tips that will give you a boost and the best chance for long-term sustainability.
The illustration above by Tom Fishburne is a favourite of mine as behind its simplicity is a powerful message. Although it is the entrepreneurs of the world that create new ways of solving existing problems, if the solution doesn’t have any value to the target customer group, then it will only ever be a good idea (rather than a good business).
Understanding the target customer group offers the best chance to anyone embarking on setting up a business and it doesn’t have to be complicated. I want to share some key ideas and considerations to really get to know your customers - your key to success long-term.
1. Your assumptions are as good a place to Start as any
If you don’t already trade you likely wo'n’t have real-life data to use but you will have your assumptions.
An assumption is something that you assume to be the case, even without proof. These are based on previous experiences and from knowledge intake from all around us. You might call this your “gut feeling”. Although they may feel like they don’t have any scientific standing, they sure are a good place to start.
The idea is to validate the assumptions so don’t worry if they aren’t “right”.
2. Get in front of your customer ASAP
In order to validate your assumptions, you will need to identify a number of people who sit in your potential customer group that you can reach out to communicate with. If you aren’t already in direct connection with some potential customers think of easy ways to find them.
For example, if you are looking to create a product for babies, parents will be your customer group (as the babies can’t source things for themselves).
So now you’ve got to think about how you can reach parents.
Start with your own network. Whom do you know who’s a parent that you could ask some questions to?
Then think of platforms like online forums, social media groups, local community groups, or initiatives your friends and family are involved in.
3. Ask the RIGHT questions
If you thought getting in front of your potential customer group was hard, asking the right questions is actually the hard bit but so worth the effort.
One method to tease out the valuable insights you’re looking for is through the insight interview technique. The aim is to ask broad, open questions that aren’t specific to your product or service. As humans, we are really bad at predicting our own behavior. What we say we do isn’t always what we actually do. So focus on getting stories around what they do now that you can unpick later on.
How you frame your questions and the language you use is critical to getting this technique right.
For example, rather than asking ‘Would you use this service?’ ask instead:
Can you talk me through the last time you bought X
In the past 2-3 years, how have you changed the way you do X?
Talk me through the top 3 priorities for this year
4. What is the point of it?
Before you get started make sure you give some thought into what your objective is and how you will use the results. Don’t let this become just another item on your to-do list.
The information you collect from your potential customers will be critical in the direction you drive the idea and can make or break your venture.
Make sure you are clear on what assumptions you are trying to test and plan out time to review the responses with the aim to take action based on the results.
So now you know what really makes a difference when it comes to your market research and getting feedback from your customers. Go out there and see what you discover. I have no doubt you’ll find golden nuggets that will shape your business and give you a much better chance of sustainability.
When should I be doing market research?
If you’re unsure when you should be getting in front of your customers and getting their opinions, check out the Good Business Roadmap to identify when the right time is and what you should have in place beforehand.