How to do market research?

[Superfluo]

Hi!

I'm planning to start a business, a digital marketing business (mostly copywriting), and I'm at the phase where I'm researching the market: learning about businesses struggles, fears, vulnerabilities, worries, and competitors, modus operandi, best practices. I'd want to understand the market fully before diving into it. To be clearer, I need to research the market the same way Leo talked about in the video The Psychology Of Small Business Success at minute 44:52.

However I don't really know where and how to gather the information I need. Because if I'm targeting businesses, I'd have to know the unique struggles of every business, I'd have to know everything about a business, and to do so I'd have to go door-to-door asking questions and it doesn't seem practical to me.

I'm lacking a pragmatic, practical approach to market research and gathering info. And googling around seems not enough.

Are there forums for businesses where I could find this type of info? Are there research papers, books, sites, etc. that can provide quality info about markets so as to learn everything about them? What questions should I ask myself in order to do a good market research?

Every perspective, idea, insight is appreciated.

[Leo Gura]

Expos, conventions, and tradeshows are designed for this kind of thing.

You should not be targeting all businesses, you need to focus in on specific types of businesses.

[Superfluo]

@Leo Gura Thanks Leo

[vindicated erudite]

Interesting. I'm planning on becoming a copywriter too. 

Focus more on picking a niche and learning about the customers of that niche. Businesses will come to you if you know how to persuade their customers how to buy things.

I would recommend an exercise where you "stereotype" your market audience into one character and create a detailed profile around it. Try and deeply understand your character when you do this.

Ask yourself questions like:

• What is their age?
• What is their gender?
• What are their political beliefs?
• What website do they use?
• What is their health like?
• What countries do they live in?
• Do they have any cultural or religious practices?
• What is their income bracket?
• What historical events have they been through?
• What do they spend most of their time doing?
• Where do they spend most of their time?
• Where and what reviews do they leave on Amazon?
• Where and what reviews do they leave on TrustPilot?
• What do they even shop for?
• What Facebook groups can I join to understand their niche?
• Do they communicate in any unique language?
• What languages(s) do they speak?'

And so forth. Makes sure you continue this list on and on until you've described your character so well you could almost have a conversion with them in your head.

BUT this doesn't mean that you completely neglect to research the seller side of things. You can get a sense of who they are by looking at their:

• Social media pages (FB, IG, LinkedIn, Facebook)
• Their Website
• Blog Posts
• Email Newsletter
• Conventions
• Youtube videos
• Etc...

Just spend more time learning about the customers more than the business if that makes sense.

 

Hope this helps.

[Superfluo]

2 hours ago, vindicated erudite said:

detailed profile around it

Yes, the buyer persona. Nice exercise.

 

2 hours ago, vindicated erudite said:

BUT this doesn't mean that you completely neglect to research the seller side of things. You can get a sense of who they are by looking at their:

• Social media pages (FB, IG, LinkedIn, Facebook)
• Their Website
• Blog Posts
• Email Newsletter
• Conventions
• Youtube videos
• Etc...

Just spend more time learning about the customers more than the business if that makes sense.

Could you be clearer about this part? With "you can get a sense of who they are" do you mean businesses or businesses' customers? I thought you meant businesses but then you said "customers".