Small Business and Market Research
Monday, October 17, 2005
Before selling a product or service, it's important to know the market you will be entering. Research includes finding out what potential customers need, what they want and don't want and why. Your goal is to build a demographic profile of your customers.
Market research can pinpoint key business factors about your market:
Tags: Market Research
Market research can pinpoint key business factors about your market:
- Growth trends
- Market size
- The best location
- How your business stacks up against the competition
- Factors that influence buying decisions
- Demand for your product or service
- It also can reveal information about your customers and prospects:
- Demographic profile
- Features or services they want
- What they like/dislike about your product
- How they use your product or service
- How often they buy and how much they will pay.
Tags: Market Research
7 Buzz Marketing Ideas
Buzz marketing is a viral marketing technique that attempts to make each encounter with a consumer appear to be a unique, spontaneous personal exchange of information instead of a calculated marketing pitch choreographed by a professional advertiser. Historically, buzz marketing campaigns have been designed to be very theatrical in nature. The advertiser reveals information about the product or service to only a few "knowing" people in the target audience. By purposely seeking out on-on-one conversations with those who heavily influence their peers, buzz marketers create a sophisticated word-of-mouth campaign where consumers are flattered to be included in the elite group of those "in the know" and willingly spread the word to their friends and colleagues.
Here are seven free Buzz Marketing Ideas that you can use to create more regional buzz for your organization.
Ask your customers what they like best about your product or service. Ask them if they talk about you with other people and what they say. Use this information to craft good buzz stories and encourage your employees to work them into their every day conversations.
Create a local Blog and have people in your organization update it with interesting things going on in the area. Make sure it is clear that your organization is sponsoring the Blog.
Visit businesses within a short distance of yours. Let them know what you do and find out more about what they do. Invite them into your business to meet some of the staff.
Throw a dinner party (or lunch) for a group of people you would like to meet and could have a positive impact on your organization. Be sure to have some interesting buzz worthy stories to tell about your organization.
Email a reporter, writer or other media professional at least once a week and let them know you like their work and offer ideas you have for stories. Contact different people in different weeks, and try to develop a relationship with some of the people that could eventually write a story that would create buzz for your organization.
Surprise a current customer or client. The more often you pleasantly surprise your customers the more likely they will be to talk about you to other people. The more frequently you do this and the bigger the surprise the more buzz you will create.
Strive to be worth talking about. Review customer service, support, product quality, customer relationships and attention to detail. No matter how hard you try to create buzz, it will be short lived once people see a product or service that does not live up to all the hype.
Via: Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing
Tags: buzz marketing, viral marketing
Here are seven free Buzz Marketing Ideas that you can use to create more regional buzz for your organization.
Ask your customers what they like best about your product or service. Ask them if they talk about you with other people and what they say. Use this information to craft good buzz stories and encourage your employees to work them into their every day conversations.
Create a local Blog and have people in your organization update it with interesting things going on in the area. Make sure it is clear that your organization is sponsoring the Blog.
Visit businesses within a short distance of yours. Let them know what you do and find out more about what they do. Invite them into your business to meet some of the staff.
Throw a dinner party (or lunch) for a group of people you would like to meet and could have a positive impact on your organization. Be sure to have some interesting buzz worthy stories to tell about your organization.
Email a reporter, writer or other media professional at least once a week and let them know you like their work and offer ideas you have for stories. Contact different people in different weeks, and try to develop a relationship with some of the people that could eventually write a story that would create buzz for your organization.
Surprise a current customer or client. The more often you pleasantly surprise your customers the more likely they will be to talk about you to other people. The more frequently you do this and the bigger the surprise the more buzz you will create.
Strive to be worth talking about. Review customer service, support, product quality, customer relationships and attention to detail. No matter how hard you try to create buzz, it will be short lived once people see a product or service that does not live up to all the hype.
Via: Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing
Tags: buzz marketing, viral marketing
Small Businesses and Their Websites
Monday, October 03, 2005
The Interland's Summer 2005 Business barometer was just relased and is full of interesting information related with the way small businesses are seeing and using the web and not only that.
A total of 780 leaders of small businesses participated in this invitation-only, nationwide online survey of organizations with 500 or fewer employees. Company size ranged from less than $250,000 in revenue to more than $5 million, and 81% have been in business for five years or more. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they have a business website. Industry breakouts were as follows: 33% business services, 20% personal services, 19% retail, 17% non-profit, and 11% manufacturing.
You can download the full 4.5 MB, PDF study here.
Tags: Small Business, Small Business Website
A total of 780 leaders of small businesses participated in this invitation-only, nationwide online survey of organizations with 500 or fewer employees. Company size ranged from less than $250,000 in revenue to more than $5 million, and 81% have been in business for five years or more. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they have a business website. Industry breakouts were as follows: 33% business services, 20% personal services, 19% retail, 17% non-profit, and 11% manufacturing.
The majority, 78%, of small-business leaders felt their company was healthier – had a competitive advantage or stronger economic footing – because of their website. Similarly, 76% of respondents reported that their website generates leads for their business.
You can download the full 4.5 MB, PDF study here.
Tags: Small Business, Small Business Website
