Chapter 4 : Market
Survey & Business Plan
MARKET SURVEY
Market survey describes the gathering and analysis of market data, such as
consumer preferences, trends in market prices and the presence of competing
products.
A market survey can describe any study that gathers information directly from
consumers by asking them questions about their preferences, habits and
experiences.
The purpose of a market survey is to provide business managers with insight
about their target customers, such as how much money they spend on certain
types of products, whether they use competing products and the interest
level for new products.
How to Do Market Research--The Basics
Marketing research can give a business a picture of what kinds of new
products and services may bring a profit.
For products and services already available, marketing research can tell
companies whether they are meeting their customers' needs and
expectations.
By researching the answers to specific questions, small-business owners can
learn whether they need to change their package design or tweak their
delivery methods--and even whether they should consider offering additional
services.
Types of Market Research
Primary Research
The goal of primary research is to gather data from analyzing current sales
and the effectiveness of current practices. Primary research also takes
competitors' plans into account, giving you information about your
competition.
Collecting primary research can include:
1. Interviews (either by telephone or face-to-face)
2. Surveys (online or by mail)
3. Questionnaires (online or by mail)
4. Focus groups gathering a sampling of potential clients or customers and
getting their direct feedback
Secondary Research
The goal of secondary research is to analyze data that has already been
published.
With secondary data, you can identify competitors, establish benchmarks and
identify target segments.
Your segments are the people who fall into your targeted demographic--
people who live a certain lifestyle, exhibit particular behavioral patterns or
fall into a predetermined age group.
Common Market Survey Mistakes
Using only secondary research. Relying on the published work of others doesn't give you the
full picture. It can be a great place to start, of course, but the information you get from
secondary research can be outdated. You can miss out on other factors relevant to your
business.
Using only web resources. When you use common search engines to gather information, you
get only data that are available to everyone and it may not be fully accurate. To perform
deeper searches while staying within your budget, use the resources at your local library,
college campus or small-business center.
Surveying only the people you know. Small-business owners sometimes interview only family
members and close colleagues when conducting research, but friends and family are often
not the best survey subjects. To get the most useful and accurate information, you need to
talk to real customers about their needs, wants and expectations.
Business Plan
A business plan is any plan that works for a business to look ahead, allocate
resources, focus on key points, and prepare for problems and opportunities.
Unfortunately, many people think of business plans only for starting a new
business or applying for business loans. But they are also vital for running a
business, whether or not the business needs new loans or new investments.
Businesses need plans to optimise growth and development according to
priorities
7 Steps to a Perfectly
Written Business Plan
1. Research, research, research.
“Research and analyze your product, your market and your objective
expertise,” writes Bill Pirraglia, a former senior financial and management
executive. “Consider spending twice as much time researching, evaluating
and thinking as you spend actually writing the business plan.”
“To write the perfect plan, you must know your company, your product, your
competition and the market intimately.”
In other words, it’s your responsibility to know everything you can about your
business and the industry that you’re entering. Read everything you can about
your industry and talk to your audience.
2. Determine the purpose of your plan.
A business plan, as defined by Entrepreneur, is a “written document
describing the nature of the business, the sales and marketing strategy, and
the financial background, and containing a projected profit and loss
statement.” However, your business plan can serve several different
purposes.
As Entrepreneur notes, it’s “also a road map that provides directions so a
business can plan its future and helps it avoid bumps in the road.” That’s
important to keep in mind if you’re self-funding or bootstrapping your
business. But, if you want to attract investors, then your plan will have a
different purpose and you’ll have to write your plan that targets them so it
will have to be as clear and concise as possible. When you define your plan,
make sure you have defined these goals personally as well.
3. Create a company profile.
Your company profile includes the history of your organization, what products
or services you offer, your target market and audience, your resources, how
you’re going to solve a problem, and what makes your business unique.
Company profiles are often found on the company’s official website and are
used to attract possible customers and talent. However, your profile can be
used to describe your company in your business plan. It’s not only an essential
component of your business plan, it’s also one of the first written parts of the
plan.
Having your profile in place makes this step a whole lot easier to compose.
4. Document all aspects of your
business.
Investors want to make sure that your business is going to make them money.
Because of this expectation, investors want to know everything about your
business. To help with this process, document everything from your expenses,
cash flow, and industry projections. Also don’t forget seemingly minor details
like your location strategy and licensing agreements.
5. Have a strategic marketing plan in
place.
A great business plan will always include a strategic and aggressive marketing plan. This
typically includes achieving marketing objectives like;
Introduce new products
Extend or regain market for existing product
Enter new territories for the company
Boost sales in a particular product, market or price range. Where will this business come
from? Be specific.
Cross-sell (or bundle) one product with another
Enter into long-term contracts with desirable clients
Raise prices without cutting into sales figures
Refine a product
Have a content marketing strategy
Enhance manufacturing/product delivery
“Each marketing objective should have several goals (subsets of objectives)
and tactics for achieving those goals,” states Entrepreneur.
“In the objectives section of your marketing plan, you focus on the ‘what’ and
the ‘why’ of the marketing tasks for the year ahead. In the implementation
section, you focus on the practical, sweat-and-calluses areas of who, where,
when and how. This is life in the marketing trenches.”
Of course, achieving marketing objectives will have costs. “Your marketing
plan needs to have a section in which you allocate budgets for each activity
planned.” It would be beneficial for you to create separate budgets for for
internal hours (staff time) and external costs (out-of-pocket expenses).
6. Make it adaptable based on your
audience.
“The potential readers of a business plan are a varied bunch, ranging from
bankers and venture capitalists to employees,” states Entrepreneur.
“Although this is a diverse group, it is a finite one. And each type of reader
does have certain typical interests. If you know these interests up front, you
can be sure to take them into account when preparing a plan for that
particular audience.”
For example, bankers will be more interested in balance sheets and cash-flow
statements, while venture capitalists are looking at the basic business
concept and your management team. The manager on your team, however,
will be using the plan to “remind themselves of objectives.”
Because of this, make sure that your plan can be modified depending on the
audience reading your plan. However, keep these alterations limited from one
plan to another. This means when sharing financial projections, keep that
data the same across the board.
7. Explain why you care.
Whether you’re sharing your plan with an investor, customer, or team member,
your plan needs to show that you’re passionate, dedicated, and actually care
about your business and the plan. You could discuss the mistakes that you've
learned, the problems that you’re hoping to solve, listing your values, and what
makes you stand out from the competition.
By explaining why you care about your business creates an emotional
connection with others so that they’ll support your organization going forward.
References
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281416
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217345
