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Put simply, learning about a market is answering the questions
who, where and how many potential customers you have. First,
determine your geographic region. Next, entrepreneurs must
learn who their competitors are, and discover their strengths
and weaknesses. Finally, envision your ideal customers, and
brainstorm ways to reach them. Defining the market-learning
who needs the product/service and where these people are located
and how many of them there are-is critical to successful entrepreneurship.
Geography
Determining where to set up shop is among the most important
decisions you have to make. The first step in determining
geographic service area is to ascertain how far the customers
are willing to travel. Next, determine how many "perfect"
customers are in the given geographic area. After settling
on a broad geographic region, the next step is to pinpoint
the best available spot in relation to exposure, traffic,
climate, neighborhood, parking and customer convenience. Be
sure to check on zoning to be certain your business fits the
zoning codes of your selected site.
Public libraries and city halls are excellent places to start
hunting for this information.
Competition
 Every
business has competition, if not direct, then for the limited
dollars available in the marketplace. Entrepreneurs must find
a draw or niche to obtain a share of the market.
Once the competition has been identified, step two is deciding
the additional benefits your customer will receive by choosing
your business over theirs.
Get to know your competition. In some instances it may be possible
to cooperate with potential competitors and create relationships
that may allow each of you to reach or serve a new and larger
market.
Customers
Learning whom is most likely to patronize a given business
is a tough issue that many entrepreneurs struggle with. The
best approach to this problem is to formulate an
ideal customer by profiling the type of customer likely to
yield the most business.
Demographic Data can provide information about your potential
customers, including age, income level, spending patterns,
address, and family compositions.
Customer Preference Information gives information about people's
lifestyles, hobbies, beliefs, and attitudes. For instance
does your customer prefer 100% organic products?
Combining demographic and customer preference information
will lead you to a picture of your ideal customer. Western
Dairyland can help you access and assess this information.
Call (715) 836-7511 ext. 171 or (800) 782-1063 to setup an appointment
with a counselor or reserve time in our computer lab.
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