‘Designing Strategies’ newsletter
March – April 2006 Volume 3 – Issue 10
Characteristics of failed businesses include lack of sufficient funding, lack of planning and lack of a vision of where and how owners want the business to grow and succeed. Statistics show only one in three new business start-ups survive past their second year. Those with sufficient financing and a clear direction enjoy a much greater chance for success. Basic market research can also bolster your chances of success.
Have you reached a plateau or stumbling block in your business? Are you unsure how to get past it to move to the next level? Some very basic market research can help get your small business back on track. It allows you to refocus on your next level of success.
Market research does not have to cost thousands of dollars or involve hiring a large marketing firm. Much can be done in-house by you and your staff, or perhaps by an independent contractor. You already have an excellent group from which to seek input: your existing client base.
Use your customers for basic market research
Who are your most favored – and profitable – clients or customers? Why are they among your elite client base? Are they the ones responsible for the majority of your revenues and profit? Do they possess other positive characteristics that you would look for in new clients? Are they loyal to your company and willing to pay more for quality products and services? Which client types would you like to have more of, or less of? All of this information is contained within your company records. All it takes is reviewing and analyzing those records to help you move forward.
After you complete your internal market research, you should have a clear idea of who your best clients and customers are. You should understand why you would want more just like them. With this valuable information in hand, there is one thing you should do with it. Strategize! Develop strategies and tactics to use as your road map forward. Capitalize on what is positive and compelling about your market research and your existing customer base.
Let basic market research results direct customer strategies
Think about how you attracted good customers and how you kept them. Think about what it is that you like and value most about your top customers. Then, develop strategy on what you need to do to get others like them. Focus your attention on making your relationship with those customers even better.
Decide if you want to put any more effort toward low revenue or troublesome customers. Perhaps you should just ‘fire’ them. Replace them with better customers who will provide the sales and profits needed to move toward your ultimate goal of growing your business. The answer to resolving these issues should be pretty evident. ‘Out with the bad; in with the good.’
Chinese tradition tells us that we are now in the Year of the Rooster. You may not have specifically seen in print or heard on the radio or television that 2006 is the ‘Age of the Customer’, but that is clearly the situation. It is difficult to find a business publication without at least one article or one business leader being interviewed about the importance of customer relations and customer feedback.
One CEO was interviewed recently. He stressed having had that ‘Ah-ha!’ moment where he realized all he needed as good market research were the answers to two very simple questions by his customers: ‘Would you recommend us to others?’ and ‘Why?’
I just returned from speaking at the ASID ‘Interiors 06’ conference in Nashville. I can tell you that CRM (Customer Relations Management) is the hottest topic in the business world right now. Keynote speaker, Phil Terry, CEO of Creative Good, stressed the need for all of us to watch what customers do. We should not just pay attention to what they might say they want and need. Terry also advised his audience not to be afraid to ask for help, to learn from others and to learn from everything.
None of us knows everything, nor do we have the time to do research on every hurdle that might block our way. Learning from the experiences and knowledge of others provides much faster and direct courses over, under or around all sizes and types of crises that confront us in our daily business lives.
