Conducting Market Research For Free
Friday, September 17, 2010, 3:59 PM | Leave Comment
There is an abundance of market research sources online that is available free of charge. Among the sites are various government agencies that provide research data that can be very beneficial to your small business.
Also, if you are just starting out, the timely research in your specific market segment can make or break your start-up.
Three very important public sites come to mind:
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U.S. Census Bureau
At U.S. Census Bureau you can get information that will help you size up your target market and give you some clarity regarding where to start positioning your product.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission
The SEC site can be a great source of free information about specific markets, including market dynamics and size as well as growth histories of individual companies and your potential competition.
For your start-up, you probably have made assumptions of some sort. This information will help you justify those assumptions.
For example, if you assume that your company will reach 10,000 customers in two years, then you must examine at least three other companies in the same market segment with similar offerings and see how they have been doing.
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Industry Trade Group
The third great idea is using the specific industry trade group, also known as trade association.
It is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry.
One of the purposes of their existence is to send free information to anyone who asks for it!
In a Nutshell
These sites provide free information. This is what they do all day long.
If you are looking for free information on an industry, such as the names and products of its key players, and trying to understand its market dynamics, then go ahead and ask for it.
Many entrepreneurs do not use these resources at all. But you are different. You need specific information. Why not go ahead and ask for it.
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