Companies sell products. In order for them to sell said products they need to have a consumer that is willing to buy the product. Simple no? In theory everything is simple once you have broken it down to its bare essentials, but reality is completely different to theory. In reality, there are overheads, clients trying to get hold of you, late stock because of traffic jams or Icelandic volcanoes grounding flights in Europe. Regardless, if you are trying to sell a product there are a few tests that you should do on a regular basis - not just when you are just starting.
Knowing your target audience is absolutely essential. There is no point trying to sell a video game to old age pensioners - not least because in order to play said video game they would first have to go out and actually buy a games console - so that is a no go. Marketing can be an expensive practice, whether that be online or offline. As such it is critical to make sure that money is not wasted marketing to the wrong audience. Obviously some products will appeal to a wide range of people, but nevertheless there will inevitably a certain genre or age of the population which would not buy your product and therefore trying to target them as a consumer audience is simply a waste of money.
I realise that for some products or services, the target audience is pretty self explanatory. This is great if this is the case, but it is always prudent to conduct some market research to make sure that you are not missing an obvious spectrum of people. The funny thing is that once you are rolling with an idea it is very easy to get caught up in your own thought process and discount something that someone else might think important. So do some research. There are a number of ways to go about this, one of which is to use a company that can tailor and conduct these surveys for you. For example, Decision Fuel [/b]allows you to create your own survey and specify your audience - all online. This survey is then sent to those people on their database who are applicable and you get results very quickly. In this way, you can avoid having to hire people to stand on the street and try to stop people passing by!
Knowing your target audience is not something that should be forgotten, even for established SME’s. To be successful products and services have to be adapted to various changes taking place. For example, Lucozade realised a few years ago that the sugar in their drinks was something that was putting a lot of people off. In response they released a drink that was more for hydration than energy - a drink that they claimed hydrated better than water. This is an example of Lucozade realising that their product set was not perfect and adapting it accordingly. This is where regular market research, focus groups and the like can help you make sure that you are giving your consumers what they desire. Which, if you boil it down to it’s basic components is what successful business is about....making sure that your product or service is desirable to the consumer.
Knowing your target audience is absolutely essential. There is no point trying to sell a video game to old age pensioners - not least because in order to play said video game they would first have to go out and actually buy a games console - so that is a no go. Marketing can be an expensive practice, whether that be online or offline. As such it is critical to make sure that money is not wasted marketing to the wrong audience. Obviously some products will appeal to a wide range of people, but nevertheless there will inevitably a certain genre or age of the population which would not buy your product and therefore trying to target them as a consumer audience is simply a waste of money.
I realise that for some products or services, the target audience is pretty self explanatory. This is great if this is the case, but it is always prudent to conduct some market research to make sure that you are not missing an obvious spectrum of people. The funny thing is that once you are rolling with an idea it is very easy to get caught up in your own thought process and discount something that someone else might think important. So do some research. There are a number of ways to go about this, one of which is to use a company that can tailor and conduct these surveys for you. For example, Decision Fuel [/b]allows you to create your own survey and specify your audience - all online. This survey is then sent to those people on their database who are applicable and you get results very quickly. In this way, you can avoid having to hire people to stand on the street and try to stop people passing by!
Knowing your target audience is not something that should be forgotten, even for established SME’s. To be successful products and services have to be adapted to various changes taking place. For example, Lucozade realised a few years ago that the sugar in their drinks was something that was putting a lot of people off. In response they released a drink that was more for hydration than energy - a drink that they claimed hydrated better than water. This is an example of Lucozade realising that their product set was not perfect and adapting it accordingly. This is where regular market research, focus groups and the like can help you make sure that you are giving your consumers what they desire. Which, if you boil it down to it’s basic components is what successful business is about....making sure that your product or service is desirable to the consumer.