How to Research the Market for your Product or Service

Before you start your business, test the market to make sure there will be demand for your product or service.
Instructions

* STEP 1: Learn about your market. Go to trade shows and network with other professionals in your line of business. Subscribe to trade publications.

* STEP 2: Spend time with potential customers. Randomly ask people in the grocery store checkout line or at the bus stop what they'd like in the type of product or service you want to sell.

* STEP 3: Set up a focus group to gather opinions about your product or service. This could be an informal gathering of your friends and family, or a more formal group assembled by a market research firm you hire. Be sure to get group members' reactions to your pricing model.

* STEP 4: Send out a survey to potential customers. Make the form easy to fill out by asking multiple-choice questions. Ask the respondents if they would buy this product or service.

* STEP 5: Analyze your findings to determine whether your idea is viable. How did people react to your product or service? What do people like or dislike about your product or service? Make adjustments, including the hardest one - letting go of your idea, if necessary, and finding another one.