Ask a product developer or inventor if he or she has done market research and 9 out of 10 times you will get a look that says “I’m not an advertising agency”. The fact is, market research is not difficult and you don’t need a marketing degree to do it. It is the foundation on which all great products are built and therefore FUNDAMENTAL to the success of your project.
The easiest and most effective market research involves interviewing potential customers. For example: If you think potential customers
for your product will be carpenters and home builders. Make a list of carpenters and home builders in your area, call them and set up some meetings. People love to talk about themselves and what they do (don’t you?). Don’t think about this process as “getting information” out of someone. Think about it as learning to serve your target audience. Find out about their needs, wants and what drives them nuts, come up with a solution and you’ve got a winning product.
“You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want,” – Zig Ziglar
We go into a little more depth of the market research phase in this article, feel free to check it out. Don’t hesitate to comment or shoot us an email if you have any questions or would just like to share your experiences.
Validating Product Ideas: Testing Your Assumptions
Also, we’ve created a downloadable template to help you organize yourself while doing these interviews. Take your time with this step as it will give you answers to many of the questions you will have in the future about marketing, sales, distribution and even product design.