The Marketing Research Process

The marketing research process does not have to be something that stops you in your tracks in your search for a home based business. You just need to know HOW to do it.

The marketing research process is one of the most important steps in determining if a home based business has the potential to be profitable. It is a step you don’t want to exclude, because without it, you may be getting into a business that is doomed from the start.

Before you make your final decision on which business to get involved in, you want to find out if there are people who are looking for what you want to offer and if they are willing to spend money on it. Some fields lend themselves more to “freebie seekers” than others. Getting into one of those can be a frustrating experience and one you will want to avoid.
So, how do you go about the marketing research process? I would recommend a few things.
First, do an online search. Go to www.wordtracker.com where you can sign up for a free trial. You can also pay for a weekly or monthly subscription to get more detailed results. First, think of what words or phrase (called keywords) you would use to search for your product/service in the search engines. Then enter those words or phrase into the search box at Wordtracker. You will be shown how many searches there has been for that particular phrase.
For example, if you want to sell candles, either your own or be a distributor or an affiliate, you can put “candles” into the search box. At the time of this writing, there were over 1300 searches for the word candles. Then you have a lot of more targeted phrases relating to candles, such as scented candles, Yankee candle, richly scented candle and so on. So you have a good size niche with a decent amount of searches. Green light.
• With the free trial, it is important to understand that you are only given MSN's results. With the paid version, you can find out the results for Google, Yahoo, and any of the other search engines. If you are using the free trial, know that the search results may be much higher in Google and Yahoo than in MSN.

Next, in the marketing research process, I recommend going to your local bookstore to see if there are magazines published on Candles or Home Decorating with candle advertisements in them. If yes, that’s another good sign. People don’t pay the high price for advertising if it’s not a profitable niche.
Another way to check on the profitability potential is to see if there are Google ads down the right side of the page when you do a search using your targeted phrase. When I type in “candles” in the search box of Google, I see there are Google ads there. Again, when people pay to advertise, that’s a good indication there is profit to be made in that niche.

I cannot stress enough the importance of the marketing research process. Do your homework now so that you can enjoy years of success in a profitable business.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Laurie Neumann offers The Ultimate Home Business Package, which includes comprehensive information on starting and marketing a home based business, plus personal coaching with her. Visit www.homebusinessbeginners.com to find out how you can get started today!

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