What need will my products/service fill?

Who are my target customers?

Do potential customer segments have different needs?

How can I best reach my target customer that is cost-effective?

What quality of service or product do my customers desire and what are they willing to pay?

Is the segment large enough to be profitable?

Who else is after my target market?

The need for marketing research before and during a venture will depend on the type of venture.  However, typical research questions might include the following (divided by subject):

Sales

1. Do you know all you need to know about your competitors’ sales performance by type of product and territory?

2. Do you know which accounts are profitable and how to recognize a potentially profitable one?

3. Is your sales power deployed where it can do the most good, maximizing your investment in selling costs?

Distribution

1. If you are considering introducing a new product or line of products, do you know all you should about distributor’s and dealer’s attitudes towards it?

2. Are your distributors’ and dealers’ salespeople saying the right things about your products?

3.  Has your distribution pattern changed along  with the geographic shifts of your market?

Markets

1. Do you know all that would be useful about the differences in buying habits and tastes by territory and kind of product?

2. Do you have as much information as you need on brand or manufacturer loyalty and repeat purchasing in  your product category?

3. Can you now plot, from period to period, your market share of sales by products?

Advertising

1. Is your advertising reaching the right people?

2. Do you know how effective your advertising is in comparison to that of your competitors?

3. Is your budget allocated appropriately for greater profit - according to products, territories, and market potentials?

Products

1. Do you have a reliable quantitative method for testing the market acceptability of new products and product changes?

2. Do you have a reliable method for testing the effect on sales of new or changed packaging?

From today’s New York Times:

I was recently in Texas for two weeks and searched out the best places to eat. I try to maintain a healthy-ish diet in NYC but knew to bring lots of elastic waistband pants to TX where everything is bigger (the song doesn’t lie). Should you find yourself around Texas Hill Country (San Antonio - Austin), below are my suggestions for the tastiest, non-diet friendly grub:

Brunch at Schilo’s in San Antonio:

Best way to find out the local brunch joint?  Just ask the locals in the bar the night before.  A local favorite of San Antonio is Shilo’s, the old restaurant in the city serves a huge menu of Texan-German food.  Tex-Mex I get, but Texan-German?  I got the Papa Fritz plate but Germanized the breakfast meat with some wurst. Biscuit was the size of my fist and was quite possibly the best I’ve ever had.

Breakfast at the Dienger Trading Co:

At this point early on in my trip, I was still trying to be a lady so I had biscuits and gravy for breakfast. It may look heavy in the picture, but it was pretty light for a biscuit smothered in sausage gravy.  It was almost perfect had they swapped the potatoes for a protein or something green.

Breakfast at Snooze in Austin:

While we’re on the subject of breakfast, get the Sunburst Cakes at Snooze.  I didn’t want to share the buttermilk lemon poppyseed batter topped with homemade lemon anglaise, macerated blackberries, citrus mascarpone but I did because I had a lot more eating on the agenda.

BBQ at The Salt Lick in Driftwood:

The Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood is one hell of an attraction.  I mean, it has an open BBQ pit. I had HIGH expectations from something that looks so good.  The pulled pork sandwich was the star of the meal.  Right amount of meat, sweet soft bread, and a thin layer of slaw. I also put some house made dill pickles in my half.  The smoked turkey, sausage, and pork ribs were tasty, but dry. And I know the fix for dry is the house made sawwce (that’s NY for sauce) but that’s where they lawst me (that’s NY for lost).  There was only one flavor sawwce and I’m a three to four flavor MINIMUM sawwce person.  

Terry Black’s BBQ in Austin:

I don’t wait in lines for love or money, so Franklin BBQ was out of the question.  Got a tip from the locals that Terry Black’s BBQ has the best brisket this side of the Rio Grande. And guess what - they have FOUR different sawwces!  The meat was so juicy that it almost didn’t need sawwce but where’s the fun in that? Would I go back?  Not with all of the other amazing places to eat in Austin, but it’s a great place for BBQ without the wait.

Red Chili Wontons at East Side King:

Not the focus of this photo, but this was prior to taking a bite of the red chili wontons.  Never did I think I would be blown away with Asian fusion in Texas of all places, but this dish of pork belly, crispy shallots, cilantro, and sesame seeds has haunted my dreams since the first bite.  The Poor Qui’s Buns paled in comparison, but perked up after dipping the buns in the red chili wontons leftover sawwce.

Dessert at Cold Cookie Company:

I took some time off last month to explore Hill Country in TX. This has been on the top of my road trip list, though I really wanted to go in the spring for wildflower season.  It was June and it was HOT.  If you find yourself in TX during a heatwave (which is basically May-Sept), then cool off in one of the following natural swimming holes:

Hamilton Pool: this preserve is about 40 minutes SW of Austin in Travis County. This was one of the main reasons for my trip - I even spent $11 to reserve a space on-line only to find out I also get charged $15 to enter (glad I had cash on me)! Unfortunately, we were told that no swimming was allowed because the pool had an overgrowth of bacteria. After a 10 minute hike to get there, I could see that the park staff wasn’t joking. I wouldn’t swim in that pool for love or money.  

I really edited these photos - but the water was pea soup and there was no waterfall as shown in photos on Pinterest. Skip this place unless you find yourself there during a cooler season.

Blue Hole of Wimberley: I also paid in advance on-line and we were able to enjoy a couple hours of cool water. It’s basically a swimming hole in a shallow part of a river, so bring water shoes (I did not and I regret it)! It’s natural, so be prepared for sticks, stones, and everything else that’s in a river but it’s refreshing and smells fresh (something I don’t get in NYC ever)! 

I do love me a river!

Barton Springs Pool in Austin - this place is huge and all natural, so be prepared for slippery moss-covered rocks and organic things floating in the water. But the water is a refreshing 68 degrees (when it’s 100 degrees outside you’ll be thankful) and there’s no entrance fee. Great place to swim and burn off some calories before eating the most disgustingly delicious food in Austin.

Any river you find - just pull over on the road were you see the locals swimming in a shallow river. They’re all over Texas Hill Country and they’re beautiful.

If you’re planning to see “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women”, I urge you to think twice.  It is being touted as a “true story” when in fact it’s based on lies.  The producers have created a fictional story on the history of Wonder Woman to match their own narrative.  By promoting this as true, they are changing the world’s perception of the REAL story of Wonder Woman and why Marston created her.  Marston created the lie detector, which was the inspiration for the magic lasso.  His wife used to wear silver bracelets on each of her arms, which was the inspiration for the amazonian bracelets.  The magic girdle is based on true Amazon Greek mythology.  This character had absolutely NOTHING to do with bondage.  One of the first illustrations of Wonder Woman has her breaking the chains of male superiority and prejudice against women.  The inspiration for the chains came from the Statue of Liberty, who has chains lying at her feet.  In the early 1900′s, many images of Lady Liberty bound in chains to remind Americans that the “ideals we value and even the republic itself can be taken away if we do not remain vigilant.”  This was a theme in the early comic books because our country was in the middle of World War II.  It had absolutely nothing to do with S&M and bondage.  

Unfortunately, the dead are not protected from libel, so the Marston family cannot sue the producers.  If you want to see this movie, nobody can tell you want to do but I ask that you please keep in mind that it’s fictional.  It’s pathetic that the producers feel the need to sexualize the history of the world’s greatest female superhero.  As if women don’t get sexually harassed or taken seriously in Hollywood as it is, now the story of Wonder Woman is being diminished by writer/director Angela Robinson - another female who has admitted to suggesting a sexual relationship between the two women.  I want to be clear that my problem isn’t with homosexuality, my problem is this movie is being marketed as the true story behind Wonder Woman.

Now is the time to rub elbows with the people who will be buying your product.

You know where your target customer hangs out and his/her habits, income, sex, personality, and buying patterns.

You can guess this customer’s dreams and aspirations.  Now let’s check out your assumption by interviewing your potential target customers.

First, observe your customer in the marketplace.

Next, prepare for interviews.  Develop questions in advance; most should be open-ended and call for more than just a simple yes or no.

Ok, so now you have a product or business to sell in the marketplace.  That’s great, but who’s going to give you money in exchange for this?  Knowing who your customer is as important as having a great lawyer and greater accountant.  Researching the marketplace is essential!  It’s the difference between a healthy business and putting yourself in debt.

Based on what you know now, profile your target customer using the following:

www.census.gov

www.claritas.com

www.casidemographics.com

www.Future.SRI.com

SRDS Lifestyle Market Analyst (available in libraries)

For business-to-business customers, access the customer’s SIC codes or NAISC codes using the books available in the library.  Use the following to profile your business-to-business customer:

www.abii.com

www.hoovers.com

www.dnb.com

www.edgar-online.com

List your top ten prospects.

This is a big, big question and one that most start-ups do not get right - How much inventory is enough at launch??  You don’t want too little, because if you can’t supply the instant demand then the customer won’t return.  You don’t have a brand yet with loyal followers who will wait.  At the same time, you don’t want too much stock that won’t move because you’ll lose lots of money on product that doesn’t move.  

Below are three questions to ask yourself when determining how much product you need to launch a business:

1. Do your homework - market research will tell you what consumer demand will be when you launch.

2. Build smartly - only focus on the products that are highest in demand so you are generating revenue off the fewest inventory products, knowing that it will grow.