Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous

Automatic Research

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Want to know what is being said about you, your company, or the competition? Or just keep up with trends and developments in your industry? There is an easy and no-cost way to have news sent to your e-mail inbox.

Google provides a service called Google Alerts. You enter the terms you want to search for. When Google finds a news item web page containing your search term, it sends you an e-mail with a link to the page. Google will send the alerts daily, weekly, or as they happen.

I’ve entered my name, web site URL, and keywords and phrases that relate to my business, and receive daily alerts telling me when and where those terms appear. Entering the name of a competitor or their product can help you track what they are doing and what people are saying about them. Considering adding a new product? Set alerts for terms related to the product and its market as part of your market research.

To learn more and to sign up for your Google Alerts, go to http://google.com/alerts

Market Research: Do-it-Yourself Focus Groups

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One staple of market research is the focus group. Focus groups assemble several people who are current customers or members of a target market to give their opinions about current or planned products, advertising campaigns and more.

One way to conduct a do-it-yourself focus group is to create a customer advisory board. Ask a few of your customers if they would like to participate in giving their opinions of your business and how it could be better. Or ask them to evaluate products you are considering to see how they can best meet customer needs.

To encourage the most honest responses, it might be best to have a third party conduct the research. After all, your customers probably like you and wouldn’t want to tell you that they hate your new product idea. They might be more open to sharing their misgivings with a more neutral person. Who do you know who could facilitate a discussion and get your customers to open up?

Most focus groups pay participants for their opinions. You may wish to reward the customers who assist you with a cash payment, or you may give them a free product or a discount on a future order. Most people are so happy to be asked for their opinions, and to know that they will be listened to, that a payment may not be necessary.

Be prepared to hear some things that will surprise you. Don’t discard the results if they show something other than what you expected. After all, the reason you do research is to learn the truth. Can you handle the truth?

As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker helps entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. Get free marketing tips at http://www.IdeaLady.com/

Be the Customer

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Whether your business is an international retailer or a small one-person shop, what you don’t know about your customers’ perceptions of your quality and service can hurt you. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and test your business.

What do your customers experience when they interact with your business? As a mystery shopper, I help businesses see themselves through the eyes of their customers by posing as a typical customer and evaluating their service, quality and cleanliness. Was it easy to find what I needed? Were the employees polite and helpful? Was everything neat and clean? Was I thanked for my business? What happened when I made a return?

Whether your business is an international retailer or a small one-person shop, what you don’t know about your customers’ perceptions of your quality and service can hurt you. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and test your business. Depending on the characteristics of your business, you may conduct the evaluation of your business yourself, enlist the help of a few friends, or hire a mystery shopping company to implement a formal, ongoing program. You might be surprised (pleasantly or not) by what you learn.

Call your office. How long does it take to get an answer? Is there a professional greeting? What do you hear when you are put on hold? Go through the voice menus. Are any of them dead ends? How long does it take to get to a human, or at least a place where you can leave a message?

Call your order line and place an order. How long does it take to get the item? Was it packaged well and did it arrive safely? What else was in the package (e.g., a catalog, thank you note, extra gift)? Inquire about returning an item. Is the service you receive as good as that you got when you ordered? Does the customer service person try to save the sale by offering alternatives to meet your needs?

Walk through your retail location. Is merchandise attractively presented? Is everything clearly priced? Are the aisles clear so you can walk comfortably? Can a shopping cart fit? Is the rest room clean and stocked with supplies?

Go to your web site and place an order. Does your site load quickly? Is it easy to find specific products? Does the order form work? What communication does a customer receive when they place an order (e.g., an email confirmation)? Submit a question via email and see what response you receive. Are the links on your web site (internal and external) working?

You also want to know if proper sales techniques are being followed. Although a customer will never complain because your staff didn’t attempt to upsell them, your bottom line can suffer when this important step is missed. Plus, helping customers get everything they need in one stop can increase their satisfaction and loyalty. Are sales people recommending additional products and telling customers about optional services, such as a maintenance agreement? If they are not, your business is losing revenue and profit.

When you see yourself as your customers do, you can identify problems that may be costing you sales. Make it easy to do business with you and watch your profits increase!

Learn more about mystery shopping.

Checking Out the Competition

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Getting information about your competitors can be easier than you may think.

Are there things you do better than your competitors? Are there other things that they do better? How much do they charge? How do they present themselves? Do they offer products or services that you don’t? The answers to these questions may be gotten more easily than you think.

Much of your research can be done online. Start by searching for terms your customers would use. What web sites come up at the top of the listings? Who advertises for those keywords? Analyze the sites at the top of the listings to see how you might improve your web site’s ranking.

As you visit web sites, note what each does well and what does not seem to work. What colors do the sites use? What pages and features do the sites have? Are the sites easy to navigate and find what you are looking for? Do they offer free information, links or tools? How do they use interactivity to involve visitors?

Does the web site have a media room or press section? What information is posted there? Do they have press releases, photos, bio, product sheets, clips of media appearances, etc?

How do they market their products and services? Read the web copy carefully. Are they using benefit language, or simply relying on buzzwords and jargon? Do they offer a guarantee?

Who are their clients? Do they have a client list or client testimonials? What do clients say about them?

Look for pricing information at the web sites. Many sites post a complete price list. Others may list only prices for products and select services, and some will have not price information at all.

Get copies of marketing materials, such as bio sheets, catalogs, press releases, newsletters, etc. How do they use color? How does the copy read?

Now that you know what the competition is up to, learn from it. Don’t copy exactly what they are doing, but see if there are lessons you can incorporate in the type of products and services you offer, your guarantee, the language you use to communicate with customers and more.

Are You in Focus?

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focus-group

Focus groups assemble several people who are current customers or members of a target market to give their opinions about current or planned products, advertising campaigns and more.

One staple of market research is the focus group. Focus groups assemble several people who are current customers or members of a target market to give their opinions about current or planned products, advertising campaigns and more.

One way to conduct a do-it-yourself focus group is to create a customer advisory board. Ask a few of your customers if they would like to participate in giving their opinions of your business and how it could be better. Or ask them to evaluate products you are considering to see how they can best meet customer needs.

To encourage the most honest responses, it might be best to have a third party conduct the research. After all, your customers probably like you and wouldn’t want to tell you that they hate your new product idea. They might be more open to sharing their misgivings with a more neutral person. Who do you know who could facilitate a discussion and get your customers to open up?

Most focus groups pay participants for their opinions. You may wish to reward the customers who assist you with a cash payment, or you may give them a free product or a discount on a future order. Most people are so happy to be asked for their opinions, and to know that they will be listened to, that a payment may not be necessary.

Be prepared to hear some things that will surprise you. Don’t discard the results if they show something other than what you expected. After all, the reason you do research is to learn the truth. Can you handle the truth?