Promoting any product or service to a target market in hopes of benefiting from recent peak sales and encouraging ongoing business requires companies and sole proprietors to conduct necessary research to better understand the needs of people. It’s easy for anyone to throw something on a market for sale without a comprehensive understanding of who their selling to in hopes of encouraging blind sales.
Smart marketers understand research, whether it’s small surveys or in depth, is needed even if it is for the purpose of selling a product or service priced under $10. Not only does companies and marketers need to know what they’re talking about when promoting a product of service to their target audience, but have this retained knowledge for future reference as a means of staying one step ahead of competition. Not only is market research required for successfully executing any sales promotion, but leave the long-lasting impression that any sales promotional mission is dead without doing your homework first before pushing anything to the masses.
‘Free Whey Protein Taste Tests at BJ’s and Costco’
Market research is critical to the success of any business and here’s why. First, it affects the financial potential of an idea, service, or product being executed in the moment. Secondly, it affects future financial gains due to the companies or marketers past and current business reputation. One key tool smart marketers find highly useful in marketing research is personal surveys. It’s a meaningful vehicle to use because not only is it valuable in conducting good marketing research, but it’s also an up close and personal tool surveyors can use in a fun way to gain vital information from their target market. A prime example of conducting a survey would be a vendor with a table set up at BJs.com or Costco.com giving out free sample cups of whey protein drinks. They offer free whey protein drinks poured in small cups to BJs or Costco customers in exchange for them taking a small five question survey which they can simply check off “yes or no.” A [yes man] might get entitled to more free stuff, depending on the circumstance.
Related: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2017/11/29/how-to-use-market-research-to-help-drive-your-companys-success/2/#7a11ea77642c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How To Use Market Research To Help Drive Your Company's Success</a> - Forbes.com
The protein vendor can gather this vital information as a means of conducting further research into battering the formula for their whey protein drinks. They’ll possibly know from the survey whether they need to sweeten the protein drink, introduce more flavors such as strawberry, chocolate, peanut butter, or cookies and cream, etc. This is also a great way to conduct quality research without having to pay people thousands of dollars in controlled placebo surveys. Looking at this type of survey from a textbook perspective, it looks as if this would possibly fall under the casual survey research design. The protein vendor is simply not walking up to people asking them to sample his protein drinks, which is why this type of surveying may fall under “casual survey research.” This type of survey can also be used as a marketing vehicle to sell bundled bags of protein at a deeply discounted price if the customer who sampled the free protein drink where to take advantage in the moment and purchase the vendors’ whey protein. From the vendors point of view, it’s a double win for them and here’s why. They gathered necessary information from the survey participant in the moment and the participant was satisfied to the point of taking advantage of the vendors whey proteins sales promotion in the moment. What more could the vendor ask for?
‘Testing the Waters’
Test marketing is something sole proprietors and small business owners desire to learn what works and what doesn’t while testing a product or service with zero dollars budget or a small budget. One thing marketers find quite interesting about test marketing is more people respond to the willingness to try something if there’s a financial incentive involved. Perhaps offering people a five or $10 visa gift card to spend at any store they desire. Test marketing certain products and services and using different language-verbiage with different target audiences as a subliminal tactic of learning what works and what doesn’t for me. Moreover, test marketing is something all companies should do and sole proprietors because if you work in the field of [sales and marketing] and you’re [dedicated to this line of work], it’s imperative that you have all of your bases covered and stay on top of your A+ game for the sole purpose of staying one step ahead of a competitor who may have a similar product or service with more features at a lesser price. Your competitor might not be doing something you’re doing though they have an and enhanced product or service better than yours.
<iframe width="600" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QXrNph4RqyI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
According to Bush, Celsi, Hair Jr., and Ortinau of Essentials of Marketing Research, they define test marketing in Chapter 5 as “the use of experiments to obtain information on market performance indicators.” (2017, p.127). They also defined test marketing as “a controlled field experiment,” (2017, p. 127), an affirmation to an analogy made concerning the “whey protein survey experiment” mentioned earlier with the BJ’s and Costco customers. The end result of quality test marketing with your target audience and having extensive knowledge and the right pricing method intact is increased sales, closer relationships with your customers, repeat sales, and most importantly, free word-of-mouth advertising through satisfied customers by word-of-mouth advertising in the workplace and on social networks.
Test marketing and surveys work in the process of mastering marketing research. One thing that really slows down independent marketers-independent contractors when they work for themselves promoting products and services is getting lazy to the point of doing the actual marketing research. They tend to get lazy because no one is standing over their shoulder pressing them to meet a monthly sales quota nor do they have to check into a regular 9 to 5 day job. Lazy marketers fail to conduct adequate marketing research and solely focus on mobile web marketing as discussed in Chapter 6 would still pretty much find themselves making money 24 hours a day.
<iframe width="600" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JGXaNC9WJtE" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The side hustle of affiliate marketing and blogging is the way to go nowadays because narcissist employers continue bad-mouthing employees and setting them up for termination. Where is job security today? Side hustle market research puts you one step ahead of evil employers and closer to financial freedom. Did you know someone on your job can have a high school diploma and because that person along with others doesn’t like a person due to religious beliefs or just because of the way that person is, they’ll get together in secrecy and plot on that individual’s termination? Moreover, they’ll say subliminal things in the process of setting up that employee who achieved higher education than them. This is why it’s important to have a side hustle intact when things like this happen to you or someone dear to your heart. The narcissist will make it seem like things are your fault to take away from what they’re doing in secrecy. Smokescreen game only lasts for so long until all skeletons unintentionally fall out of the narcissists’ closet and they get exposed. Quality marketing research will allow you to effective plan ahead of time, maintain a calm and cool demeanor while achieving your goals on the side, and have a piece of mind spiritually.
People from all walks of life walk around 24 hours a day with their mobile phones in hand. This gives lazy and savvy mobile web marketers the grand opportunity to either conduct adequate marketing research or doing no market research and still yield a fruitful profit from promoting products and services to mobile phone users. According to Essentials of Marketing Research in Chapter 6 on page 135, it mentions “more than almost 90% of adults are internet users and more than 70% are smartphone users.” It also goes on to mention “almost 40% of smartphone owners use messaging apps such as iMessage, what app work kick.” This gives visionary minded marketers an opportunity to promote all kinds of things through the messaging apps. But before they do so and even if they are a lazy marketer, the open recommendation is to get out of the lazy marketing mindset. Put forth sincere effort to do research to understand your demographic audience. This way, when lazy marketers do an ad spending and purchase ad space from the messaging service to promote their product or service to mobile phone users through the messaging app, they can reap an effective ROI-return on investment, simply off of the strength that they did their homework in advance through researching and better understanding who they are pushing their stuff to. Long story short… Marketing research continues to be a never ending cycle for marketers dedicated to this line of work.
'Do-Gooders vs. Wannabe Entrepreneurs'
Some marketers are disillusioned to the theory that they don’t need to know all their pushing their product to in advance before trying to earn a fast buck from whatever they’re pitching. This is what separates the wannabes from the millionaire marketers. It’s essential to know what you’re getting yourself into for and after promoting a product or service. This way, money is not overspent if paid advertising is required. Your business reputation remains in good standing. Return on investment steadily increases and everyone smiles in getting a raise plus bonus.
Conducting good marketing research teaches marketers patience. As there’s millions and billions of dollars to be made in the field of sales and marketing, it’s an unwritten rule to make yourself along with your product or service uniquely stand out from the average. In today’s age of information technology, it’s possible for the sole proprietor to outrun and outsell billion-dollar corporations in competition through having extensive knowledge about what you’re selling. Not only is it important to conduct research so you know what you’re talking about when pitching something to your target audience, but you have to know how to deal with people on a personal level and keep them coming back for more. The best way to conduct marketing research and sell something simultaneously to customers is not trying to sell. Reverse psychology has a unique way of entrepreneurially selling itself with little to no effort.
Reference: Bush, R. P., Celsi, M. W., Hair, J. F., Jr., & Ortinau, D. J. (2017). Essentials of Market Research. U.S.A.: McGraw Hill.
from Drewry News https://drewrynewsnetwork.com/forum/affiliate-marketing/content-marketing-seo/1983-sidehustle-the-importance-of-good-marketingresearch-for-your-business
via Drewry News Network
No comments:
Post a Comment