1. Ask.  Ask your current customers and those you consider to be potential customers.  Mind reading is not a valid strategy.  Asking these people a few well phrased questions can save you hours of market research.  They are experts, so why not get the information straight from the horse's mouth?  No one can give you better advice about what your customers want and what they will respond to, than they can.  Consider using a survey to gather answers.  You can do this with a paper survey, a telephone survey, an online survey or in person with customers.  While most people don't mind and even enjoy giving their opinion, be sensitive to make sure you are not bothering them or intruding on their time.  Always ask if they have time to speak with you when you are conducting a telephone or an in person survey, and give them an idea of how much time you are asking for and then stick to that commitment.

2. Read.  Read everything you can that pertains to your customer base, your marketplace and your competition.  This can include newspapers, magazines, online articles, websites, research reports, and trade journals.  Remember to look into publications that your customer base reads or uses even if they do not directly relate to what you are selling, it is useful to understand what other things are being marketed to this segment and how, and to help get inside their head and their life.  A company that has one of the most successful marketing campaigns is Harley Davidson.  Why?  Because so many of their employees are also customers, so they have been able to leverage that customer knowledge to market their company better. 

3. Shake hands.  Join local civic organizations, trade associations and/or your local chamber of commerce.  Meet and greet and touch skins with your customer base.  Participate in activities where you can you be eye-to-eye with them.  Relationship building through a one-on-one basis can give you a wealth of knowledge about your market.  Choose your associations wisely.  Your time is limited so choose the ones that will put you in situations where you can have the most useful personal exchanges with as many of your target market as possible.  Remember to think like your target market.  Where would they want to go?  What do they want out the events when they go to them?  What would they want out of an exchange from you?  Make sure you are a good giver of value to others, and you will naturally find you become the recipient of value yourself.  

4. Keep your eye on the competition.  Knowing how your customers view your competitor's products and services is one of the best ways to find out what they want or don't want.  This can help you determine what seems to be meeting your clients' expectations and what is missing the mark.  You can read product reviews and customer comments or use focus groups, mystery shopping and surveys to get this information.  This is some of the best data you can capture, so sometimes you will have to be more creative and subtle about how you capture it.  This can be as simple as changing your reaction when you find out that others are using your competitors product.  Your first instinct may be to launch into your sales pitch about how you are superior on the following 7 points.  But instead by being a listener instead of a talker, you can capture some good information.  So, try saying something more like, "Oh really?  I have heard ABC is a good company.  I would be curious what you like the best about them?  What convinced you that they were the right vendor for your needs?  What else do you like about them?"  This type of open ended questioning delivered in a laid back, non confrontational manner, can really get people talking.  In fact, you'll be surprised how much you'll learn.  Stay true to your intent and just listen and ask questions and resist the urge to sell.  You'll be able to soon enough once you take your market research hat off and put your CEO hat back on. 

These four simple tips are the best ways to understand your target market.  They are also relatively cheap and easy.  Your audience will respond to messages that appeal to them.  That is a universal truth.  That means that you have to know them implicitly in order to serve them best.  Your target market is not a locked box, but merely a book you haven't read yet.  The answers are all there, you just need to discover them.  For more information about how you can understand your target market, visit www.flourishingbusiness.com.

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