Who is my customer?

Who is my Customer?

DIY market research

Your research is like the opening shot of a film – first you go wide and get a sense of the overall market you're in, and then you focus in on the characters – your customers. Research is the key step in starting a successful business and plays a crucial role in helping you identity your target market.

Use the steps listed below to help you:

• define your problem
• plan
• investigate
• gather and interpret information
• decide your marketing strategies.

1. What do you need to find out?

• Market size – how many other businesses are selling what I'm selling?
• Your buying customers – how often do they use this service?
• Best place to sell your products – where and how do your customers prefer to buy?

Tools to help

• Set clear goals and achieve success by writing a business plan.
• Market research gathers and analyses information to help you identify and define marketing opportunities and problems, and generate sales. 
• Investigate the market to find and target your customers.  

2. Examine published data

Journals, marketing magazines, government reports, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and IBISworld provide publications and web pages with small business data and statistics.

Tools to help

• Know how your business stacks up with the competition
• Find the statistics you need to gain a solid understanding about your industry and your customer.  

3. Discover your customers' needs and gather your data

Your marketing is only as effective as your understanding of your customers. Draw specific conclusions about your customers' needs by understanding their attitudes and behaviours:

• Hold focus groups and conducting in-depth interviews – qualitative information.
• Create surveys and questionnaires – quantitative information.

Get local, get talking!

• Sit outside a competitors shop.
• Talk to rival employees.
• Talk to real potential customers.

Tools to help

• Write a business plan
• Write a marketing plan

4. What's the research telling you?

• Analyse your data to determine your strengths and weaknesses.
• Identify trends and opportunities for growth.
• Draw your conclusions.

Tools to help

• Marketing strategies and tactics
• How to brand your business for a competitive edge
• Use email marketing
• Marketing mix