Study market need

There is one essential aspect that every new entrepreneur must understand when starting a business if they want to be successful. You have to understand that your product or service must solve a problem or fill a need, have something to offer that the market does not have in sufficient quantity.

The first thing to ask yourself is if there is a need for your product or service in my area or online. In other words, are there or will there be people interested in what you have to offer.

Once you establish that what you offer is in demand you have to delimit who is your target market, who needs it.

After you have made it clear to whom your service or product is going to be directed you must know if there are businesses similar to the one you want to start and how they do their business. The important part is to delimit how you can stand out more, what you can offer differently. Using the example of the gym, your competition may focus more on customers who like bodybuilding, so you can then target more customers who prefer fitness, thus attracting a segment of the clientele that is not being satisfied with the current offerings, making it your niche. All of this helps you elucidate where your business fits in the marketplace.

A good identification of your customers' needs will allow you to:

• Attract more customers.

• Better prices for your products.

• Establish the most appropriate marketing message.

• Increase customer satisfaction in greater quantity.

• More visits from your customers.

• Increase your sales.

• Minimize costs.

• Improve customer service.

Identifying the needs

As I mentioned earlier before starting any business you must identify the needs of your customers. A well done and in depth research will allow you to convince the clientele that they need your product or service.

Identify the customers

The first thing you must do to know your customers' needs in order to better understand them is to identify them. It also helps us to further detail what type of customers we have and understand how to target them more efficiently, plus you will be able to identify common characteristics they share such as their gender, age, occupation, monthly income, place of residence and what they do in their free time.

Understand why they consume

Once you have identified your customers, you must then determine their motivations for buying services or products. Consider, for example, whether they use aspects such as the demands of their job, family needs, their established budget, their emotional or social needs, and preferences for specific brands in their decision making.

Identify the most commonly used methods of purchase

Taking into account also the reason why they buy, you must also understand how they buy, you must know what is the preferred method of customers and what means they use to obtain products. Do they do it online, over the phone or in physical stores, do they decide what to buy through a well-established process or are they more spontaneous.

Consider their spending habits

Different types of customers will be more inclined to spend different amounts of money on their purchases. Knowing their financial capacity and spending habits is paramount. You should find out their average income, the percentage of their income they use to buy the services or products you offer and how they organize their budget.

What they think of you

Find out what customers' expectations are of your business and what you offer, taking into consideration your specific products and services, customer service and what your competitors offer.

Customer research methods

Your business will exist because of your customers, so gathering as much information as you can about them and their needs will allow you to refine your venture and, above all, grow it. Depending on the type of business you want to start and the particular type of information you need, you will use different research methods. Using this guide you can do it yourself or hire a specialized agency. Below, I explain some of the methods you can use to achieve your goals, which you can combine to solve all your research questions.

• Advertising and promotion research: Gathering information about the effectiveness of your advertising efforts. Feedback from your customers on your marketing and promotion strategies, you can use focus groups for example. And how effective these activities were in meeting customer needs.
• Customer satisfaction surveys: