You have the product, you have the goal, but who wants what you have? For the most part, you probably aren’t sure. Every entrepreneur needs to research their target market so they can learn every detail about who they are trying to sell to. If you are unable to understand your audience, the odds are you have no audience.
What Is Market Research
Market research is usually done by collecting and analyzing data. You will want to study data that will give you insight as to how a certain product or service is doing in a specific geographic. With this knowledge, you, the entrepreneur, will then be able to determine who your target market is and where they live. Other insights you can gather include, who your target market buys off of, how do they buy, and why they buy. But, in order to find this plethora of information, you will need to find the right tools and websites to help you. Luckily for you, we have put together a list of the top 4 free market research resources that will help you take your business to the next level.
Read below to find out more!
1. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is an agency out of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. The main responsibility of this bureau is to create and produce data about the U.S. people, for the U.S. people. We suggest using the Data Tools and Apps section of their website to make the most out of the available information. You will be able to find your data by using interactive applications that will allow you to pull statistics from multiple surveys. Anything you need to know about the masses can be found here!
The best part about using the census is going through the Census Data. By going through this step by step process, the Census Bureau is able to show entrepreneurs how to find quality research with maximum time efficiency. It’s easy, effective and always relevant.
2. Google Surveys
It can be hard to find research on what you are looking for, especially if your product or service is brand new. Most of the time, the wrong questions are being asked or not how you would like them to be phrased. Google Surveys allows you to take matters into your own hands, making it very simple and easy to create your own surveys. If you get people to fill out your survey, Google will generate easy to comprehend graphs and tables to help you analyze your data. It is as simple as creating a survey, targeting your audience, and generating statistically significant results in a matter of days. If you want to get more informed, I recommend checking out this Google website before you begin.
3. Pew Research Center
The Pew Reseach center is home to a massive amount of data. They are a nonpartisan website, whose sole purpose is to inform the public about the issues, happenings, and trends shaping the world. In order to get the most out of this website, I would recommend creating a profile on this website. Doing so will allow you to save and download different data sets that are right for you. Pew Research Center will provide you with a surplus of research, data, ad reports. This website is a one-stop-shop, for all your marketing research needs.
4. CityTownInfo
Focused on location-specific information and statistics, CityTownInfo will give you access to the demographics and geographics of over 20,000+ communities in the United States. Through the use of this website, you will be able to dive deep into figuring out what kind of people make up a community. This can be especially helpful when looking to create a target market. This site has the ability to search through each state and give you specific information on each. Insights such as the average age of a state, average education, and median family income are all very valuable for any type of entrepreneurs. We highly recommend playing around with this website and giving it a try.
All in all, it is obvious that market research is incredibly important these days. Without it, we would all be marketing blindly, pissing away our money. But fortunately, we have the internet and all of the great free marketing tools it provides. All of us at 99 Robots hope this simple list will prove to be helpful in kickstarting your research, and career.
Have Fun and Good Luck!
