The Nurture Institute Blog

People always ask me what is the most important part of marketing and my immediate answer is the same Market Research.  Lack of Market Research almost put me out of business.  Markets change and in my previous company, a business dedicated to Technical Support our target market changed almost overnight from the Technical Support Help Desk Manager to the CIO or IT VP.  We were wondering why our Nurture Direct Campaign wasn’t working anymore…well we forgot to take a recent look at our marketplace.  Market Research is not only something you do in the beginning but something you need to do all the time.    To aid in your market research you should have a specific and easily identifiable micro-segmented target marketplace, an understanding on how your products or services actually help your client succeed, specific knowledge on your current best customers, who are your competitors and how their products or services compare to what you are offering. 

• Declare a specific marketplace by NAICS or SIC Code, size of business and geographic location
• Understand your marketplace; create information databases about each of your clients
• Know your competition; review their websites, visit their trade show booths and read their blogs
• Appoint a person who is responsible for Market Research and reporting their findings to your team

 And don’t make the same mistake that I made,  engage a client a month in conversations that are focused on learning about how this client thinks and utilizes your company.