Tips for Starting a Small Business: 3 Tips to Identifying a Viable Market – Part 1

It’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement of new ideas when starting a business.  But once that excitement wears off it is critical to be sure whether or not you have a viable market for your product or service.  Barking up the wrong tree, so to speak, can cost you a lot of time, money and energy.  Here are three quick and easy ways to determine if you have a market hungry enough for your business to make a go at it.

1. Google Adwords

Google offers a great, free tool to do research and see what people are searching for on the internet.  You can go to Adwords.google.com and do a bit of testing out before you go hog wild and spend your last dollar making widgets for a market that doesn’t exist.

Be sure to consider what the person on the other end of the computer is thinking when they enter a specific term.  “Weight loss” is much different than “How to lose 15 pounds”.  The motivation behind the latter is much clearer.

2. Send a Survey

If you already have an ezine or newsletter list, be sure to survey that list before launching your next product or service.  Ask them what it is that they want or need.  You can use the free survey tool at SurveyMonkey.com.

If you’re just getting started, then dip into the social media world.  Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn in are just three of many great ways to connect with the rest of the world.  As you build your list of followers and friends be sure to start asking what they want and need as it relates to your business.

3. Find Associations

If there’s a popular association related to your product or service there is about a 99.9% chance that you are on the right track.  You can find a list of associations at ASAECenter.org.

Peace

Tom