Leveraging Local Search to Market Your Small Business: Part II
This is a continuation of the series on local search. Read Part I here.
Consistent Business Listing Information
In the last post, I mentioned that the need for consistent business listing information in the form of business name, business address, and telephone number could not be overemphasized. A company’s listing is the one piece of information that ties everything (search engine keywords, user reviews, photos, user generated content) together. Google, for example, aggregates the web content found with the company’s business information on Google Maps. So please, please, please, please, PLEASE make sure you information is consistent across the web. It the single most important thing to do.
An Overview of Using Surveys for Market Research
Using Surveys for Market Research
Most of us, at one point in our life, have been asked to complete a survey. I know I have certainly been asked to complete surveys - most recently by a PhD student I encountered at the local Starbucks! Having personally never relied upon large scale surveys to guide new product design, I wanted to explore the role surveys could play in launching new ventures. Here’s what I have found.
From a pedagogical level, a survey is a short or long questionnaire designed to solicit feedback on a product or service. They are typically used to assess customer satisfaction, conduct customer segmentation studies, evaluate product usage, and, among other things, understand the perceptions consumers have of a business brand. The data gained through survey information are also descriptive; they are expressed in percentages terms and frequency counts, and sometimes cross-tabulated for the purpose of comparison. And while the aforementioned definition and uses of surveys are simplistic and intuitive, their execution is not. Just like business forecasting, it is part art and part science. And just like business forecasting, garbage in yields garbage out.
An Overview of Market Research For Entrepreneurs
Validating a product idea through market research is a critical step in launching new products. But what exactly is market research, and how does an entrepreneur or established small business owner conduct such research? In my attempt to answer these questions I turned to Wikipedia and then Google. Interestingly enough, the most comprehensive definition I encountered came not from the web, but from Edward F. McQuarrie’s book, “The Market Research Toolbox: A Concise Guide for Beginners.”
McQuarrie defines market research as any effort to gather information about markets or customers. These efforts include utilizing secondary research, visiting potential and existing customers, conducting focus groups, running surveys, and conducting conjoint analysis.
The Limits of Quantitative Business Forecasting
As business owners, we use forecasts to understand macroeconomic and microeconomic factors contributing to the success or failure of a product and service. We use these forecasts to evaluate product ideas and set overall product strategy. Creating accurate forecasts is however, notoriously difficult. And setting business strategy around grossly inaccurate secondary forecasts is downright disastrous. Given the surfeit of industry and technology forecasts, how do we, as shepherds of corporate strategy, determine which forecasts are valid? Being vaguely accurate is after all better than being gravely inaccurate.
How To Evaluate The Accuracy Of A Business Forecast
If forecasts allow us to implement long-term strategic objectives and quantify future risk, how do we know if our forecasts are accurate? Making strategic decisions based upon an erroneous forecast could after all, materially and adversely impact the financial health of our business. Take the cash flow forecasting methods previously discussed: If these projections were to determine your company’s future hiring, and if they were grossly inaccurate, you might find yourself with a serious cash flow problem. So how do you determine the accuracy of business forecasts?
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