Sure-fire ways to use your market research

Aug 23, 2024

We solopreneurs are a cool bunch.

There’s so much excitement and heart and desire to make a go of it. It’s great that we don’t always need to reinvent the wheel to build a successful business. It’s awesome that it’s sometimes our most boring of ideas – but ones that solve real problems – are the most successful. And, at other times, it’s fun to do a bit of wheel re-invention.

Ideas brought to fruition by someone who has an interest in making it work, an interest in being creative, an interest in learning, and an interest in being an active participant in the process are the coolest success stories.

That’s why I started The Idea Compass. I love helping people clarify their starting idea (because it will change over time), clarify how they can use their experience and strengths to get there (because we’ve all got them), and experiment their way to success (because action means progress).

The heart of The Idea Compass is this newsletter, and it is being built around readers/solopreneurs like you. My goal is to prioritize writing about the things that you are most interested in learning about.

Those sure fire ways…

There are tons of ways to use market research in your business, but most times research just simply gets a bad rap. Like, it’s something you do but then put on a shelf and forget about!

The real deal is that market research is just another name for learning, it’s learning about the world around you with a focus on how it relates your business’ growth.

It’s looking up from your day-to-day work to get a different perspective about what’s happening in the world and then figuring out how that might impact your ideas.

And it doesn’t have to be a long time-consuming thing, it’s actually better if it’s not. I’ve worked on projects that take just a few weeks’ time, but then the customer uses the research for the entire year to guide their decision-making.

Make no mistake, knowledge is empowering!

Here are examples of sure-fire ways you can use market research in your business:

Validating your idea. Big idea or small, as an entrepreneur, it’s just good business sense to get some outside information about it. Research is not all reading papers and looking at books though, it’s also validating ideas by doing low-risk experiments. A bit of research just helps you figure out which ideas make the most sense for your venture now.
Building your audience. A business is nothing without customers, of course. But how are you explaining your cool business to potential customers? Research helps you figure out what they are currently listening to, how they are talking about their problems, and then meeting them where they are with your messaging. Know, Like, Trust is a concept that never goes out of style.
Creating your product/service. As solopreneurs, we don’t always need a fully-detailed, all-the-I’s-dotted-and-T’s-crossed business plan. BUT – a bit of direction would be nice! We’re all out here creating and doing, but without at least some direction, it’s SO easy to get lost in the noise. Creating some direction for your business will help you create the right stuff for your customers.
Flexibility. Wait, what? Have you noticed how fast things change out here in the real world? It’s lightning speed! While I’m a believer in market research, I’m also a believer in making it simple enough that you can edit and update it as things change in your niche. A straightforward framework for collecting and evaluating your ideas can help you be flexible and keep up with the only constant out there: change.

So, I have a favor to ask of you. It’s your chance to give some direction AND get more clarity on those sure-fire ways. 😊

Below is a quick 1-question poll that will help me create my next few steps for you. Based on what’s going on in your business right now, what can The Idea Compass newsletter do for you?

Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned,

Julie

With a Masters degree in Economics and 20+ years experience in market research and business planning, I decided to use my skills in a new way by creating The Idea Compass. At the heart of this new venture is this newsletter but there are some other easy ways to work with me when you are ready:

The Solopreneurs Guide to Platforms & Marketplaces: Looking to run some of your own experiments? Well-established freelancing and product platforms are a great place to run them. On them, you can spend more time honing your offer and less time on the nuts and bolts of marketing. I’ve put together a short resource describing how some of the major platforms out there today work.

Wedge: Define Your Niche. Grow Your Business: But before you do that experimenting, give yourself some clear direction! Check out my just-published workbook on Amazon: