All small business owners know that research is essential. Whether it’s for a project, a new business venture or for marketing, doing research is crucial.
Researching isn’t hard, as information is everywhere, accessible on the internet anytime but often finding what you need takes time. When you’re busy with the day-to-day delivery of your business, finding just what you need can be too time-consuming.
So how you can be effective in finding the information you need and how can benefit your business?
Market Research
Before we pursue a project or a business venture, we all start with a plan. During the planning stage, research is the most critical aspect.
If you are looking to launch a sustainable and successful service or exploring different markets for new products, research can help you understand whether consumers will be interested in your idea.
You may need to find out:
• Who are your target customers?
• Who are your competitors and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
• What is the current market rate for your product or service?
• Where are your customers based?
Every business needs to understand its customers to make sure business stays relevant.
Lead Generation
Cultivating prospects and building potential lead databases is an ongoing need in a small business.
Do you need to contact leads, carry out outbound telemarketing practices or add details to a current database?
Once you have the details you need through accurate research, you can target your marketing.
Day-to-day Business
Running a small business means there are lots of decisions, some are essential to the profitable existence of the business, and some are about the admin and day-to-day running.
Do you want to shout about your business? Would you like to research and enter relevant awards for your business, to gain external recognition for what you have achieved?
Are you ready to move to new online software? There are knowledge bases and product FAQs to help you figure out which is the right choice for you and your business.
Travel Plans Research
Travel arrangements can take up time, finding the perfect accommodation and flights.
Sifting through the options for travel whether for a business trip or a much-needed break can take up time. Using comparison sites can help to compress the number of searches into one place, for easy cross reference of the options. There are lots of well-known search websites that provide flights, hotels and car hire to source the best available deals.
As you can see, research for small business owners can be done in many areas. However, research can be tedious, or you can find yourself heading down rabbit holes.
If you’re finding yourself with too little time available to delve into Google, a virtual assistant can step in and help. They can help with research for travel, product information, content sourcing and everyday questions like finding a car park for your next meeting.
So if you feel overwhelmed at losing hours, look to outsource to a VA. Not only will you be able get on with the key important tasks – you’ll receive the information you need in a concise format ready for you to make the decision to choose that flight, pick the perfect hotel or make the next business decision.
If you could do with some research help to shorten your to-do list, send an email to us at info@cotswoldcolleague.co.uk and we can chat about how we can help.