Jo Ann Joy, Esq., MBA, CEO Copyright 2006 Indigo Business Solutions. All rights reserved.
You may contact Jo Ann by phone at (602) 663-7007, by fax at (602) 324-7582, by email at joannjoy@Indigo Business Solutions.net, and by mail at 2313 East Ocotillo Road, Phoenix, AZ 85016
Copyright 2006. Indigo Business Solutions is a registered trade name.
The future of your business starts here.
About the author Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions, a legal and business consulting firm. Indigo Business Solutions is a “one stop shop” for small businesses. We differ from other business consulting firms, because we offer comprehensive legal and business counseling. We can offer most of the professional services that a business requires. We work with our clients to develop strategies that create value and competitive advantage.
Jo Ann has a law degree, an MBA, and a degree in Economics, but she is not a traditional attorney. Rather, she is a strategic business attorney who works closely with clients to create and implement strategies that will greatly improve their performance and chance of success. Her background includes commercial and real estate law, accounting, financial planning, mortgages, marketing, product development, banking, and business strategies. She ran a successful business for 10 years, and she has written and given presentations on many different legal and business subjects.
For more information about these and other important business topics and for legal consultation, please visit our website at http://www.indigobusinesssolutions.net/


Marketing Research before Putting up a Small Business
By Ross Lincoln

Whether you are starting or planning to put up a small business, it is important that you have the latest market information. It will provide you significant data that are helpful in solving marketing problems. If ever your business encountered such difficulties, you can easily take immediate action about it.
A thorough market research will serve as your business foundation for achieving success. In fact, there are two strategies that are effective when doing market surveys. One is the market segmentation which helps you identify specific segments in the market. Another is the product differentiation which helps you create the identity of your own products and services which make it unique from other competitors.
There are different methods that you can use for doing market research. It includes experimental, historical, survey, or observational method. Regardless of the methods used, you will still be gathering two types of important data.
The first is the "primary" data which you can obtain alone or let someone gather it for you. There are two types of gathered information here.
1. Exploratory research will help you in defining specific problems. It usually involves detailed and unstructured interviews wherein lengthy answers are provided by a limited number of respondents.
2. Specific research has a broader scope yet expensive. However, this helps in solving the problem that was identified through exploratory research. The interviews are formal and structured.
When doing primary research, there are three basic avenues you can apply.
- Using direct mails. The tactics include brief and direct questions, direct addressee of the respondents, limited pages of questionnaires, attached professional cover letter explaining the survey, and enclosed reminder to respond. The drawback can be lower mail responses from the respondents.
- Phone surveys. This is more cost-effective compared to direct mails in terms of response rates. Phone interviews also allow a wider geographical range. It is also relatively inexpensive by using the cheaper rates at specified hours. The tactics include direct respondents confirmation upon contacts, constant flow of conversation, follow-up calls, and direct relay of information.