EDITORIAL FEATURE
5 Ways Research
Can Get You Where You Want to Go
By Aimee Woodall
I
magine taking a trip to a foreign land; one where you don’t
know anyone, can’t speak the language, and haven’t a clue
how to get around. You wander the streets just making random turns, hoping to find your hotel or some sort of sign
that you are going in the right direction. That kind of travel is
disorienting and frustrating. It’s also exactly how most people
approach marketing.
I’m all for adventure but being totally rudderless doesn’t
sound appealing to me. When I’m visiting a new place, I like
to do my research. The same is true for how I approach my
business. Rather than rocketing through the air toward the
unknown, I like to go in with some knowledge of a destination
and develop a plan of action in advance.
Research is the foundation on which your marketing plan is
built yet many people don’t see the value in investing in such a
worthy endeavor. Instead of taking the time to look into their
business, their market, and their goals, they pack their bags and
set off for uncharted territories. That’s a mistake. No matter
how well you think you know your business and your industry,
skipping the “let’s draw a map” step sets you up for a scramble.
Here are 5 reasons you should research
before you aim for a destination:
1. Find out where you’ve been.
The most natural place to start is with, well, where you’re starting. The first step in research is to assess what you’ve done in
the past and what did or did not work. It’s also important to
look at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
In other words, perform a SWOT analysis. I know that some
people think that approach is outdated but it works. Once you
understand your current standing, you’re primed to draw a
map to your ideal future.
2. Decide on where you’re going.
No one jumps in their car and declares, “I’m going north!” They
usually have a destination in mind like Chicago or Toronto. Researching attainable goals and objectives for your organization is
the linchpin that holds your entire marketing plan together. It’s
what keeps you and your team from wandering aimlessly and
34 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ AUGUST 2015 ]
wasting time on things that are less important. One great way to
understand your goals is to empower your internal stakeholders.
Interview the people who work for you, who sit on your board, or
who have patronized your business for a long time. They are likely
to have insights that you never thought of.
3. Get the lay of the land.
Market research is just a fancy way of saying, “What’s the outside world think of this?” Investigating what exists in your industry and what people want, need, and care about is the best
way to see if your goals are on the right track. If your goal is
for everyone to have a beeper in their pocket and it’s 2015, you
might need to adjust your focus unless you’re in the 1990s party
rental business.
4. Plan your route.
You know where you’ve been, you know where you want to go,
and you have a good idea about the terrain ahead. Now what?
Now, it’s time to plan. Using your newly minted goals, this is the
point i