This guide will help to get you thinking about who will want to buy your product or service, why they will buy, and, perhaps most importantly, how much they are willing to pay.

1. Market research that is undirected is not very useful; it needs to concentrate on who will buy, why will they buy and how much will they buy.

2. It is much easier to sell a product that meets some already perceived need rather than to try to educate a market to buy a new, perhaps revolutionary, product or service.

3. Look for groups within your target market which you think you can sell to, either because no one is currently selling to them or because you can adapt your product to meet their needs.

4. Use our Checklist: know your market to identify a suitable market group.

5. Rational and emotional factors affect your target group’s willingness to buy. Research these and alter your product or sales approach to match.

6. Knowing how much customers will buy is crucial to your business planning. You need to research market size, market structure, market share, the competition and market trends.

7. Try to carry out your research in a systematic way so that it can be properly analysed. Use desk research, interviews and test trials, if possible.

See also: New product development and organising to identify customer needs – guidance to help companies organise their customer needs intelligence teams.