Uncover Market Realities

How to quickly conduct market research without a big budget

Conducting market research doesn't have to take an entire department or a big budget. There are many fast and effective ways to gather competitive intelligence with limited resources and without breaking the bank. Start collecting valuable information right now by following these easy tips:

1. Dig up competitor information on the following websites:
   • Northernlight.com: This website provides searchable marketing research, economic analysis, and company reports. Added benefit: You can purchase individual pages of a report rather than the full report, saving money.

   • Marketresearch.com: On this website, you can search 250,000 market research reports, compiled from 650 top research firms.
2. Get help from your employees. Much of the information you gather will come from in-person accounts. Often, your own employees will know valuable information about your industry from past jobs or colleagues at other companies. Create a list of factors that are important to your company and ask employees to help fill in what they know. For example, if you run a cleaning business, many of your employees will know what other companies offer that you don't, based on their friendships with employees at other cleaning companies.
3. Build relationships with experts. Develop relationships with experts in your industry to keep abreast of changes in your marketplace. You'll need to offer something in return to keep the experts interested in helping you — a white paper, for example. Befriending industry analysts can also help you in researching other companies, and building relationships with staff at like-minded industry associations can help you identify suppliers. Additionally, local journalists may provide you with information they've collected that may not have made it into print, so pump up your communication with them too.