___________________________________ Have You Done Your Market Research? Elizabeth McGee ___________________________________ Note: If this shows in your browser, simply click "File" in your browser and select "Save As" and make sure that file type is text (.txt) Links in this article do not show as active because this is a text file. Why text (.txt) format? Text files are much easier to download, don't require much disk space, and easier to print. ======================================================== THE CENTER FOR INTERNET MARKETING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION http://bizinfo.manila.ph ======================================================== Hi, This is Ave Ramel, the Coach of the Center for Internet Marketing Research and Education, exponent of internet marketing since 1999. This article was evaluated by your Coach and made available for The Center's archive for new subscribers. After mastering this article, proceed to our Internet Marketing Knowledge Base at http://bizinfo.manila.ph/knowledge-base As a favor, please forward this article to all your friends you want to help and who would like to earn income from the Net. Cheers, Ave Ramel, Coach P.S. Start your home business online with this global opportunity - the world's first instant powdered green iced tea P.P.S. You can do your business in 32 countries using the internet. Proceed now to http://freeonlineschool.manila.ph/resensa ================ YOUR NEXT STEPS: ================ Internet Marketing Services: 1. Get Coached - personalized coaching, at your most convenient time and place Proceed now to http://bizinfo.manila.ph/coaching 2. Hire A Retainer-Consultant for your corporation or marketing campaigns Proceed now to http://bizinfo.manila.ph/consultancy 3. Add one profit center to your company minus the overhead costs - your own internet marketing arm. 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Proceed to your Coach's Weblog located at http://aredconsult.blogspot.com and discover secrets, tips, and tricks ___________________________________ Have You Done Your Market Research? Elizabeth McGee ___________________________________ You've just decided to start an online business. You have a great idea for a product, the adrenalin's pumping and you're anxious to get started. One important question -- have you done your market research? I know -- market research, how boring! But before you tune out and disregard the question, think about what it will take to start your online business. You're going to be investing lots of energy and time as well as money. Don't you want to make sure your product or service has potential? You bet you do! If you don't, all your efforts and money could be wasted and your business may become another online casualty. It happens all the time. So, before you get too anxious, consider the following: ================================ Is there a market for your idea? ================================ Don't assume that just because you, your family and friends love your idea, it's going to be a profitable one. There's a big world out there and what you consider a great idea may not be suitable for the rest of the world, so let's make sure it has potential. There are 4 things you need to consider: - What is the online demand? - Who's your Competition? - What kind of profit can you make? ============= Online Demand ============= The simplest way to find out if your product or service has potential is to simply find out what the online supply and demand is. This is done by taking the supply or the number of competing sites for a product or service and dividing it by the demand or how much the product or service is searched for. The lower the result, the better. For example, let's say you want to sell 'porcelain dolls' but you're also considering selling charm bracelets. Let's see what the better choice might be by looking at the supply and demand. My search engine of choice is Google so when I type in 'porcelain dolls' into Google it returned 3,630,000 competing sites as of this writing. My keyword search tool of choice is Overture, so when I type 'porcelain dolls' into the overture search term tool the results are 17946. When I divide the number of Google's competing sites by the number of Overture search count, the total is 202.27 (3,600,000 / 17946 = 200.60) Now let's do the same thing for 'charm bracelets'. At the time of this article Google returned 1,950,000 competing sites and Overture returned a count of 50417. The result was 38.67 (1,950,000 / 50417 = 38.67). Charm bracelets is the winner because the ratio between searches and the number of competing sites will make it easier for your site to be found. This is online demand in it's simplest form but it can give you a good idea of what you are up against. ======================================= Next you must research your competition ======================================= Always know what your competing sites are doing and how they are doing it. Let's say you decide to sell those charm bracelets. Type 'charm bracelets' into Google and take a good look at the first few pages of listings that come up. Look at each site and study it. Make a chart and note the following for each site. - What products do they offer? - What are the strengths and weaknesses of each site? - What information or services does each site provide? - What did you like or dislike about each site?. Once you've compiled your chart this will help you determine how you can make your site better and what information or services you might want to include that would offer better value and/or service. The key here is to find out what is out there and how you might deliver it better. ================================= What kind of profit can you make? ================================= Profit is calculated after all your expenses are met. It's basic business 101 but sometimes online business owners forget that. If your porcelain doll cost you $10 and you sold it for $30 you may have made $20 but your profit may be lower. You also need to take into account what it cost you to make that sale, advertising, website costs, merchant account costs, shipping, etc. After expenses, 30-50% can be very good. Anything more would be ideal, however if you can't show a profit after expenses it won't be worth your time. Study your competition, keep your costs down ,keep your price competitive, offer something free if you can, stress your value and be sure to take all facets of cost into account. ================= About the Author: ================= Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry. She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales. You can visit Elizabeth's sites at: http://www.homenotion.com http://www.pro-marketing-online.com ============================== Let Me Help You Get Customers: ============================== AREDCONSULT SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS I. EXECUTIVE COACHING - for busy entrepreneurs, decision-makers and marketing executives who can't spare much time away from their office operations but must immediately grasp and harness internet marketing to contribute to the company's profitability. I will come to you instead. I offer you customized lessons, varied delivery, and at your own time, place and pacing. II. WEBSITE CRITIQUE - for those who already have a website but the results didn't satisfy your expectations, especially your bottomline - profit. I offer you immediate and in-depth assessment. III. RETAINER CONSULTANCY - for those who prefer to consult an internet marketing expert anytime, similar to a retainer legal counsel, especially for those who are launching regular internet marketing campaigns. IV. INITIAL EXPERT ASSESSMENT & STRATEGY FORMULATION - for those with no website yet but seriously planning to publish one on the Web, it is better to hear from an expert first before plunging to unfamiliar field. This might save you huge sums of money. Also, from the axiom "always start with a strategy in mind" - this shall cover your strategy and tactics. V. PROJECT CONSULTANCY - includes website design, installation of website functions, and search engine optimization (SEO); database design, programming, and development; installation of ecommerce functions. VI. STAFF TRAINING - for those who intend to maintain an internet marketing team or have already an existing one, I will analyze and improve your process, update your staff's skills, and provide them with continuous online training. VII. INTERNET MARKETING PROMOTIONS - for those who want to outsource or contract out the whole internet marketing promotion processes. We will become one of your profit centers with a very cost-efficient operation. Business processes that can be outsourced include submission of your website to search engines, email campaigns, mailing list management, product upsell and cross-sell, website content build-up, weblog content, link exchange with other websites, customer relations management, etc. http://bizinfo.manila.ph/coaching http://bizinfo.manila.ph/consultancy http://bizinfo.manila.ph/outsourcing ======== CONTACT: ======== Ask Aredconsult online for any internet marketing questions: http://www.aredconsult.com/ask-aredconsult.htm E-mail: mastermind@ask-the-expert.com Production Office: Tel. # 728-9613 or leave voice mail Corporate Address: Rm. 404 Parchouse II EDSA, Guadalupe Nuevo, beside Sogo Hotel 1200 Makati City, The Philippines ***Trust in the Lord with all your heart***