MARKET RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

If money is not a problem, you may want to contact a market research firm and ask them to analyze your community and find out for you where small business opportunities exist.
If, like most of us, money is a problem, you'll have to gather the information yourself.
A good place to start is with the mainstream press: your local newspaper. You should also look at the business press or any of the other business periodicals to which you have access. When you read them, look for trends that may be emerging, not just in business but in our culture at large.
To give you some idea of what you should be looking for, here are three examples of current trends and how you might parlay those trends into a small business.
Trend #1: Increasingly, husband and wife are both wage earners. This means that many couples don't have the time or energy to perform tasks that were most commonly performed by the wife. How can you fill in the gap?
Some business ideas are: child care provider, grocery delivery service, house-cleaning service, interior decorator, dog walking service, household manager, and gift purchase and delivery service.
Trend #2: In an effort to cut costs, many companies have laid off employees. This means that companies are increasingly looking outside of the company to perform tasks previously performed in-house. In business-speak, it's called outsourcing. Ask yourself: which tasks are businesses most commonly outsourcing?
Some business ideas are: copywriting services, legal and paralegal services, billing and other human resources-related services, public relations services, and meeting planning.
Trend #3: Computers are now everywhere. Many businesses, however, lack the in-house expertise they need to take full advantage of the emerging technologies. How can you meet the need?
Some business ideas are: Web site developer, graphics designer, desktop publisher, and database consultant.
In addition to reading newspapers and magazines, you should talk to friends, relatives, business associates, and other small business owners about ideas they may have or needs in the market they don't believe are being met. And, last but not least, don't forget the often most-overlooked resource - yourself. You're a consumer. If you've wished that a particular service were available, chances are that others have too.
Also, when you think about market opportunities, think about how you can improve upon a product or service that is already being provided. But be aware that there are at least two potential stumbling blocks here. The first is the tendency to believe too readily that you can improve upon an existing product or service. This is just old-fashioned overconfidence. Be sure that you've thought through the specific things you can do to improve what's already out there. The second is the fact that your being able to improve upon a product or service is no guarantee of its success. In other words, you must be sure not only that you can improve is what’s already there, but also that there also a demand for the improvement.
Niche Marketing
An approach that is perhaps even more effective than tackling existing businesses head-on is to look for ways that you can perform a service or provide a product that is similar to, but not quite the same as, a service or product already being provided. One example of this approach is to look for a special niche within a given field.
Example:
Betsy Mirkin was an accountant in a large accounting firm. Among her duties, Betsy would occasionally do work for film companies that came to town for a shoot.
Betsy did a little research and found that there weren't any other accountants who specifically served the film market. She also found out that there were enough film companies that came to town each year for her to make a nice living serving only them.
Betsy quit the accounting firm, and started her own firm, specializing in accounting for the film industry.

To develop a niche, you should be looking for lacks in the market. An anomaly, in marketing terms, is an unmet need whose time has come to be filled. To support a profitable business, the need must be fairly widespread or growing rapidly.
Example:
Although people wanted to be able to send letters and packages overnight anywhere in the country, they didn't think it was possible. Enter Federal Express and - presto - a $500 million startup business serving an anomaly.
Where are today's anomalies? Perhaps one lies hidden in the social and business trends now underway. For example, a lot of couples where both partners work would like hot, delivered, home-cooked meals that vary each night. But no one believes that it's possible.

Additional Social Trends

One great way to find market opportunities for your product or service is to study social and business trends. The challenge for you will be to see if you can find business opportunities in any of these trends:
• Baby boomers entering their 60s - this group has the largest amount of disposable income in history! They're driving growth in many areas, including services, recreation, and general retailing. Consider what that means for opportunities in travel, recreation, vacations, entertainment, food, and clothing.
• New boomer crop of children - while the original boomers had fewer children per household than their parents, their children seem to be having more, thus creating a new crop of boomer grandchildren. Consider what that means for opportunities in child care, toys, and clothing.
• Growing disparity between rich and poor - the middle class is shrinking. Consider what that means for opportunities in home ownership, cars, entertainment, and restaurants.
• Increasing globalization of business - this should, if anything, continue to accelerate in the coming years. Consider what that means for opportunities in emerging world markets, particularly in China, the old Soviet Union, and southeast Asia.
• Reinvention of religion - as people continue to cast off traditional beliefs and services, others return to them even more vigorously. Consider what that means for opportunities in books, tapes, and online services.
• Yearning for high-touch products and services - this includes the nostalgia induced by high-tech solutions to everything. Consider what that means for opportunities in antiques, older homes, home delivery and pickup businesses, and any business owned by friendly service-minded proprietors.
• Mass customization - this is not an oxymoron but a response to global homogeneity. Consider what that means for opportunities in businesses that provide products or services individually tailored to each customer.