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Market research: a good start for your business

2 min

Want to start up your own business? It all begins with solid market research. We can guide you, step by step.

You have an interesting business idea – selling golf ball retrievers, being a chocolate consultant, managing events or running a drone flying school – but you want to know if it's commercially viable. In that case, you need to do some market research before actually launching your new business. The goal is not only to ensure that there's a market for your idea, but also to allow you to refine your plan as much as possible so your new business gets off to a flying start.

Start with publicly available data

Market analysis is hard work for anyone. At first, there's nothing too complicated about it. A lot of data is publicly available, useful information is at hand. The Statbel website is full of statistics on Belgian businesses in all sectors. You'll learn a lot, especially about the market you're targeting.

If you prefer to do your own research, talking to prospective customers, potential partners or even competitors will be highly informative. If someone in your region has already had the same idea as you, it's really worth going for a coffee together!

Qualitative or quantitative research?

The difference between qualitative and quantitative market research lies in the number of people you talk to. If you want to launch a new product or test an innovative idea, qualitative market research will involve asking open questions to a limited group of people. Is the golf club owner interested in your golf ball retrieval project? The sample of people you talk to must be representative of your target group. What are their expectations regarding your product/idea? What elements interest them? Which ones could be improved and how? 

Quantitative research, meanwhile, is conducted on a much larger scale, as you’re aiming to attract a large number of opinions and responses. It's a good idea to draw up a limited list of clear questions. Then, you'll need to talk to people, make phone calls, send emails and post on social media. Tip: a small gift works wonders as a way of getting people to respond. If you're planning to launch a training centre for drone pilots, for example, you could offer respondents the chance to win a free trial session.

Effective market research in five steps

Market research isn’t difficult or complicated if you follow the right method. The most important tip is to do things in the right order, which will allow you to get relevant answers.

• Start by asking yourself what exactly you want to know.
• Draw up a questionnaire based on this.
• As a precaution – and this is always a good idea – first put your questions to a small test group. 
• Adjust them if necessary.
• After finalising your questionnaire, you can send it to the full panel.
• Collect your answers and get to work.

SWOT analysis: find your strengths and areas for improvement

Effective market research requires honest analysis. In a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, you look at the answers you’ve received and identify both the strong and weak points of your idea or product. This will also allow you to identify potential opportunities. For example, you might discover that drones can be useful in precision agriculture. You'll also need to pay attention to any threats that could compromise the success of your business. 

As an entrepreneur, it’s in your interest to learn as much as you can by analysing the data. Self-awareness and knowledge of your product's potential are the fundamental ingredients of a successful business plan. So market research gives you the most invaluable thing you need to launch your business: awareness of your own capabilities and potential.

Give your business plans a boost with the many benefits of the Starters Kit.

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