Question

Topic: Research/Metrics

Market Research Approach

Posted by Anonymous on 1/10/2010 at 7:58 PM ET 500 Points
We have developed what we believe is one of the only (if no the only) scalable best practices semi-automated SEO/Internet marketing technologies that we have recently licensed to over 700 real estate professionals that were sold through JV relationships marketing to lists via webinars.

It's a "Done for You" program where the biz owner has 95% of the heavy lifting done for them buy us. Their only time commitment would be to contribute to their blog and follow up with leads that are generated via a squeeze page.

I've been tasked with identifying 25 or so new horizontal markets to approach in 2010 and naturally we don't have a JVs or a list. Some of the questions I seek knowledge on are:

1) What is a good resource to find total number of businesses in a particular market, market size per se (i.e., how many plumbers are there in the US, veterinarians, etc.)

2) Without having adequate time to do a survey (it will be a step but not at this early juncture) is there a resource to find markets that are under served that have reasonable demand for SEO/internet marketing/lean generation?

3) Are there any good resources to determine annual online marketing spend? i.e., what group(s) generally are not afraid to spend marketing dollars? i.e., the most likely to write a check?

4) What would be an effective sales strategy other than direct mail/follow up telesales?

These are just a few of the areas that initially come to mind but certainly welcome other thoughts, suggestions, research approaches, advice, etc.

Thanking all responders in advance...I really appreciate it.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 1/10/2010 at 9:28 PM Accepted
    Dear tjk728,

    You need to talk to those nice people at SRDS (Standard Rate and Data Service), which you'll find here:

    https://www.srds.com/frontMatter/ips/index.html

    They can probably help you with all your questions.

    I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA
  • Posted on 1/11/2010 at 9:13 AM Accepted
    In addition to the resource with which Gary provided you, you will probably find it helpful to examine and analyze some census data:

    https://www.census.gov/econ/census07/

    This should at least give you a start with your first question.

    With regard to questions 2, 3 and 4, short of doing a full-blown survey, you can try conducting some one-on-one interviews, as speaking to prospective customers directly is the best way, at this point, for you to get this information. You can also try looking at websites of SEO companies to see who their clients are - this will give you some idea of the companies to target and , perhaps, how to reach them. Here's an example - there are lots of others:

    https://beanarchitect.com/withoutseo.html
  • Posted on 1/11/2010 at 9:42 AM Accepted
    This sounds like any one of a dozen projects we've tackled on behalf of clients over the years. Your best bet may be to just apply your own creativity and "search out" the answers however you can. Or find an outside expert who has done this sort of thing before (in other categories, of course) and pay them for a few days of their time to come up with some clever approaches.

    Regardless of how you opt to proceed, know that there is no "perfect answer" to your questions. It's like taking a "best guess" and running with it until you learn a better way.
  • Posted on 1/11/2010 at 12:13 PM Author
    Gary - thank you...I will check out the resource you suggest!

    jlevin - thank you...yes, census stats are not a bad idea at all but the categories tend to be difficult to parse out in a limited time frame. I agree, interviews & questionnaires the best way to go. great suggestion on researching SEO firm's clientele!

    mgoodman - thank you...yes, totally agree much of this is more from a qualitative approach using more of a gut instinct.

    I really appreciate all of you taking the time!
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 1/11/2010 at 5:42 PM Accepted
    https://www.btobonline.com may have the data you need, since they do lots of surveys. For example see, https://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090914/FREE/309149977/1108/FREE and https://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091130/FREE/911309984/1009/SEARCH
  • Posted by J Geibel on 1/11/2010 at 9:48 PM Accepted
    A reasonable way to estimate market size is to get a hold of a copy of Bacon's Magazine Directory (this is used by the PR agencies for media relations work - over 24,000 magazines and newsletters) and look up the circulation statistics of the magazines that serve the markets (national, regional or whatever) you are interested in. The circulation figures are not exclusive or cumulative, but you'll get a reasonable market sizing figure if you compare the circulations of the largest magazines. We may be in a digital age, but I've found that most professionals get at least one magazine related to their industry, if not more. You can also get media kits from the publications that may include audited circulation breakdowns that gives a ton of demographic data.

    I would routinely build defensible market estimates for smaller clients in niche markets by using Bacon's, for a fraction of what it would otherwise cost. It helps if you have a marketing background to know how to interpolate the figures and data, but it's not absolutely necessary.

    You might find a copy at a library, or just buy one (they come out in September each year) for $625 (you get both the magazine and newspaper directory.) The company's name is now Cision.

    Your other questions relate to sales characteristics and buying behavior of the subject markets. The only reliable way to get that information is to talk to people who are, so to speak, "in the heat of the battle". You can get some really good insights from rather small, highly-targeted telephone surveys, but it is hard to find talent that can do that outside of major agencies or large research firms.

    You might also find that selected regional and national trade shows are a useful venue for both sales and market information - a lot of potential customers in one place. Find a complementary, non-competing vendor and ask them what shows the think are any good.

    As a smaller vendor - you need to be careful of how and where you spend your sales and marketing dollars. Do your homework and invest where you will get the most bang for your buck. But remember one thing - a good chunk of the information you will get is likely to tell you what you don't want to do, rather than paint a detailed roadmap to success. Sometimes that's just as important as finding the Holy Grail.

    Good Luck

    J. Geibel
    Geibel Marketing and Public Relations
  • Posted by akaprove on 1/12/2010 at 9:26 AM Accepted
    For #1, you might want to try Dunn & Bradstreet.
  • Posted on 1/20/2010 at 5:39 PM Author
    Marcus...thank you for your business category suggestions. My end thought with all this is much of a project like this has to be more qualitative and less qualitative unless proper time is given to interviewing, focus groups and survey work. Great suggestions and than you again.
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