<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 36811" data-quote="CaptainAmerica" data-source="post: 802317"
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Granted, I have let initial failure derail me. But I have a new list of business owners in a semi-regulated industry, and actually want to hear from them. What has worked for you in doing market research? I've learned that saying I'm doing market research gets more aggressive 'never call me again' responses than anything else.
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</blockquote>I have used two methods, both DIY, for the simple reason that just as I found that advertising agencies could not comprehend what my products were all about, market researchers couldn't either.<br />
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My market research was to assess the market in other countries for the products that I was selling very successfully B2B in Australia.<br />
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The first part of my research involved phoning competitors pretending to be a customer. This was during one of my regular visits to New Zealand. I quickly discovered a couldn't care less attitude among "sales" staff. (order takers). They were also ignorant in relation to their own products, often being unable to identify the differences between product types. Knowing their weaknesses was a great help.<br />
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Then I traveled to New Zealand again, this time with a well prepared list of potential customers there. I visited them, not cold calling as a sales rep, but acting more like a messenger boy. When I got to see the decision maker, I didn't ask what they thought of the products, but actually acted as salesman, selling the products. I made a good number of sales, which I fulfilled from Australia, bearing the extra freight cost.<br />
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The result was that I very quickly knew that I could gain a big market share, not only because of having obtained orders on my first visit, but because they told me of the poor service they received from local suppliers.<br />
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I had already set up a company structure in New Zealand, and set about advertising franchises which I was able to sell easily because I already had customers. I adopted the same research methods in the other countries where I also set up a franchise network.<br />
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The two keys were:<br />
1. Not asking to see the buyer, but simply asking the receptionists to pass on my little package to the person responsible for such purchases. The package contained an irresistible pitch. It often led to a call within minutes on my mobile inviting me to return, sometimes immediately.<br />
2. Having a product that could be demonstrated. You might not have a physical product to demonstrate but a competent sales person, knowing every aspect of a service or product could "demonstrate" it.<br />
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Walter</div>
