The
best business plans are not always the best and innovative ideas. However, they
are probably the best researched ideas.
For any new business to succeed, an
entrepreneur needs to ensure that he or she
is building a product that is satisfying the needs of the market. The challenge
is in understanding what makes “one product” right enough to satisfy the needs of
large group of customers.
The best business plans rely on impeccable market research and a core understanding
of the product and the need for it by customers. An entrepreneur needs to take into
account the existence of a similar product already available in the market and the
uniqueness of the prospective product that distinguishes it from all products already
available. Finally, the
entrepreneur should estimate whether the product will make
money and if so how much.
In-depth market research is essential not only in formulating business plans but
also for successfully earning the finances to see the business plans through. Angel
Investors as well as
venture capitalists expect and demand market research from
any entrepreneur presenting a business proposal.
The business proposal developed by the
entrepreneur will provide him or her with
information that is critical to secure financing. In addition, the process will
yield valuable information about customers that will help the entrepreneur fine
tune his or her business idea.
Failure to research customers can be costly. A product that is introduced by an
entrepreneur into a market with insufficient market research will most probably
fail. This is because the entrepreneur has entered into the market without sufficiently
learning if there was a need for the product and for how much of the product. An
entrepreneur needs to know the potential customer very well. It’s not surprising
that entrepreneurs who are most successful are those who visit as many potential
customers as possible.
First the successful entrepreneur tries to sell the product and impress upon the
potential customer need for the product. But at the same time, the
successful entrepreneur
also listens to the customer and tries to understand why there may never be a market
for the product.
The bottom line is that a successful
entrepreneur is always listening. He listens
to his potential customers and he knows the value of market research.