Market research for your website - Make an impact!

In my previous blog posts in the Client Attracting Content series, I’ve encouraged you to use information from your market research. If you are not sure what kind of content to put on your website, or how to do market research, I share here some of the basic marketing research steps you can go through to create impactful content.

Market research

…kind of sounds dead boring, but once you get started it actually gets exciting. Once over the first bump, you’ll see that:

It will make you feel very connected with your clients
You will feel a whole lot more confident about what to say on your website

If you want to have a successful business, you can’t chicken out on market research, because what you will find out about your clients is what is going to make them prefer to work with you and not anyone else.

You can have the prettiest website in the world, but if it only produces a ‘wow – that’s beautiful’ reaction, without the actual words connecting with them, making them consider working with you, then your visitors will soon move on to the next shiny thing to ooh over.

And that doesn’t bring you clients… 🙁

So….

Getting out of your comfort zone

Here are a few steps to get you started with market research:

Step 1 – Define a target market & ideal client profile

If you don’t know exactly who you are talking to, your marketing messages will end up sounding general and like something people have heard a hundred times before.

Target market

Who are you providing your services to?

Some examples from my clients’ target markets are: female entrepreneurs, single mums, top level executives etc.

Ideal client

What kind of people within your target market do you work best with?

An ideal client is the kind of person who you connect with emotionally and is a real joy to work with. You look forward to receive their emails and calls, and the whole working together process feels like fun and a great team work.

(You can find an example of an Ideal Client Questionnaires here)

You probably feel that you will limit yourself by narrowing it down, but it is actually the opposite that happens.

The advantages of defining a target market and an ideal client profile is that it:

Assures your potential client that you help people exactly like them
Makes them feel that you really understand their particular problems and frustrations
Makes them feel you have a tailor-made solution for them
Positions you as an expert in your area

Step 2 – Find out where they are online & offline

Now that you know who your clients are, it’s easier to find them. Ask yourself:

Are they active in groups online where they share their problems?
Can you find them in associations or networking groups?
Do you already have some clients you can interview?
Do you know people in your target market that you can interview?

Step 3 – Start asking!

Google is a good start, but talking to real people is where the magic happens.

I felt very uncomfortable asking people, and stuck to Google search and forums for a while, until my business coach kicked me out of my comfort zone, and got me to interview a few key people in my target market.

I was amazed to realize that they did not see my questions as bothersome at all! Rather they really appreciated the interest, and were very open and honest in their replies, and we ended up having a very personal conversation and connecting on an emotional level. And the information I got is the cornerstone of how I chose to write my content. So give it a go – sometimes your mind is your worst enemy 🙂

These are some of the key things you want to know about your clients:

What is their biggest frustration and challenge?
How do they feel having this problem?
What would be the perfect solution for them?
How would they feel if the problem was solved?

When you have the information, you know exactly what their biggest worry is, how they feel and how they wish their problem would be solved.

Use this information to create the key messages on your homepage and use their words in your website content

Market research is a huge topic, so what I mention here is just the basics. If you want to be really serious about it, hiring a business coach (that have people like you as a target market 😉 ) is a good investment, as it will get you started on the right track sooner rather than later.

Have you done any market research? Do you hate it/love it? Help other entrepreneurs by sharing your achievements and learnings – leave a comments below! 🙂

Need help getting started with the process? Drop me a note!