No Budget for Market Research Heres an Inexpensive Trick

Published by: Ivan Cano

Teaser: Market research is important. But often times, it’s expensive and time consuming for most SMEs. What are they supposed to do then? Simple: Observe!

Research, research, research. That’s what experts keep suggesting, and its importance can’t be overemphasized. But most of the time, small-to-medium enterprises simply don’t have the means nor the resources to hire or even conduct proper research of their own. Hope isn’t lost, however, as any business can rely on the effective yet inexpensive tool of observation.

No subscriptions. No down payments. No credit cards needed. It’s free, and it’s a lot more useful than we would initially think.

There are a tons of examples out there of market observations. In their place, I’ll offer some personal examples to break away from the mold:

The 3-in-1 instant coffee is commonplace nowadays. But a little more than 10 years ago, it was only starting to become a convenient alternative to instant coffee on its own. I first saw its convenience in the best (and worst) scenario possible: The aftermath of a typhoon in the Philippines.

A couple of buddies and I joined a university-led relief effort in one of the disaster stricken provinces. One friend (who was then an intern at Nestlé) noticed their instant coffee mix was looked over by the locals for their smaller competitor’s 3-in-1 instant coffee mix. When we asked them why the coffee mix along wasn’t good enough, most of the locals said:

“The coffee mix by itself would still have us go out and look for sugar and creamer. With the 3-in-1, all we would need is hot water”. Unfortunately, not all the bags contained 3-in-1 coffee since the supplies were collected from university students and company donors.

The same friend told us Nescafé had already planned their own 3-in-1 product line and started rolling it out some months later. However, they had already lost a portion of their market share when the first of the 3-in-1 mix hit commercial shelves across the country.

Nescafé still enjoys the top spot as the choice consumer coffee in the Philippines. But it was put on the back-foot when it didn’t keep its ears on the ground and observe the shift in consumer preference.

I was working as an intern at a construction company whose office was located in an aging building. Companies, including the one I worked in, complained of the slow elevators. It took some months before repairs and improvements were made. I personally felt the difference but other companies felt it wasn’t enough, particularly the finance companies. They threatened to leave the building if it wasn’t made any better.

A few weeks later, the elevators were closed down again for “additional improvements”. On the day it became operational, I noticed mirrors are installed inside the elevator walls. I wondered if this was something purely aesthetic added along with the improvements on the speed of the elevator. But I wouldn’t get my chance to ask until the very end of my internship.

On my last day, I was asked to return my building clearance to the admin’s office. The usual guy wasn’t there, so to my surprise, it was the admin manager himself who received my clearance. But before I left I told him “Nice touch on the mirrors in the elevators. Made it look more spacious”.

He laughed and added “Yeah? Glad you like them. That’s how we got the finance people to shut up about it”.

“Excuse me?” I asked him. His answer was something I could never forget:

It seems the stereotype that finance people wanting to look good all the time has some truth to it. Way to reinforce a stereotype. But no one can argue with the results. It kept the finance people from leaving and even got the admin some complements (aside from mine) for making the elevators look better. A cynical observation, yet, an effective one

...But when I started to play!~ Those people keen on the history of advertising should know this. John Caples, a legendary copywriter, made this classic headline when he was asked to write a copy for a musical school advertisement.

John Caples knew everybody loved a good musician. Not just because they played great music but they looked good while they did it.

But When I Started to Play!

This copy derives out of that simple observation John Caples made of how most people saw musicians. Good ones would be praised and would look even better but bad ones would be laughed off the stage.

People are even more skeptical about someone they know who doesn’t play the piano suddenly get on it. However, when that someone starts playing, that’s when they’re blown out of the water. This is the thought John Caples wants to sell to people who would come across the copy. And it’s now a classic example of good copy made from simple observation.

If you’re an SME, there’s no need to break the bank for market research. Observe! It’s often overlooked due its simplicity, but it’s exactly because of this that we can perceive basic human behavior that tell us what consumers are really looking.

Content Writer: Ivan Fredriech Cano

 

Ivan Fredriech Cano is a Content Writer / Copywriter for an Online Entertainment group in Asia. With his university studies in int’l politics, to his present-day practice in market research and copywriting, he continues to widen his scope in the industries he writes for. Ivan’s work focuses on technology, content marketing, online entertainment and continuously unearthing the ticks of the consumer psyche.