If you want detailed information, you will not find that the telephone is the best method of acquiring

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26. WHO WILL BUY?

If you want detailed information, you will not find that the telephone is the best method of acquiring

it. Instead, try to carry out a number of in-depth interviews

If you are researching a consumer market, you should try to talk to the distributors and retailers as

well as to the end-users, Most people are flattered to be asked their professional' opinion. Talking to

the final consumers can be a bit of a problem because you may not know who these are. Perhaps a

retailer will allow you to spend a day in the shop talking to customers? Asking people in the street

outside the store is another possibility. If your product is likely to be exhibited at trade fairs for the

consumer, spend some time there asking about the market and product. Use a brief questionnaire to

ensure that you ask the same questions so that the information can be analysed.

Interviewing competitors may sound an odd idea, but there is no harm in it and it can help you

understand what are common problems. If you come across any ex-employees of competitors, it is

always worth a discussion, although you have to bear in mind that their view may not be entirely

objective if they did not part on good terms with the business.

Before you start your business, you could carry out some discreet research into how the competition

organizes their businesses by pretending to be a prospective customer. In this way you can gain

some idea of the literature, prices, the way telephone queries are dealt with selling methods or even

how your potential competitors quote. It may seem unfair, but it is an unrivalled source of

information and you may rest assured that once you are in business others will do it to you.

TEST TRIALS

It would be a great help to you if you could test market your product, especially if you will be setting

up production facilities or ordering very large quantities. If you can try out a few before you make

the substantial investment needed, you would be able to refine the product, satisfy yourself that the

demand does exist and define the likely sales cycle (the length of time from first contact to

purchase). To test this, buyers of the trial product need to be followed up and interviewed.

SUMMARY

1. Market research which is undirected is not very useful; it needs to concentrate on who will buy,

why will they buy and how much will they buy. SUMMARY - 27

2. It is much easier to sell a product which meets some already perceived need rather than to try to

educate a market to buy a new, perhaps revolutionary, product or service. 3. Look for groups within

your target market which you think you can

sell to, either because no one is currently selling to them or because you

can adapt your product to meet their needs.

4. Use the step-by-step guide (p. 16) to help you identify a suitable market group 5. Rational and

emotional factors affect your target group's willingness to

buy. Research these and alter your product or sales approach to match.

6, Knowing how much customers will buy is crucial to your business planning You need to research

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market size, market structure, market share, the competition and market trends.

7. Try to carry out your research in a systematic way so that it can be

properly analysed. Use desk research, interviews and test trials, if

possible.

OTHER CHAPTERS TO READ

11. The right name (p. 124) 15. How to set a price' (p. 166) 3. A SPOT OF COACHING

'I don't have the time' might be the instant reaction of a budding entrepreneur if it is suggested that

training or asking for advice would be beneficial. At the other end of the spectrum, there may be

people who could make a success of self-employment, but feel I don't know how to start

Training, counselling and seeking advice can all improve your chances of success, so do not dismiss

the idea. If you have not yet started on your own, try to fit in some sort of training before you do so.

If you are already underway, look around to see what training or help is available to fit in with your

schedule. One sad comment made by some of the organizations set up specifically to help embryonic

businesses is that people don't seek help until things are going wrong. Give yourself the greatest

chance of success and consider it now.

There are an extraordinary number of organizations designed to help new or small businesses,

indeed, giving advice to small businesses has probably been one of the fastest growth industries in

the UK. Some of the advisers include banks and accountants, local enterprise agencies, Small Firms

Service, Enterprise Initiative and local colleges.

This chapter looks at the various sources of help and advice grouped into six categories. This is

slightly artificial as many of the categories overlap; but it should help you to decide which direction

to take to find the sort of advice which comes closest to meeting your needs.

The groups are:

training courses

• counselling

• sharing problems with other business people

• small business organizations

• information from the media, books and exhibitions

• extra help for the young. ethnic minorities, women and the unem

ployed. TRAINING COURSES

TRAINING COURSES 29

Obviously the main purpose of attending a training course is to learn new skills and techniques. But

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a secondary purpose is that it gives you an opportunity to meet people with similar problems and

possibly meet

potential partners, suppliers and customers. The diversity of courses available makes it difficult to

describe an "average' course. On the other hand, this very diversity should ensure that you will find

a course run somewhere which meets your needs and suits your personality, although obviously you

do not want to travel too

far.

HOW LONG A COURSE?

The length of courses available varies from a one or two-day taster, which would allow you to get the

feel of whether self-employment is for you, up to a six-month course for those already committed to

the idea. The courses can be full-time, for example, for three or six weeks, or the courses can be

part-time. Part-time could mean either a series of weekends spent on the course, or it could be

evenings, or it could be a period of a few weeks spread over a few months or a year.

WHAT TOPICS ARE COVERED?

The content of most of the general self-employment or small business

courses leans heavily on the financial side. Topics such as cash flows, business plans and sources of

finance, financial control and book-keeping are covered. There should also be a substantial content

on selling and marketing. Apart from these key areas, other topics which may be covered include

something on premises, micro-computers, employment law, recruiting, and other legal aspects of

business and insurance

As well as general small business courses, organizations run more specialized ones, for example, a

two-day course concentrating on finance or marketing. If you feel fairly confident in general about

your business expertise, this sort of course could help you to brush up your knowledge in your

weakest area

WHAT SORT OF TRAINING?

Inevitably, with a fair number of courses, quite a lot of the information and training is given in a

fairly traditional classroom format. However. in all courses there should be an informal atmosphere

which allows for discussion and questions. The success of the course can depend as much 30 A SPOT

OF COACHING

on the quality and interest of the participants as on the teachers. Before you choose a course it

might be worthwhile to try and find out a little bit about the type of participants attending the

course to gauge if it is the right level for you

An increasing number of courses are trying to introduce a 'hands-on approach. Your business plan

will be presented to a small group and to the teachers for discussion, suggestion and improvement.

In a few courses, there may be an opportunity to present your plan to a bank or other source of

funds. This could simply be as a training exercise. However, if you present your case well, the bank

may want to discuss your business idea in more detail.

WHO RUNS THE COURSES?

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Courses are run by a wide variety of organizations, including enterprise agencies or colleges of

further education or technology

The ideal tutor for a self-employment or small business course is someone who owns a business and

is also an expert teacher. The chances of staffing a training course with such people are fairly

remote. Nevertheless, before you choose a course, look at the mix and back grounds of the people

running it.

One ingredient for successful business training can be the support which you can get before and

after the training course itself. To maximise the benefit from the time you spend, look for an

organisation running the course which can provide counselling as well as training or which has close

links with an organization which can provide support.

WHAT TRAINING IS OFFERED BY THE GOVERNMENT?

The Training Agency, part of the Employment Department, offers a series of training options under

the Business Growth Training scheme. It aims to improve business performance and profits through

linking training of the workforce to a firm's business plans. Firms which do not have a business plan

can still get help through Business Growth Training or the Business Planning Initiative of the DTI.

The Business Growth Training services (see p. 395) include expert advice and kits to produce better

business and training plans and better business skills for owners/managers. "Your Business Success

kits, available free through local agents, help

you decide what training is needed to update and acquire skills. There

are local workshops to support the kit, which could lead on to more

training. You pay for the workshop and any further training