The sense of excitement that accompanies a great business idea can go a long way towards motivating you to endure the long hours and hard work involved it bringing it to fruition. However, business ideas should be vigorously evaluated and researched before too much money, or effort, is spent. Market research, as well as careful and considered evaluation of the possible market for a business proposition, should be carried out to maximise the idea’s potential and steer the entrepreneur in the right direction for developing it. We asked some of the CEOs from NESTA’s portfolio companies to give their advice based on their own experiences of evaluating and researching their business propositions.
"You need to understand the competition. Has anyone else had the idea and has it worked for them? If something similar exists already, what's the difference in your proposition? Once you've done that, the best market research is talking to people that could actually buy into the idea."
"There are lots of organisations you can turn to for market research. We've used networks, big market research firms and individuals that specialise in the field. You can always find help and it needn't be expensive. Simply talking to people gave us some very good steers. It all informed our thinking and helped us put together the package of knowledge which underpins what we're doing."
"In order to really understand what people want you need to talk to your potential customers, and their customers. Some of our competitors got the market wrong and that's disastrous. It's not about talking to one or two people. You need to talk to as many as possible. Find out exactly what they want, whether they're willing to buy it and if they'll be able to pay the price you need to charge."
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Nesta Operating Company, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company number 7706036 and charity number 1144091. Registered as a charity in Scotland number SC042833.
