10/24/2005
Quantify Your Market With Research
by Tracey Jeffers, Center Director, UA SBDC
Every good business plan will have a well-documented section of the document discussing the available market in the area in which an entrepreneur plans to do business. The quantification of the available market is a very important exercise in determining feasibility for business start-ups and expansions. Without it, a business person is missing a key tool in the toolbox for building success.
Quantification of available market has everything to do with confirming that there are enough potential customers in a given area that will likely be interested in purchasing a particular business’s products or services. The market research must start with the development of the probable customer profile by using demographic points and possibly adding other lifestyle characteristics such as hobbies. Once the base work is complete, the research begins.
Start with consulting census data at sites such as www.census.gov or www.easidemographics.com. This information will assist in determining an estimate of the number of likely customer candidates in your market area. You many want to refine your estimates by consulting other data sets such as the Community Sourcebook of ZIP Code Demographics found at many public and university libraries.
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