Freelance UK:
Market Research
The quality of the business decisions you take is dependent upon the quality of the information you have. Whether you are currently thinking of making the leap to leave your full-time job in preference of a freelance career, or are an existing freelancer looking to expand your market share or break into a new industry, market research could save you from failure.
Making sure that you know the market that you are trying to enter will help focus your mind on the variables that will affect the profitability of your venture.
What to investigate?
- Who else is already in the market?
- What are their costs and overheads?
- What is the level of potential customers?
- Are the potential customers ready for or in need of your services?
Where can I find this information?
Start off by looking in such places as the Yellow Pages and other local directories, trade magazines and publications and the Internet. Here you will be able to find details of companies and other freelancers offering the services that you would like to provide. If details of charges are not available in their marketing material or adverts then why not send them an email or call them to see what their charges are. This is also a good opportunity to check their customer service skills and techniques and to get a feeling for how busy they are!
Once you have found some direct competitors there are many tools that will allow you to find out more about their business, especially if they have formed a limited company. You can use the ICC company search tool available on one of our affiliates sites SJD Accountancy - this tool will allow you to search companies house and download reports detailing the companies directors and finances. These reports cost a few pounds and for the information you can glean from them are well worth the cost - you must also be a registered user of the web site to purchase these reports.
If you are already established or have industry contacts why not use these people as a sounding board for your plans and ideas? Existing clients are often only too pleased to help if you have a good working relationship with them and may well point out pitfalls and other avenues to explore that you would not have thought of. Sometimes offering a reward or incentive for completing a questionnaire or a short telephone interview can make clients more forthcoming.
Why not call a handful of potentials to outline your services? You will soon be able to get an idea as to whether the proposition you are offering is viable and it is also a good chance to brush up on pre-sales techniques and if you are really lucky get some hot leads for when the service is launched.
Like the wise man said - "Failing to plan is like planning to fail."
