Customized Economic Research

April 13, 2006

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Customized economic research covers a wide range of categories. The research can range from sitting in your car and watching people walk by a specific location to hiring a professional research firm to do your market research and analysis for you. Don't overdo your market research; see market research on a budget for more information.

Generally the do-it-yourself economic research approach will provide you with the necessary information to evaluate your new business. If your new business is going to be a retail establishment, your two main questions in this area are where will the store be located and who will your customers be? Assume that you plan to open a submarine sandwich shop in a strip mall that has a vacancy. Some of the questions that should be addressed are as follows:

Was there a store in this location before? If two other restaurants have already tried it and failed, do you want this location? The best and easiest way to find out this information if you don't already know it is to ask business people in the same strip mall or the mall management. Be careful that they are not just telling you what you want to hear.
Are there competing or complementing stores in the same area? If three restaurants are already there and all appear to be extremely busy, then maybe your research may be almost done for you. This may be a location that has a high need for more restaurants. But, if two of the restaurants are also sub shops, why will somebody come to yours instead of the other ones?
What time of the day will your sub shop make money? Is this a strip mall that is a destination for the lunch crowd or is it busiest in the evening after work? The most effective way to answer these questions may be to sit in your car and watch the traffic patterns. If you note that, over the lunch period the parking lot is packed and most of the people are there for lunch, this may be the place where you want to open your restaurant. If you notice that, in the evening hours very little traffic comes to this strip mall and the other restaurants have very few customers, then you will know that you probably will not be able to depend on the evening hours to make any money.
Talk to shoppers that are in the area. Ask them questions on why they shop or eat in this location. Be careful on how you phrase your questions or they may tell you the answer you want to hear instead of their true beliefs.
What is in the future for this location? Will major road construction or store closings affect your new business location? Is this location in an area that is growing in business and population?
To answer the questions on population, market size, etc., look at the government information resources section. This will provide you with a road map on more specific economic research.

Another way to obtain customized economic research is to hire a professional research firm. This can be a very expensive way to do your research. Much of the information that they will provide can be obtained from other sources, e.g., government information resources, interviewing the potential customers, etc. If the new business will be a larger company, a high financial risk, or a very specific and narrow customer base, then it may make sense to use a professional research firm.