Do Your Research: Know Your Market

Everyone wants to avoid marketing to people who are not interested in their work. How can you claim you know your success if you don’t even know your market?

It’s important that you do your research, so you can see where your market is and what kind of people most appreciate and connect with your work. This enables you to consistently market to the right people who are predisposed to becoming your long-term fans.

Know your market: know your audience

You might be thinking “I already know what my market is!”

But without doing any research, how do you know you’re not just making assumptions? No matter what genre or style you are going for, it is always best to know what your audience likes and use that info so that you can play to your strengths.

The best way to do this is to ask them to fill out a survey, and perhaps thank them with a free download or a discount on purchasing your work. Don’t make the survey too long or overcomplicate it. Just ask simple questions to find out their age, gender, some of their interests, and daily habits.

If you’re struggling to figure what you want to ask, just remember that the survey needs to help you answer these three questions:

• Who appreciates my work?
• Why do they appreciate my work (what aspects of my work do they appreciate)?
• What‘s the best way to reach them?

Researching your audience not only makes you a better creative, but it also builds your career.

If you want to make it in the creative industry you’re going to need to be attentive to your audience, so always keep in mind: researching your target market will only ever help you succeed.

Know your market: know your competitors

Although it’s always important not to get bogged down by the competition, you should definitely be aware of your competitors in your chosen industry.

How do you know your brand is unique if you don’t know your market’s leading businesses?

Here’s a tip: don’t monitor the competition, but do visit every once in a while. This could make all the difference between a brand that falls stale and a brand that constantly rises through the ranks – we know which one we’d rather be…

Know your market: know your brand

Arguably, this is the most important element of knowing your market.

Your brand is your company’s lifeblood – the thing that separates you from everybody else. What’s your USP? Why are you any better than your competition?

Your brand should be inviting, engaging, and authentically unique. Customers should want to pay for your service because of what your brand provides, so make sure this is something you don’t skimp on when working on your business.

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