Every small business owner-manager must ask the following questions to devise effective marketing strategies:

• Who are my customers and potential customers?
• What kind of people are they?
• Where do they live?
• Can and will they buy?
• Am I offering the kinds of goods or services they want - at the best place, at the best time and in the right amounts?
• Are my prices consistent with what buyers view as the product's value?
• Are my promotional programs working?
• What do customers think of my business?
• How does my business compare with my competitors?

Marketing research is not a perfect science. It deals with people and their constantly changing feelings and behaviors, which are influenced by countless subjective factors. To conduct marketing research you must gather facts and opinions in an orderly, objective way to find out what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell them.