Escaping the 'Faster Horses' Trap: Rethinking Market Research for Small Businesses (Ep#12)

This is an episode about why most small businesses' market research sucks - and what to do instead.

“I’ve tried doing research calls with my ideal clients, but they’re not my priority - they don’t tell me anything I don’t already know”

You hear marketers and copywriters (and let’s face it, me) banging on about doing your market research. But if you’re like a lot of the businesses I work with, you’ve tried that before but are finding you’re not really getting much out of the conversations, people are saying what they think you want to hear, and you sense you’re not really getting beyond the top-level superficial stuff.  (In fact, you strongly suspect if you put your questions into an AI-bot you’d get better responses!)

Today I wanted to get into the mud of why a lot of market research sucks, and what you can do instead to make sure you get what you need from it – the insights that will tell you exactly what you need to sell and exactly how you need to be talking about it. I’ve been doing this over 20 years so I’ve seen the good the bad and the ugly.

Then at the end I’ll give you the secret to the BEST question you can ask in EVERY ideal client research conversation you have – the one that REALLY brings out the gold!

You can download your complimentary guide to "Three Techniques to Validate Your Offer Before You Launch" here: https://www.orangesheepresearch.co.uk/validate

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Transcript

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I've tried doing market research calls with my ideal clients, but they're not my priority. They never tell me anything. I don't already know. Have you ever had that thought? You hear marketers copywriters and let's face it, me banging on all the time about why market research is so important to doing your business, how you should be doing it. But it does. Doesn't it feel like just one of those shirts where you don't, you feel like you do it cause you ought to, because it's a good thing to do, but in your business, you don't have time to do things that are just there as a ought to do. You need to do things that are bringing value to your business. And if you're finding, you're not really getting much out of these conversations, people are saying what they think you want to hear and you suspect you're not really getting beyond that superficial top level stuff. In fact, you suspect you could probably just pop your questions into an AI bot and get exactly the same answers. Um, it's hard to prioritize it today. I wanted to get to the Boston of why a lot of market research sucks and what you can do instead to make sure you're getting out of it. What you really need, the insights that will tell you exactly what you need to sell. Exactly how you need to be talking about it, to sell it. And, um, The things are going to make you stand out to your absolute perfect ideal clients above all the other businesses, which produced using AI to generate this sort of thing and getting the same sort of. Bland responses. It's everyone else. I've been doing this for over 20 years. So I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. And I want to share it all with you today. Then at the end, I'm going to give away a bit of a secret. I want to give you the best question you can ask in every single ideal client research conversation you have the one that really, really brings out the gold. So I'll share that with you at the end. Using marketing to persuade people to buy your thing is hard, icky and not an effective use of your time. It's an upside down way of doing things. Introducing Upside Up Marketing. Helping you create offers people want to buy and share them in a way that feels good. All over a nice cup of tea. Hello, and welcome to the upside up marketing podcast. Today, we are going to be talking about long with. My all time. Favorite topics, market reset. I'll try and reign in the geekiness and just focus on what you actually need to know. For those of you who don't know me, my name's Katie spread Bree and I started in market research while I was still studying for my psychology degree at university. My summer job was genuinely stopping people in the street in Croydon in south London, invited them into hotel rooms. Um, to smell that freshness looking back, I'm not quite sure how my mom allowed 19 year old me to be doing that as a summer job. But the point is I've been working in research for over 20 years and I've seen a lot of very, very good research and a fair bit of very bad research in my time. So I know what works and what doesn't. The tragedy is that. People know, market research is a really good thing to do, but it feels like something they should do, not something they actually find valuable. So it makes it very, very hard to prioritize it. And. I mean, I think that's fair if you're not getting good information outfit, why would you waste your time doing it? Because it is quite time consuming, especially if you're doing it yourself. And, um, if you're not doing it yourself, it can be quite expensive. So why would you do it if you're not getting the value? So I'm here to help, to help make sure that you are getting the value and you see why, um, people like me always saying how you, this is definitely one of the things you should be doing. Um, you see. When you're questioning the value of doing something like this, and then you see big name marketers out there dismissing it entirely. You don't need to do your market research. It's a waste of time. They draw on that famous quote or I think there's a misquote actually. I don't think it was actually him that said it, but it's always attributed to Henry Ford. Um, if I asked people what they wanted, they would've told me faster horses. Henry Ford, of course, being the car manufacturer bought out the model T the first mass produced car on the market. Um, and. You know, sort of hanging off that quote from over a hundred years ago. He dismissed ever. And he did ever doing any outreach to get people's views or understand their experiences. This group of, um, coaches gurus. Uh, marketers can often be found dispensing unhelpful platitudes, such as you are your ideal client. Just make what you want and build it. And they will come. In very, very few instances that might work, but. You're not your ideal client and build it. They probably won't come. Sorry. I know that like, That's um, not what you want to hear, but. But it's the reality of it for the vast, vast majority of us. That star strategy is not going to work. And in fact, that leads to the upside down marketing that the name of this podcast upside up marketing podcast is trying to move away from. You are not your ideal client because you already know why the problem is happening and how to fix it and build it. And they will come. It's very, very risky, difficult way of doing things because it means creating something then going out, having to convince and persuade people. But it's what they need. Um, my preferred technique being upside up marketing, which is to create something they actually already need. And then your job as a marketer is just telling them about it. So if doing your ideal client work involves sitting around and thinking about it really hard. Making up answers about questions. You supposedly need to know the answer to. I'm sorry to say, you have not done your ideal client work. These are real people living real lives and assuming, you know, better than they do about what's going on for them. And what's best for them. Does them a huge disservice. And we'll make it really hard for you to relate to the people you're actually trying to reach. So it's very, very tempting to listen to the people out there saying don't worry about market research. It's a complete waste of time, but I think they have rather missed the point. Firstly, I bet chances are they are doing some kind of research themselves, even if they don't identify it as a such, they're definitely going to be listening to customer feedback one way or another, even if they're not formalizing it as a research exercise. And secondly, I think the reason that dismissed it. Is that they haven't been doing it properly. And that's what I'm going to come on to talk about next, because if you're doing it, like I'm about to talk about, of course you're not getting anything out of it. So. You get, firstly, you get the side where they're just dismissing it out of hand, then you get the marketers were very enthusiastic about it. I was listening to a podcast the other week and, um, it was a marketing coach whose work. I respect a lot. And she was talking about market research, how brilliant it is, how likely you really should be doing it, how, like it should be central to your business. I'm thinking, yes. Brilliant. I'm going to share this podcast with my audience, cause she's really talking it up. But then the actual advice you gave about how to do it. I thought, oh no. Because it was everything that goes against the best practice for actually doing market research. Um, She fell into the trap that I see. So often go out and ask your people what they want from you, share your offer or idea and ask if they'll buy it. If you're not sure what to say in your content, ask people what they want to hear from you. This is all done with the right spirit and intentions. And I applaud it. I applaud that. They're trying, but there's one big problem. That quote I gave you before that one from Henry Ford, if I'd asked people what they wanted, they'd have said faster horses. He had a point. And I mentioned this in a podcast. I was guesting on recently. The polkas toast. She invited me to come on and talk about market research. And her face. Uh, George has dropped, as I said, people don't know what they want. People are really, really bad at predicting what they'll do in future. And as strange as it seems, people are really bad at telling you why they did what they did in the past. so asking them about it really, isn't going to get you anywhere. We like to believe we are logical creatures. So when we're asked what we want, we try and give very sensible, logical sounding answers. But the reality is we're driven by a whole range of emotions, biases, mental shortcuts. We take the, our conscious mind just doesn't have access to. And if. I conscious mind were put it's metaphorical fingers in it is and saying law, if it ever did notice it happening, because it likes to believe that it is in control. Our conscious mind likes to believe it is in control. There are all these, all these other things going on, the logical brain just doesn't have access to. If a market research was to come up to me and ask me about what my motivations were behind buying food for my children, because they were. Making a new product and they wants to appeal to moms of young children. I would wax lyrical about how passionate I am about children's relationship with food and how I want to make sure their support I'm supporting their health and their relationship with food going into the future. Making sure they're not having too much sugar, too much salt. How the, how I'm making sure they're developing healthy habits for life. I would talk, I could talk about that for forever, because it is something I'm really passionate about. But do you want to know what's on the menu for my children tonight? Well, we've got a swimming lesson at four 30, so they're having chicken differs and chips. I think my motivations for choosing my children's food are wholesome and, uh, Instagram where the, um, virtuous motivations. But in reality, I've gone for that convenience. So asking me what's important when shopping for food for your children, just isn't going to end up with the products I'm actually going to buy. Anyway, my point is that anyone who tells you to ask your audience what they want. Simply doesn't understand ideal client research. In fact, it's worse than that. They don't understand people. Similarly the advice to go and ask. Um, like per social post up, for example, saying, I'm thinking about putting out XYZ offer. Um, you know, do you want it, if you do, would you be interested in that? Is that sound like the kind of thing you would buy? As a very, very good strategic post to raise awareness of an offer. You're about to launch. But it is a terrible way of finding out whether people actually want it. Um, there are three reasons for this. The first one is people are lovely, especially the people that follow you that have said that enjoy seeing your content you're putting out and have said they want to see more of it by joining your audience. They like you, they want to support you if it sounds like it might be useful to someone, anyone they're going to leave supportive comments. Oh yeah. I think people would find that really valuable, blah, blah, blah. But you try and set it. There's nothing to say. They're going to buy it unless they're looking at that saying yes, that is exactly me. What I need, what I want, uh, solves all my problems, which are unlikely to be able to get from them from a very short social post. Anyway. There's nothing to say. They're going to buy that. And that's when, um, I see a lot of people saying, oh, I got great reaction on social media, but when I actually launched it, no one bought it. This can be something that's at play here. The second reason is people are suspicious. I never respond to posts like this. Even if I look at it and think, do you know what I would find that really useful? I'm not going to respond because I fear it's opening me up to a slew of DMS. Um, trying to, you know, push it on me and sell it to me, um, directly, so, um, You know, I need more, I need to be really sure I'm actually going to buy it before I'll raise my head above the parapet and say, yeah, make myself known and say, yeah, that's something I'd be interested in. So that's another reason people are suspicious. And then thirdly, unless you have a hugely engaged audience of thousands of people, not enough, people are actually even likely to see it. A couple of yeses from your most engaged people does not give you a feel for what your audience, as a whole, what your market as a whole. My thing can, how they might react to it. Remember your most engaged people have seen all your other continent, all your other stuff. So, um, they're not. Representative of your wider market. So it's, um, something to bear in mind. So, like I say, great post to put out, but use it primarily for work raising awareness and you know, starting to get people excited about it. Not as something that's actually going to make the decision, whether you create the product or not. So. If doing your ideal client work, doesn't involve putting thoughts out of your own head as per the first example. Um, and it doesn't involve asking people what they want. What on earth is it? What is it? Well, the sort of research that I work with my clients on focuses on context. On understanding. The ideal client's everyday life, their situation, not only what the problems are, but how they're showing up and how they fit in with everything else that is going on for them. We need to know about all the stuff that's going on. Uh, around the problem. We need to know how they're experiencing it and understanding it. Um, um, I do clients' lives are a complex web of everything they've got going on. They don't experience the problem that we solve and a nice clean, tidy, isolated manner where we can just come in and say, okay, here's the problem. Here's a solution. That's do it. That's just not how life works. So when we're, when I'm doing. Uh, I do client research when I'm supporting my clients, do idle client research. We've rarely addressed the problem head on with the person we're talking to. Unless they raise it themselves, like spontaneously. So. It's about understanding the richer context of their lives and then overlay overlaying my client's expertise to identify how and where they can best support these people and what the key marketing messages should be based on that they're going to cut through. So it's taking a step back and building that wider picture. Okay. If you example in the moment, show you what I mean. So to take Henry Ford's quote again. If I'd ask people what they wanted, they would've said faster horses. What if instead, instead of saying, what is it you want. We'd ask questions about their lives and understood the frustrations people have with their horses. They aren't quick enough. They need regular rest stops. They're high maintenance to keep, I have to pay for all their food. And I need to sweep up that pool every day. The result would still have supported the launch of the car. It's for us to take the answers. We get, apply our knowledge and come up with something that melds both into the perfect solution. So, um, as an example, if I'm doing my own. Um, ideal client research. I'm unlikely to say. What are you struggling with most around doing your market research? I might say how's business at the moment. What are you working on today? What roadblocks have you hit this week? What is your plan for the rest of the month, the quarter, the year what's niggling you, that might hold you back, you know, why do you think you might not reach these goals? Um, I'm building a picture of what's going on for them and where they're seeing their sort of blocks and places that are holding them back. I will get a lot of answers that are nothing to do with market research. It's likely it won't even get mentioned. Let's face it. I mean, it's not top of mind for most business owners. But it all helps me build a picture of what struggles my work could help with. For example, if they say their content is taking too much time to write, because they can't think of ideas. I can add that to my marketing of one of the, because one of the great things about doing research is that it gives you a multitude of ideas of what to use in your content. Having those conversations gives you so many ideas. Um, and also. Through that developing the understanding of your ideal client, you know, which ones the best ideas are. So you never run out of content ideas again. Um, and it also helps me understand what priorities I'm competing with for that attention. So, uh, you know, they're thinking about their marketing, their messaging, how to get more clients, but they're also thinking about their systems and processes and whether their invoices are getting sent and things like that. And what's the priority for them. And where do I sit within that? So, do you see what I'm this sort of thing? I mean, what I'm talking about, how does this differ from research conversations you've done in the past? Um, does it give you a new angle, a new way to approach it, or if you haven't done it in the past, does this give you the confidence that. You know, you're just having a conversation. There's nothing. Um, There's, you know, you don't need to go in and ask him really in-depth behind the scenes, personal questions from the off, you're just having a conversation about what's going on in their lives. Um, you know, does it give you more confidence to do this going forwards? And if that's helped you with your ideas for doing your own market research, Um, one place that asking the right questions is absolutely critical is a course. When you are designing your offers, your services, your courses, your programs. Um, and what you're going to put out there to sell. So I've put together a resource to help you with exactly that it's three techniques to help validate your offer before you launch. Um, and it's three questions that you can ask your audience to go eat. If there is a need for your offer, a desire for your offer and what might stop them from buying. So, not only does it help you test the viability of the offer before you waste time, launching something? Nobody wants. Um, those. So the answers will give you some big light bulbs on how to market the offer, to what to say in your content, your sales pages, your. Emails and all of that. The questions, follow the format. We've just been talking about in the episode. So we're definitely not going out there and saying, I'm thinking of creating X, Y, Z. Would you be interested? And there's more to it than that. And to grab your free copy, all you need to do is go to www.orangesheepresearch.co.uk. Forward slash validate and let me know where I should send it. Uh, the links in the show notes, and don't forget to pop into my social media inbox and let me know how you get on. Um, so I promised you at the beginning that I would, um, share with you my secret question, the golden question that I ask in every single ideal client research interview that I do and that I recommend all my clients do as well. Um, and that is to wait for the very end of the interview. And just before you sign off, say, is there anything else you wanted to share? Anything I've missed, anything you were hoping I'd ask, ask about that? I haven't. And then pause. 95% of people. We'll do well. Most people will say, no, not really. Pause. Let that pour set. Don't jump in and 95% of people will then do one of two things. They'll say. It's just, and then they'll either restate what to them is the most important thing you've just talked about. Which is a great information and B they'll probably paraphrase it in a way that's far more natural than what they've said so far. Or secondly, they'll tell you the thing that you missed talking about the thing that they wanted to raise, or that has, um, something that sparked in their mind as you've been having the conversation that. You didn't bring up earlier. So this part of the interview where you're wrapping up, they're the most relaxed they've got through it, that Hema sigh of relief that they've been able to answer your questions because you know, people have those worries, like, oh, I'm doing a research interview. What if I don't know the answers and things like that, obviously there are no right and wrong answers. That's the point of it, but that's not how people feel. So they've relaxed. They've got through it. You've had a lovely chat. They've opened up and they reflecting on the conversation and that is sometimes where the best golden nuggets of information come from. So always at the end, make sure you have this wrap-up question to check whether there's anything you've missed or anything else they want to share, because they would either tell you what you've missed in anything else they want to share, or they will restate the most important point of all the conversation you've had so far. So, um, yeah, that's my favorite thing to ask. Um, Never disregard it. Best thing to ask. So, thank you so much for listening. Um, I release a new episode of this podcast, every fortnight. So don't forget to subscribe. If you want to be the first to hear when the next one drops. Um, I'll see you next time. And, uh, yeah. Keep asking questions.