© 2024 Melanie White
Menu
Are you struggling to work out what your niche is, refine your messaging or get clarity on your offer? Market research interviews with your niche are the key to getting these things right. But it can be tricky to find people who are willing to talk to you, and you may feel uncomfortable about asking.
Let’s talk about some easy, non-threatening ways to ask people to do market research interviews with you, that they find hard to resist!
Market research is a critical part of creating a client-centric business. It is a process that allows you to understand your client and their specific problem in great depth.
You will get a sense of what they want and need, why that matters, their triggers for seeking help, the results they want, what they’ve tried before, and what stands in their way.
When you know these things, you will be able to build a business that people love, where they feel heard and understood, and that truly serves them.
As you can see, finding out what people want, why and how, is an absolutely essential part of your success.
Market research can involve searching online to understand buying habits and main trends but speaking to people in person gives you much more information.
You get to hear the emotion in their voice, see it in their body language, and truly understand what matters to them. Plus, you build rapport and trust in live interviews that might be lacking in a written message or survey.
Once you have done those interviews, you can look for common trends, common words used, and which parts of the conversation created heightened emotion or a more in-depth response from the client. These are the more important parts that matter to the interviewee. They give you clues as to where to focus your programs, marketing content and support.
This episode came about because a student in my current Passion to Profit course asked how to approach people to take part in market research interviews, and it was such a great question I decided to podcast on it.
In response to that student, I created a ‘template’ – a simple written formula that could be used in an email, private message or post to invite people to do market research.
You can adapt this to suit your niche and needs. Here it goes.
Do you want to (stop/start doing something/solve a problem), but aren’t sure where to start or are finding it hard to stick to?
I would love to have your help. I am a student Health and Wellness Coach with a passion for YOUR PASSION (which relates to the problem).
As part of the course, I have an assignment to speak with 5 people about their opinions, needs and challenges in these areas so I can more easily help people with these struggles to achieve (result).
If you are available for a private 20-minute phone conversation with me (no strings attached), please contact me before (date).
This is really short and sweet, and it contains elements that get people interested in helping you.
These elements are:
(1) Starting with a question engages interest.
This question qualifies the person who is not just struggling, but is ALSO ready, willing and able to get help. This screens out tyre kickers and time wasters, or people who are ambivalent. You want people in the preparation stage of change, so your question should speak to them specifically.
(2) People love helping and giving opinions. This is a key hook in this formula.
(3) Mentioning the results that they want gets them more interested.
(4) If it’s a short, private conversation, they might be more willing.
(5) Be clear that there are no strings attached and no pressure to buy anything. It’s just an assignment.
(6) The due date compels them to take action.
When you get this right, you get people engaged and ready, willing and able to help.
Beyond sending out an email, message or broadcast, there are other methods you can use to engage people in market research interviews.
(1) Make it a competition, with a prize
People love competitions, so if you offer a $20 gift voucher or similar, it might appeal to the right person.
To make sure they’re not just in it for the prize, you might want to be more specific about who the offer is targeting, and who it’s not for. In this case, it’s totally ok to list a few more criteria about the person you want to interview.
(2) Offer a freebie in exchange for their time
Some people might be attracted by a free coaching session or a tool or resource that will help them with the specific problem you are interviewing about.
Today we talked about how market research interviews give you so much valuable information and can help you to clarify, understand and market to your niche more effectively.
But it can be hard to engage people to help.
There are a few things that motivate people to do interviews like these – the idea that they are helping you, getting the chance to be heard by giving an opinion, or that they receive something of value in exchange for their time and insights.
I covered these things in a simple written formula that you can use to invite people to speak with you on various forums.
We also covered two other methods that involve an exchange of value:
In any case, your success in securing interviewees depends on you going out and speaking to people to proactively invite them to do you a favour.
Some people will say no, but some will say yes. Ultimately it is a numbers game.
Rather than focusing on the potential rejection, I encourage you to focus on the number of invitations you make, knowing that is actually your secret to success.
If you need help to prepare for market research interviews and analyse your results, book a good fit call to see if I can help you. My books are closed to personal clients until July, but I have space in my June Passion to Profit program if you need help building the foundations of your business.
Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.
Learn more here:
© 2024 Melanie White