Look, I get it. Market research sounds about as fun as watching paint dry. But here’s the thing – after helping many coaches and consultants build their businesses, I can tell you that the ones who crush it all have one thing in common: they know their market inside and out.
Why Should You Care About Market Research?
Picture this: You’ve spent months creating the perfect coaching program. Your content is solid, your delivery is great, but something’s not clicking with your audience. This is a common challenge in the coaching and consulting world – and it usually comes down to a gap between what we think our clients need and what they actually want.
Market research helps you bridge that gap. It’s like having a GPS for your business that shows you exactly where your ideal clients are struggling. When you understand their true pain points, you can:
- Craft messages that instantly connect
- Create services they actually want to buy
- Price your offerings based on real market value
- Stand out from other coaches in your niche
The best part? Good research can help you avoid expensive mistakes and save months of trial and error.
Quick and Dirty Research Methods That Actually Work
1) Hang Out Where Your People Are
- Jump into Facebook groups where your ideal clients hang out
- Read the comments on popular LinkedIn posts in your niche
- Check out Reddit threads related to your expertise
- Look at the questions people ask on Quora
2) Use AI Tools (Without Looking Like a Robot)
I’m loving how AI is making research easier these days. Here’s what I recommend:
- Perplexity.ai: Drop in your topic and get real-time info from across the web. Super handy for spotting trends.
- Claude: Great for analyzing patterns in your research data
- ChatGPT: Use it to brainstorm questions you should be asking in your research
Pro tip: Don’t just copy what AI tells you. Use it to spark ideas, then validate with real humans!
3) The “Coffee Shop” Method
This is my favorite. Offer free 15-minute calls to potential clients. But here’s the twist – don’t sell. Just listen and take notes. Ask them:
- “What keeps you up at night?”
- “What solutions have you tried before?”
- “Why didn’t those solutions work?”
Making Research Work for You
Try this simple process:
- Spend 30 minutes each morning for a week doing research
- Keep a Google Doc of patterns you notice
- After a week, look for the top 3 problems that keep coming up
- Test your findings by posting content about these problems
- Watch the engagement – this is your validation
The Mistakes Most People Make
- Asking what people want (they often don’t know)
- Only talking to existing clients
- Believing everything AI tools tell you without real-world validation
- Getting stuck in research mode forever
Start small. Pick one platform where your ideal clients hang out. Spend 20 minutes today just reading posts and comments. Don’t overthink it – just notice what problems keep popping up.
Good research doesn’t have to take forever. It’s better to do a little research consistently than to try becoming a market research expert overnight.
Need a quick win? Go look at your competitors’ testimonials right now. What specific problems did they solve for their clients? There’s gold in those comments!
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