I’m going to let you in on a little secret: good things come to those who are well prepared.
Sure, good things also sometimes happen to people randomly, and that’s nice. But there’s nothing like the cool confidence of someone who really knows what he or she is doing.
The same thing holds true for your business. The secret to growing your business is being well prepared and armed with information on your industry and market which can be generated by Internet research services.
It can be tedious and very time-consuming to sort through many research reports. To help consolidate all the data into a list of just the most important information, you can hire a virtual assistant.
Below are just a few ways a virtual assistant can help you prepare to grow your business!
1. Spy on the Competition
There’s nothing wrong with doing a little reconnaissance and checking out the competition. What are they doing that you aren’t doing? Does it look like those tactics are effective?
Are they offering exclusive Facebook offers and printable coupons? Have they begun writing eBooks and white papers? Do they have Google Ads in rotation?
While you don’t want to become a direct rip off of your competitors, you do want to beat them at their own game. Find out what they’re up to and do it better. And then do something they aren’t doing and do it so well that they can’t catch up!
2. Find and Qualify Potential Partners
I have personally hired our own internet research service to find potential partners for different aspects of our business.
It helped me answer:
Who are the blog writers in our space?
Which niche websites can we advertise on?
Where can I find affiliates to market our service?
These are all questions that are the root question a lot of clients hire our internet research service to answer and provide in an excel document.
3. Learn More About Your Target Market
When you started your business you likely did a lot of research on your target market. Has that market changed at all? Have buying behaviors and patterns evolved? If so, has your business also evolved to meet those new challenges?
Due to normal flux in pretty much every industry, there is a good chance your target market has changed at least a little bit.
For example, if you have a brick and mortar store, would it benefit you to open an online shop as well?
If you have an online shop would it benefit you to also sell your products through Amazon?
If you sell your products exclusively through Amazon would it benefit you to start an affiliate program or to open your own online store?
Gathering updated information through hiring an internet research service about the buying behaviors can really give your business a boost.
4. Gain the Advantage with Seasonal Trends
Does Black Friday seem to jump out of nowhere each year? Do you find yourself scrambling to put together Christmas and Fourth of July promotions?
If so, it would probably benefit your business greatly if you put together a seasonal calendar planned at least one year in advance. This will help you capitalize on high volume sales days with equally high quality promotions.
Before you start randomly throwing 20% offs and BOGOs at the calendar, do a little research and get strategic with your promotions.
What do your customers really want? Are they more swayed by free shipping than BOGO?
Should you stagger your sales to encourage them early on in the day? For example, on Black Friday some stores offer 80% off before 9am, 70% off before noon and then 50% off for the rest of the day. Could that type of strategy benefit you?
Research the type of offers that businesses you admire put out on big holidays. Consider if their strategy (or a modified version) might work better for you than a simple 20% off.
If you’re ready to answer some of the questions posed in this post, hire a virtual assistant for internet research services today.
She can help you get your business to the next level!
