Shakespeare's famous quote "To be or not to be, that is the question" can easily be changed to focus our attention on a key question facing every business just getting started: "What to sell or what to service, that is the question".
Many people think they want to start a business of their own.
Sometimes, and maybe more often than not, they know right away what kind of product or service they want to sell.
Oftentimes however, you have this burning desire to start your own business, but don't have any idea what you want to do.
Do you want to have a service oriented business? Do you want to sell a product? Or, is there some kind of hybrid that involves both? This may be the hardest decision you have to make in getting your business started.
Key to determining what to sell is finding out what customers want to buy.
You can do this a number of ways: you can take surveys, you can ask friends, you can ask business associates, you can even consult a crystal ball.
All of these will provide you information, some usable, some just plain conjecture, and other just plain worthless.
But, there are some places you can go to that will give you an accurate picture of the types of products consumers (business and personal) are looking for and buying.
If you are starting a business today one of the best places to find out what your customers or clients want is to look on the internet.
Both Google and Yahoo, and probably every other search engine in existence, accumulate massive amounts of information about what their users are searching for, the types of sites they visit, and how long they stay on those websites.
Google Trends and Yahoo! Buzz can show you what types of topics and products consumers are searching for, what their interests are, and what the key items of discussion in the world are.
Analyzing what are the top searched products can help you understand what types of products or services may help you build your business quickly and successfully.
Another place to look is in eBay pulse.
This site will tell you what items are being searched for, what items are most popular, and also what stores are the most popular.
This can give you a good picture again of what consumers are really looking for.
Looking into what consumers want is nothing new to the marketing business.
For decades, if not centuries, marketing professionals have been doing market research to find out what products and services are most in demand by consumers.
The internet has now provided almost anyone with access to an internet connected computer to take that research to a new level and build their own successful business; meeting the demands and desires of their customers and clients.
Many people think they want to start a business of their own.
Sometimes, and maybe more often than not, they know right away what kind of product or service they want to sell.
Oftentimes however, you have this burning desire to start your own business, but don't have any idea what you want to do.
Do you want to have a service oriented business? Do you want to sell a product? Or, is there some kind of hybrid that involves both? This may be the hardest decision you have to make in getting your business started.
Key to determining what to sell is finding out what customers want to buy.
You can do this a number of ways: you can take surveys, you can ask friends, you can ask business associates, you can even consult a crystal ball.
All of these will provide you information, some usable, some just plain conjecture, and other just plain worthless.
But, there are some places you can go to that will give you an accurate picture of the types of products consumers (business and personal) are looking for and buying.
If you are starting a business today one of the best places to find out what your customers or clients want is to look on the internet.
Both Google and Yahoo, and probably every other search engine in existence, accumulate massive amounts of information about what their users are searching for, the types of sites they visit, and how long they stay on those websites.
Google Trends and Yahoo! Buzz can show you what types of topics and products consumers are searching for, what their interests are, and what the key items of discussion in the world are.
Analyzing what are the top searched products can help you understand what types of products or services may help you build your business quickly and successfully.
Another place to look is in eBay pulse.
This site will tell you what items are being searched for, what items are most popular, and also what stores are the most popular.
This can give you a good picture again of what consumers are really looking for.
Looking into what consumers want is nothing new to the marketing business.
For decades, if not centuries, marketing professionals have been doing market research to find out what products and services are most in demand by consumers.
The internet has now provided almost anyone with access to an internet connected computer to take that research to a new level and build their own successful business; meeting the demands and desires of their customers and clients.
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