Stop Guessing, Start Asking: A Beginner's Guide to Simple Market Research

Summary

• Analyse competitors and online sentiment: Identify both direct and indirect competitors, specifically reviewing their negative reviews and using "social listening" on platforms like Reddit to discover unsatisfied customer needs and the specific language they use to describe their problems.
  

• Prioritise behavioural data over opinions: Avoid biased feedback from friends or hypothetical questions about future payments; instead, conduct surveys that ask about past purchasing behaviour and combine quantitative data (market size) with qualitative insights (customer emotions).
  

• Validate market opportunity for funding: Thorough research transitions a startup from "guessing" to a data-backed strategy, which is a critical requirement for securing trust and capital from angel investors or government grants.

In the early days of a startup, enthusiasm fuels your operations. But enthusiasm has a dangerous side effect: Blind spots.

It’s all too easy to fall in love with your solution before you fully understand the landscape you are entering. Regardless of the size and scope of your company, it is essential to conduct market research. Understanding your competition and the rigours of your specific trade are both invaluable in shaping your approach and overall strategy.

Market research isn’t particularly difficult, either: in fact, you can do 90% of it yourself, from your desk, for free.

At Mezzanine Enterprise, we support businesses as they scale, but we love seeing founders who have done their homework. Here’s how to stop guessing and start asking the right questions.

1. Competitor audit

No matter the niche, there will always be other players who will serve as your competition. Even if no one is doing exactly what you are doing, it is highly likely that an existing business is already serving your target customers. This is your competition.

Create a simple spreadsheet with two columns to keep tabs on your competition:

• Direct competitors: Businesses offering the same solution.

• Indirect competitors: Different solutions that solve the same problem.

What to look for: Check your competitors’ 1-star and 2-star reviews. What are their customers’ key complaints? You could take advantage of these complaint gaps to offer solutions that differentiate you from your competitors.

2. Social listening: Go where the complaints are

People love to complain on the internet. For a founder, this is a goldmine. You don’t need to run expensive focus groups, and can instead find the digital watercoolers where your industry hangs out. Here are some platforms you can explore:

• Reddit: Search for subreddits related to your industry. Look for threads titled "How do I...?" or "I hate it when..."

• Facebook Groups/LinkedIn: Join communities for your target demographic.

• Quora: See what questions people are asking about your topic.

Take note of the exact language they use. For example, if a product is described as a "scheduling nightmare," don't market your product as a "calendar solution." Instead, market it as the cure for their "scheduling nightmare."

3. The survey trap and how to avoid it

Sending out a SurveyMonkey link to your friends on WhatsApp is not market research. As your friends generally want you to succeed, they are not the most reliable and unbiased sources of truth.

Instead, opt to run a short survey (under 5 questions) that focuses on behaviour.

• Bad Question: "Would you pay $50 for this app?" (People are terrible at predicting their future actions)

• Good Question: "Have you paid for any productivity apps in the last six months?" (This proves they are a buyer).

4. Quantitative vs. qualitative: You need both

Market research falls into two buckets, and you need a mix of both to build a pitch that investors and customers will believe.

• Quantitative (The "What"): This is the hard data. Market size, number of potential customers, and pricing trends. This helps you size the opportunity.

• Qualitative (The "Why"): This is the emotional data. Why do people hate their current solution? What keeps them up at night? This helps you build the product.

5. Why market research matters for your business’s future

Market research is invaluable to your business, especially when the time comes for you to apply for and gather resources.

Whether you are looking to apply for a government grant (such as the Startup SG Founder grant) or pitch to an angel investor, the first question they will ask is: "What is the market opportunity?"

If your answer is a hunch or you demonstrate unfamiliarity with your industry, you will be ignored. If your answer is backed by data, competitor analysis, and real customer feedback, you will present as more authoritative and trustworthy.

Realise your research with Mezzanine Enterprise

Market research gives you the blueprint. Mezzanine Enterprise gives you the foundation.

When you have gathered your insights and are ready to turn that research into a registered entity, explore Mezzanine Enterprise’s Applied Learning Programme. From company incorporation to grant advisory, our team helps you build your business on a compliant, professional, and scalable foundation.

Don't build in the dark. Turn on the lights with research, then build with Mezzanine Enterprise.