How wide is my target market?

Anna Barcelos: Market research seems the last thing small businesses do and when they try to do research,  they can't seem to find the forest (target market) from the trees (prospects).    How do small businesses tackle market research and not get buried under an avalanche of data.

• Answer:

  Most small businesses already have some data they can use and often overlook it. For example, do they know who their current customers are? That is where they should start. They can then build customer profiles and use them to acquire similar customers and see opportunities for new potential customers. Keeping it simple is important. Don't get blinded by all the data out there. Too much data is just as useless as none if it's not answering relevant business questions.