Small Business Data Value

Small businesses – especially startups – are some of the hardest businesses to convince to perform customer research. That is primarily because there are countless myths in the small business world about whether or not it's worthwhile to complete a survey. One of the most glaring myths is the idea that survey data is less useful – in other words, that there are few reasons to believe that survey research can be completed that is relevant to a new, small business.

Now, right away there are obvious reasons to disagree. In fact, one might argue that small businesses have the most to gain from some types of survey research, because unlike large organizations, a new business is just getting started and can shape its products, services, and support in a way that is beneficial to building a more loyal customer base.

But let's look at some of these concerns one at a time to see how much truth they hold: Limited Customers One valid concern is the lack of customers necessary to get relevant data from a larger population. It's difficult to find customers in general, especially if you don't have contact information. It's much harder to find customers that represent a large enough sample size to draw meaningful conclusions.

But that is only a small fraction of survey research. You can research potential customers or customers that are an important part of your industry. You can find out what your current customers, however, few, feel they need in functionality from your product and see if you can offer it.

You can find out where you stand next to your competitors and use that to make important judgment decisions. There are plenty of ways to still perform survey research despite the lack of customers. Not Enough Money to Change Another concern is that some changes will be too costly, and may not be able to initiate.

This is also incorrect, because the truth about all survey research is that your results don't necessarily indicate what you need to do next. Many companies forgo the first or second "needs" because the third or fourth are affordable. Statistically Significant is Not Always Necessary Finally, you don't need statistically significant data to make decisions.

You may often find that the survey results, however small the sample, tell you something that is interesting – something worth considering for your business – regardless of whether the sample size is large. There are ample reasons to complete surveys, no matter the size of your business. Avoiding research simply because your company is small is risky in today's rough economy.