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How to Gain Valuable Information By Conducting Market Research
Prior to the launch of any new product, companies engage in exhaustively thorough market research in order to gauge its probability of success. If your subjects are properly selected, you can gain valuable information that may allow you to better temper your product for the intended target audience. What are your considerations prior to starting market research?
Demographics of your target geographical area – are you targeting the right region?
Price range and profit margin – will you make enough money from each sale?
Intended production volume – if you intend to take a higher volume approach, do you have the facilities to back it up?
Age range, marital status, family – do you have a detailed sketch of your ideal customer in mind?
Income and Lifestyle range – how much money will your average customer make?
Males, females or both – which sex are you focused on?
Seasonal, cyclical nature of your product – is your product marketable year-round or only on certain occasions?
Market Research
These may be bewildering questions at first. However, a well-run company should have a marketing manager to coordinate appropriate market research with a marketing researcher. The researcher and the manager define the objectives to be attained through the research.
A well known acronym in the world of marketing research is “DECIDE”, which is a quick way to remember the steps of research.
Define the marketing problem
Enumerate the decision factors
Collect relevant information
Identify the best alternatives
Develop and implement a marketing plan
Evaluate the final decision
The marketing team should then develop the plan and outline the costs, to be presented to the marketing manager for approval.
Now, with an approved market research in place, it’s time to address the two main forms of market research:
Qualitative research: an exploratory, limited way to gauge the needs of your target demographic, focused on a smaller group with higher detail. These include focus groups and in-depth interviews with selected individuals. An example of this would be to approach a group of surfers at the beach with your surfboard designs, to gather a small amount of high quality opinions from a dedicated group.
Quantitative research: surveys of much larger groups with the intent of garnering hard statistics to use for future financial plans. Examples of these are surveys conducted over the phone, by mail and on the Internet. These results tend to be of lower quality and diversity, but can be compiled quickly to formulate a larger picture of the targeted area.
Ideally, a company would employ a mix of both kinds of research to gain the best perspective on their customer base. There are many kinds of research – coolhunting, viral marketing, concept testing, demand estimation and online panels are all methods market researchers employ to garner results. The findings from the research should be compiled by your marketing team through comprehensive charts and tables to be presented to management.
Once the marketing manager presents the final results, the company should move on to the product testing phase.
The product testing phase takes place after the completion of the product manufacturing phase and before the product launch. This can be done on qualitative and quantitative bases as well, but if you intend to use large groups for quantitative tests, you should be aware of the physical constraints that were not there during the survey phase, as you must produce enough of the product for testing purposes. A simple example of this is the software beta tester, who is hired by a company to endlessly use the software in search of bugs and glitches. In this example, you would need to devote a lot of manpower and hours to clean and temper your product. If your product is something simpler, such as food, you need only serve your product and record a survey response.
Market research may sound and feel like an overwhelming, costly operation, but it can be done on a smaller scale for home and small businesses. If you don’t have a marketing team ready to launch a research project, there are freely available reports online for a myriad of products. These can include established research for automobiles, consumer spending habits and restaurant choices, among others. You can also hire university students looking for a business school class project or a few extra dollars. This would still be considerably cheaper than hiring a professional marketing research firm.
On the other hand, if you have money to dedicate to market research but you don’t have a full marketing team, consider hiring professionally contracted services or virtual assistants to get the job done efficiently with little hassle.
Tips for Starting a Successful Business Website
A business website is a prerequisite for even the most basic of services. It also serves as a valuable first impression to potential customers – sloppy website designs lead to negative assumptions about the professionalism of your business. Overly designed, memory-intensive flash websites filled with background music and tiny text frustrates visitors with haughty pompousness. How can you decide which approach is the best for your company? What are the steps necessary to establish a coherent, appropriate website?
Getting Started
In the late 1990s, most website design only required a simple knowledge of HTML and Javascript. Since then, websites have evolved greatly, and a working knowledge of Flash and HTML 5.0 are required for the most professional of websites. Most website designers use publishing software such as Adobe Dreamweaver to simplify tasks considerably. Fortunately, most publishing suites have simple templates for a basic site and may prove enough for most small businesses seeking a simple web presence. At the bare minimum, your website should consist of the following:
Contact information – your phone number, e-mail and address clearly visible on the first page.
For e-Commerce sites:
A clearly designed product catalog, with your most current, news-worthy products on the first page. Promotions should also be clearly visible on the first page.
An online shopping cart system, If pertinent to your products, you should add downloadable content – such as software or PDF manuals.
For corporate or events sites, a clear company calendar with upcoming events that can also be synced to the iCal standard or Google Calendar.
There are also some common pitfalls to avoid.
Garish or common clip art – these make your website appear unprofessional and outdated. Use made from scratch graphic designs, if possible.
Tiny text in an attempt to create a minimalistic look. This can often be unreadable on some smaller displays.
Overly extravagant Flash introductions with background music. These often slow down older computers and frustrate customers who are only seeking basic information about the company. Create launch pages which give the user the option of selecting a HTML or Flash version of the site.
Poor frequency of updates. When a visitor to your site sees the last update occurring half a year ago, what does that say about your response time to customer issues?
Upgrading a Basic Website for the New Web
Now, with a basic foundation, your website should be spruced up further. Visitors these days expect a certain degree of interaction with the website. These are some things you can add to your website to enhance the user’s experience.
Real-time tech support – many websites now offer Java or AJAX based web chat with tech support. Of course this means you need to have several members of your staff assigned to field these questions. These can be connected to their work stations. Some websites also offer real-time chat via Windows Messenger.
Social networking integration via Facebook or Twitter. These allow your company to bring your customers closer without the use of old-time mailing lists.
A wise use of multimedia. For example, Apple’s website uses Quicktime VR to allow the user to grab and rotate the product in any way they desire to mimic a physical shopping experience.
RSS feeds, to allow users to subscribe to your company’s posts or updates.
Tweaking Your Design Sensibilities
Bear in mind that websites should be designed to reflect their businesses. Hotels and restaurants should not look like electronics websites, and vice versa. If your staff lacks the artistic eye for cohesion, it may be wise to hire a contract web designer in order to achieve this. However, here are some simple tips to maintain a clean design.
Fonts – many websites are created with the simple Times New Roman font in garish colors over clip art backgrounds. These are ugly and discourage customers from purchasing your products. Professionally made banners and cleaner fonts such as Lucida Grande or Arial reflect well on your business.
Use CSS or AJAX in order to keep your site looking lean and modern; without these your website will appear clunky, loading like a 1990s website being viewed on Netscape.
Use cross-browser compatible standards which can be viewed on the widest assortment of browsers and operating systems. Many designers make the mistake of making fancy websites without the consideration that many customers may be using outdated browsers without Flash.
Finishing Touches
The important thing to remember about starting a business website is that design should be clear, to the point and informative. Cross-compatibility is much more important than aesthetic beauty. Each customer who can’t load your site or find the pertinent contact information is a lost customer. Here are some final things to consider.
Does your website have a mobile version? With the increasing adoption of smartphones, mobile-optimized websites can help widen your company’s exposure and promote a forward-thinking image.
Has your company launched mobile applications, as many companies have done, to allow easier, one-click access to your website and services?
Is your website search engine optimized? There are many articles instructing web designers in the proper way to phrase search terms to increase hits from major search engines.
Will your website use advertising as a means to gain revenue? If so, you can consider using Google AdSense as a free way to gain extra funds from page views and click-thrus.
These are some ideas to help you get started. In business web design, your first impression upon the customer can often be your last if your website is poorly designed, so be sensible with your approach.
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by Peter Okello Gideon
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Uganda’s Tarantino and his $200 action movies
A Ugandan film company that makes low-budget action movies in the slums has found a cult following online
Isaac Nabwana, the film director and brains behind Ramon Productions. “I thought I was going to meet someone like myself – a little crazy with a camera and some friends – and very quickly I realised this is the real deal,” says Hofmanis.
To recreate gunshot injuries, they use free condoms from the local health clinic, filled with fake blood – they burst quite realistically. They used to be filled with real animal blood, but when one of the actors got sick with brucellosis, a disease passed on from cows, they switched to food colouring.
Fake blood is needed in vast quantities because the films are violent – but in a cartoonish way, and quite unlike the real violence Nabwana witnessed growing up during Uganda’s 1981-86 civil war. “I don’t put that in my movies, what I saw in the past,” he says. “I include comedy – there was no comedy in the violence which I witnessed.”
His cinematic hero is Chuck Norris, although he also likes Rambo and The Expendables. Hofmanis, on the other hand, compares him to directors like Guillermo del Toro, Robert Rodriguez and Martin Scorsese – “in terms of creativity and what they’re contributing to cinema”.
Nabwana’s love for films began long before he was allowed to watch any – his older brother Kizito would return from the local cinema hall and describe what he’d seen in vivid detail. 
“I remember the gestures he used… there was a guy who used to crush people, so I liked that,” says Nabwana. “Even now I see them in my head.”
At senior school, Nabwana decided he would make his own action movies one day. “I had that art in me, I wanted to make a movie – I had to fulfil that dream,” he says.
But there was not enough money for him to even finish school. “So I started making bricks and digging sand to sell to people around here,” he says.
Finally, in 2006, at the age of 32, Nabwana had saved up enough to pay for the first month of a six-month course in computer maintenance. “That was enough to know how to assemble a computer,” he says. He then taught himself how to use editing packages such as Premiere Pro and After Effects, and borrowed a camera from a neighbour. “And with that I started… I did not know how to write a script. But then I thought of these drama actors, how do they do it? And I started figuring it out.”
Tebaatusasula was one of his earliest successes – the name translates loosely as “They never paid us.”
It mixes comedy, action and witchcraft – one character bewitches a man who has stolen his wife. “In Tebaatusasula things jumped out of the house… chairs, the TVs and everything, and people loved that very much,” says Nabwana.
But his biggest challenge was yet to come.
Unable to find a distributor, Nabwana came up with an ingenious solution: the actors and crew work for nothing, but get to keep half the profits from any DVDs they sell. “We do man-to-man, door-to-door all over the country to sell them,” he says. The films can sell for up to 3,000 shillings – about $1 – but the team only has a window of about a week before they are pirated. They sometimes wear full costume to maximise sales.
It was on such a sales trip that they had bumped into Hofmanis.
As soon as they met, Nabwana agreed to write a role for Hofmanis, who felt like he was 10 years old again. “When I was a child, I would go through my father’s closet, find two belts of his, tie them together, and now I’m Indiana Jones. And the trees are Nazis. That’s what this is,” he says.
So, two days after arriving in Uganda, he found himself filming a fight scene. It didn’t quite go to plan. “I grab someone in the scene and we fall into the raw sewage and we start fighting there.” He says everyone was amazed to see an American rolling around in sewage. “That in some ways was my baptism here. Only people who are from the slums behave this way – because they grow up with sewage it doesn’t mean much to them.” They honoured him with a Ugandan name: Ssali.
Alan Hofman left New York for Wakaliwood
A Ugandan film company that makes low-budget action movies in the slums has found a cult following online – one US fan liked their films so much, he abandoned New York to become an action movie star in Kampala.
It was December 2011 and things were not going well for Alan Hofmanis. “My girl dumped me the day I bought the wedding ring,” he says. So a friend took him out to a Manhattan bar and, to cheer him up, showed him a video clip on his phone.
It was the trailer for Who Killed Captain Alex? Billed as Uganda’s first action movie. The minute-long video showed bloody gun battles, speeded-up kung fu fights and computer-generated helicopters bombing Kampala. If you looked closely, you could see that the machine guns – replicas of Rambo’s M60 – had been welded from scrap metal, and the bullets carved from wood. Much of the action took place in mud. A high-pitched voiceover announced this was the work of Ramon Productions, and gave a phone number.
The clip had an electrifying effect on Hofmanis. “Around 40 seconds into it, I decided: I’m coming to Uganda,” he says. “I realised what I’m looking at makes no sense – but it’s complete genius.”
As programme director for the Lake Placid Film Festival, Hofmanis was used to spotting emerging talent, but he says what he saw here was “off the charts” in its ambition. “In the West, when you have no money, you shoot two people having a conversation… You don’t make a war film.”
Two weeks later he travelled to Uganda. He didn’t bother to call ahead, his mind was made up.
On his first day in Kampala he was at a busy market, when, far in the distance, he spotted a man wearing a T-shirt that said Ramon Film Productions. He immediately gave chase. “I just start running, and I’m chasing him… so he starts running, but we eventually catch up, and we calm down, and I say: ‘Look, I’m just a fan from New York City – can you take me to the film-maker?’”
The answer was, “Yes,” so Hofmanis jumped on the back of a motorcycle and 30 minutes later arrived in Wakaliga, a slum on the outskirts of Kampala. “There are goats everywhere, there are chickens everywhere… That’s raw sewage that’s going right in front of the house – and that actually plays a major role in the films, because it’s life here – it’s dust, it’s heat, it’s children, it’s animals… and it’s pure joy,” he says.
Isaac Nabwana, the film director and brains behind Ramon Productions, was not fazed by the unexpected arrival. “I asked him, why didn’t he call me? He said: ‘I am a friend, I had to reach you.’ That’s when I realised that he’s a true friend,” he says. Nabwana offered his visitor some tea, and they spoke for five hours.
“I thought I was going to meet someone like myself – a little crazy with a camera and some friends – and very quickly I realised this is the real deal,” says Hofmanis.
He had arrived in “Wakaliwood“, where over the past decade, self-taught film maker Nabwana has shot more than 40 low-budget action films. He is not sure how much each one costs to make, but guesses it might be around $200 (£130). “It is passion that really makes a movie here,” Nabwana says.
The volunteer cast and crew source props wherever they can. The green screen is a piece of cloth bought at the market, draped over a wall. The camera crane is made from spare tractor parts – Dauda Bissaso, one of the regular actors, is a mechanic and builds all the heavy gear and weapons. “He’s just a genius with a blowtorch, he makes everything,” says Hofmanis. Another key member of the team is Bruce U, a Bruce Lee fan who choreographs the fight scenes and runs a kung fu school for the children of Wakaliga.
Love Language
Learn to Speak Your Spouse’s Love Language
- Learn to Speak Your Spouse’s Love Language
- Meeting Your Spouse’s Need for Love
- Understanding the Five Love Languages
- Discovering Your Spouse’s Love Language
I am convinced that there are five basic love languages – five ways to express love emotionally. Each person has a primary love language that we must learn to speak if we want that person to feel loved
Words of Affirmation
Acts of Service
Receiving Gifts
Quality Time
Physical Touch
Words of Affirmation
Yes please!” because I knew the power of appreciation
Peter thanks for taking the garbage out.” You are welcome
“I work my tail off every day, yet my spouse acts like I haven’t done a thing. I never get a single word of appreciation.”
If your spouse’s primary love language is words of affirmation, your spoken praise and appreciation will fall like rain on parched soil. Before long, you will see new life sprouting in your marriage as your spouse responds to your words of love.
Acts of Service
Do you remember the old saying, “Actions speak louder than words”?
For some people, that is particularly true of love. If acts of service is your spouse’s primary love language, nothing will speak more deeply to him or her emotionally than simple acts of service.
Receiving Gifts
gift giving has been perceived as an expression of love. Giving gifts is universal, because there is something inside the human psyche that says if you love someone, you will give to him or her.
. Little things mean a lot to a person whose primary love language is receiving gifts.
Quality Time
If your spouse’s love language is quality time, giving him or her your undivided attention is one of the best ways you can show your love. Some men pride themselves on being able to watch television, read a magazine, and listen to their wives, all at the same time. That is an admirable trait, but it is not speaking the love language of quality time.
You will score a thousand points and her love tank will be overflowing
Physical Touch
We have long known the emotional power of physical touch. That’s why we pick up babies and touch them tenderly. Long before an infant understands the meaning of the word love, he or she feels loved by physical touch.
If physical touch is your spouse’s primary love language, nothing communicates love more clearly than for you to take the initiative to reach out and touch your mate.
Don’t Give Up on Your Dreams
Testimony from JAE Living positively
What did you want to be when you grew up? A doctor, lawyer, actor, Mom, teacher? I am living proof that you can’t let HIV steal your dreams. Sometimes I get into this self pity mode. When I take inventory of everything I have accomplished in spite of being HIV positive… I am doing better than most living without it. I got the best news last week. I just was accepted into the school I have been applying to for over 2 years. My husband’s career is going Very Well. My children are all healthy. They are children, so I have sleepless nights and headaches worrying about their future. But I feel that is a part of the job as a parent. We have a full house filled with chaos and love. I am living my dreams…don’t give up on yours.
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Table of Contents
- Normal Feelings
- Get Help and Support
- It Is Better To Know
- HIV and Women
- Make a New Start
- Useful Articles for Newly Diagnosed
Getting an HIV diagnosis can feel like the worst news in the world. It is common to feel anger, fear, confusion, shock, grief, depression, or other painful emotions. Even after you have known for some time and think you are coming to terms with the news, it may suddenly hit you all over again.
Normal Feelings
The first step in getting through this difficult period is to understand that these feelings are normal responses to your diagnosis. Ignoring them will not make them go away. Allow yourself to feel what is inside you. It is OK to cry if you feel like it.
Anger, fear, and sadness are emotions that most people with serious illnesses experience. You are facing the possibility of getting sick or dying. You may be scared that you will not see the children in your life grow up. Or maybe you are afraid that you will not achieve your life goals. In the beginning, it may seem that testing positive is a death sentence, but this is not true. There is life after a positive test. In fact, many people living with HIV (HIV+) lead full and healthy lives.
You may also feel that you are now damaged in some way and that no one will want to love you because you are HIV+. Or you may blame yourself for getting HIV and ask yourself, “How could I have let this happen to me?” Try to be gentle with yourself. Guilt and shame can be destructive. If possible, try to have some compassion for yourself and forgive yourself if necessary. You have just gotten bad news and must face changes and challenges ahead. If forgiving yourself or being compassionate with yourself seem difficult, try to imagine how you would respond to a loved one whom you just learned was HIV+. Think on the love and comfort you might give that person and share some with yourself. You are just as deserving and just as capable of giving and receiving love as ever.
Get Help and Support
Being diagnosed with HIV presents many challenges. Building a support network can help you learn to cope. Take your time and do not feel that you have to tell everyone right away. It is important not to let fear of being judged cause you to isolate yourself and not talk to anyone. If it is hard to tell family and friends at first, you may want to turn to HIV organizations. For more information, see The Well Project’s articles on Disclosure and Getting Connected.
Many newly diagnosed people want to speak with others in the same situation. This can decrease isolation and help overcome stigma. There are many AIDS service organizations (ASOs) that offer support and information to HIV+ people. ASOs are great places to find helpful, non-judgmental people to talk with, and many offer support groups. Joining a support group and talking about your feelings in a safe space may reduce fears and concerns. There are support groups offered by ASOs in many parts of the US. Click here to find an ASO. To find services across the world, visit AIDSmap’s e-atlas.
Finding networks or others who are in similar situations might also help you not feel so alone. Be sure to check out The Well Project’s blog, “A Girl Like Me” for first-hand accounts of HIV+ women from different parts of the world and how they each have dealt with their HIV diagnosis.
It Is Better To Know
As upsetting as testing positive can be, you are better off knowing. Once you know you are HIV+, you can take charge of your health and have the best chance to slow or prevent disease progression. Getting informed about HIV and its treatment will help you make the best of your situation.
An important factor in getting good care and treatment is to find the right health care provider. Look for a health care provider who specializes in treating HIV. Studies have shown that an HIV+ person whose health care provider treats many HIV+ people lives longer than a person whose health care provider treats a few HIV+ people.
Even though there is no cure for HIV disease, there are many treatments that help keep HIV under control. There are now over 30 HIV drugs available. Much has been learned about how to use these drugs more easily and effectively, and with fewer side effects. The use of HIV drugs is allowing many HIV+ people to live long and healthy lives.
You will need to get information and work with your health care provider to decide what treatments are best for you. There are many good places to get information including ASOs, hotlines, and websites. But be careful about the information you are getting. Check it out with your health care provider or other reliable sources to make sure it is accurate. Remember, there are no “miracle” cures. If it sounds too good to be true, it is probably not true.
Learning that you are HIV+ may make you feel you have lost control over your life. Try not to let this rush you into making decisions when you are still coming to terms with your diagnosis. Remember, you are in charge of your own health care. You can decide which treatments you use and when to use them. Take your time and learn about your options. Unless you are very ill and need to make treatment decisions quickly, you have time to think things through. For more information, see our article, Considering HIV Treatment.
HIV and Women
You are not alone. In the US, about one million people are HIV+, and approximately one in four people newly diagnosed with HIV are women. Globally, women make up half of all people living with HIV – that’s over 15 million HIV+ women. There are many HIV+ women who can provide information, support, and advice.
Keeping to yourself can make the process of moving forward after the diagnosis more difficult. It is a good idea to reach out to people, but if anyone threatens you with violence or is abusive, it is time to step away from them. Take yourself and any children you have to a safe place and talk with someone you trust. You need a positive environment and supportive people in your life. For more information, see our article on Domestic Violence.
Also be careful not to put your family’s welfare ahead of your own. When you take care of yourself, you are doing something good for yourself and your family. You owe it to them to make sure you are as healthy as you can be. For more information, see our article on Women and HIV.
Making a New Start
Being diagnosed with HIV is life changing. Once you know you are HIV+, you can never unknow it. However, HIV is a virus; it does not change the essence of who you are. Learn to see yourself as a person living with HIV, not a victim. You can do this by getting informed, taking charge of your health care, and learning how to manage HIV. There are many resources to help you on this new path (see the resource section below).
You may find that some of the priorities in your life now change. This can be a good thing. Facing a serious illness can prompt people to make their lives better. Many HIV+ people make favorable changes such as breaking bad habits like drinking too much or smoking. As serious as the diagnosis is, there is good reason to have hope that your life will be full and healthy. Do not give up on yourself or your dreams.
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