How to take your market research from URL to IRL 🌎

Hey, newsletter fam!

Welcome to the fourth edition of the Momentum newsletter. 🥳 

And thank you to the subscribers who have joined us recently.

Today, I’m talking about market research (again). But if you’ve been exclusively using the internet to gather info on your target customer, today’s newsletter is going to convince you to (literally) take your market research outside and give it some fresh air.

Also, I’m sharing brief insights from the Fintech is Femme Leadership Summit.

Let’s get moving, shall we? 🏃🏽‍♀️

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Here’s what’s moving through the pipeline:

• How to take your market research from URL to IRL 🌎

• Make some waves 🌊

• Gem of the week 💎

• Temperature check 🌡️

• Say hi 👋🏽

How to take your market research from URL to IRL 🌎

Have you ever been told that you’re spending a little too much time online or on social media and need to rejoin “the real world” and touch some grass?

Turns out, the same can be the case for your company’s market research.

When you’re gauging whether there’s a market for your product or business idea, there are many tactics you can use to gather info online. For instance, you can tap into the conversations happening on social media as they relate to the problem you’re trying to solve and your potential competitors (this is actually called social listening).

You can even use online tools to create market research surveys and post them in internet groups and communities to gain some insights. And, of course, you’ll also do some competitor research online whether it’s subscribing to their newsletter, following their social channels, or combing through their website reviews.

These approaches are all really useful ways to kick things off. But what if you just don’t know where online your target market lives? Or what if you’ve been casting a few lines and you’re just not getting many substantial bites? 

Fortunately, you can still gather info the good, ‘ol fashioned way. Aka, talking to people face-to-face.

For instance, let’s say you’re launching a new brand that creates better beach towels out of sustainable materials. If you spend even just one weekend going to your local beach (where people are almost 100% likely to be using beach towels) and asking a few questions, you’ll likely get a ton of valuable input.

First off, you just found the people who will likely buy your product all in one convenient place. Number two: Asking just a couple of questions about why they purchased their current beach towel, how much they paid, the most they’re willing to pay for one, and what would make them decide to buy a new one can reveal a ton about your target market’s preferences.

And third, by engaging with people face to face and in real time, you could potentially draw out even more information through a simple, friendly conversation than you would have with a one-sided online survey form.

Sure, you could send follow-up emails to survey respondents but that requires you to ask participants to expend additional effort on your behalf.

And there are many cases where entrepreneurs have had success with taking their market research offline. I recently interviewed a founder who got feedback for a women’s health startup by questioning a doctor at a fertility clinic. The doctor was then able to refer her to other people who fit her target market. 

This is not a case for conducting market research exclusively in one direction over the other. I believe online and offline market research complement one another (and they can actually be exciting if you’re willing to get creative).

Make some waves 🌊

Did you know you could leverage colleges and universities as career resources even if you aren’t a current student anymore?

Yesterday, I got to tune in for an all-day seminar for business journalists hosted by The Wharton School (and I’ve never even attended Wharton). I did have to submit a brief application to be considered and pay a very small program fee ($40). But I learned quite a bit about financial regulation, banking mergers and their effect on SMEs, and the future of housing.

And this might sound weird but now I’m kind of obsessed with learning more about banking mergers???

All that to say, your local universities just might feature programming that may be of interest to you and help you boost your career (or at least teach you something new) even if you’re no longer a student.

Gem of the week 💎

This week, on solar eclipse day, I attended the Fintech is Femme Leadership Summit. It was an almost-all-day event full of panels and spotlights featuring female Fintech operators, founders, and executives.

I took several pages worth of notes and I’m sharing some of those takeaways below. ⬇️

• When you talk about the jobs you want, you’re blocking yourself by cornering your potential into a narrow scope. Instead, think about how you want to spend your time, the skills you want to learn, and what your non-negotiables are. [Liza Landsman, CEO of Stash] 

• Pivots are course corrections. They are the journey of you becoming you. [Margaret Hartigan, CEO & Founder of Marstone]

• Three pillars to live by when navigating your career: Know yourself and your North Star. Groundwork is key so you must do the due diligence. Embrace the pivot and have a plan A, B, and C. [Elise Brown, Partner at Anthemis]

• Sometimes it’s better to not move fast and break shit. [Pam Kaur, Head of Bank Technology at BankTech Ventures]

• There’s a language you have to learn when building a company. Be who you are but you need to translate yourself into the world in which you want to succeed. [Asya Bradley, Angel Investor & LP]

Temperature check 🌡️

Please provide your feedback on this week’s edition of Momentum! The survey is only 4 questions long and it helps me create content that’s tailored to suit YOUR interests!

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Say hi 👋🏽

I love hearing from you! Whether you have a question or comment, are looking for a peer to bounce ideas off of, or want to offer me a job * cough, cough * (just kidding…but not really…) I’m just a few clicks away. Find me on LinkedIn and X, or email me at [email protected].

Let’s talk soon!

–Jasmin Suknanan, Founder & EIC of Momentum

About me

Jasmin started her career in media as a writer and reporter gaining expertise across several verticals, including lifestyle, commerce, Consumer Finance, and FinTech. Her expertise extends far beyond content and media. She decided to focus on the venture capital space and gain skills as a product marketer to continue helping companies solve consumer-focused problems. She has evaluated over 80 startups across FinTech, Wellness, EdTech, and AI and is also deeply passionate about consumer packaged goods. She holds a Master’s degree in Behavioral Economics and excels in market research and competitor analysis.