The Complete Guide to Monetizing Lean Market Research Expertise

In brief

Lean market research has a highly competitive value proposition to literally any business. Consequently, when having this expertise, there are numerous ways of monetizing it. This post is about The Complete Guide to Monetizing Lean Market Research Expertise.

This post aims at presenting practically the main 7 lucrative ways of having a comfortable income through selling the lean market research expertise.

Freelancing and consulting

Introduction

The first method for Monetizing Lean Market Research Expertise is Freelancing and Consulting. Freelancing / Consulting stands for Offering Lean Market Research services to customers looking for market intelligence regarding a particular market / project / product / strategic decision etc.

Difficulty is medium.

Time to profitability is between 1 and 6 months.

Income per year is between $20k and $200k.

Needed skills

Regarding the needed skills for being a successful lean market research freelancer:

The technical aspect is very important for any lean market research freelancer.

Indeed, in order to survive and grow among the fierce freelancing business, it’s important to be able to build and deliver outstanding and insightful research that customers are happy with.

Marketing is also an important skill when it comes to any business and particularly for freelancers.

Indeed, if you have to market yourself right for making potential customers know you and build a solid pipeline for your freelance business.

Awareness is important as well but not as vital as the previous two.

Indeed, awareness is how conscious the freelancer is about his market, the trends, the competition, the customer’s expectations etc so it’s trivial that it’s important but obviously less vital than the previous two..

Action plan

1. Learn the right and well structured skills regarding lean market research
2. Practice the skills on small, even free, projects
3. Build a portfolio with good quality reports and examples
4. Find the right first project with a good client
5. Replicate and fine tune

Pros tips

• As a first step, learn, learn then learn the ins and outs of lean market research
• Identify what the market REALLY expects from your work
• Think with the customer mind about what added value he’s expecting
• Think about the credibility of the used resources and conducted primary data
• The user experience regarding the final deliverables is vital: Good writing level, professional report infographics, clean and insightful figures etc
• Fine tune the skills on the go through: Requesting feedback, reading and analyzing reference reports from top agencies, reviews and writers etc
• Never underevaluate nor under-bill your work
• Be very patient especially at the start

Online agency

Introduction

The second method for Monetizing Lean Market Research Expertise is Online Agency. Online Agency for LMR stands for Being an intermediate between the customers looking for market intelligence and the market intelligence provider(s). The agency gets paid by the customer and pays the researcher(s) in its turn.

The difficulty level is difficult.

The time to profitability is between 3 and 12 months.

The income per year is in the range of $20k to $300k.

Needed skills

Regarding the needed skills for being a successful lean market research agency founder:

The technical aspect is important but it’ not vital for an agency creator to be an absolute expert of lean market research

On the other hand, what is vital to him is to master very well the ins and outs, the typical used tools and what are the needed skills for hiring champions in lean market research.

Marketing on the other hand is vital in this case.

Indeed this is even the primary value that an agency founder provides.

This is particularly true for setting up the needs of the market, the vision and marketing strategy of the agency, its main sweet spot and audience profile etc.

Awareness is also vital for an agency creator.

Indeed, what is awareness is to be conscious about the market, the trends, the competition, the customer’s expectations etc so it’s trivial that it’s vital for any agency founder.

Action plan

1. Learn the right and well structured skills regarding lean market research
2. Learn online marketing skills eg digital marketing, content writing and copywriting
3. Build online credibility mainly through free content and examples
4. Look for customers and hire research freelancers
5. Manage the research project, deliver and replicate

Pros tips

• This is for people that have cross disciplinary skills
• It’s vital to learn correctly lean market research ins and outs to be able to speak the language of the different stakeholders, hire the right freelancer(s) and manage well the research project
• Bill comfortable margins of at least 30% eg if the project is billed $1000, make sure that at least $300 are going to the agency’s pocket
• A typical lean market research can be billed between $500 and $20k$, typically between $1k and $3k
• Marketing is a key skill to master for building a good agency business
• Credibility of the agency is built by three strong factors: Free content / portfolio, customers reorders and customer referrals

e-Learning and coaching

Introduction

The third method for Monetizing Lean Market Research Expertise is e-Learning / Coaching. e-Learning / Coaching stands for offering online courses / coaching about lean market research knowledge, tools and monetization channels.

Difficulty is medium.

Time to profitability is between 3 and 12 months.

Income per year ranges between $20k and $500k.

Needed skills

Regarding the needed skills for being a successful lean market research e-teacher and coach:

The technical aspect is vital since this is the expertise and knowledge that your audience is expecting from you in this case.

Consequently it’s vital to provide high quality knowledge and expertise in this case.

Marketing on the other hand is vital in this case as well.

Indeed important to prepare the product but it’s worthless if it’s not marketed well.

Finally, Awareness is also important for this business model but less vital than the previous two..

Indeed, once established in a given e-learning niche with a good product and a well defined and faithful audience, your business is good for several months and even years and the surrounding competition can hardly pick up market share in your niche..

Action plan

1. Learn the right and well structured skills regarding lean market research
2. Practice the skills to be taught in the real world
3. Master the skills to be taught
4. Prepare and deploy the courses
5. Prepare and deploy the marketing / sales strategy

Pros tips

• As a first step, learn, learn then learn the ins and outs of lean market research
• Identify clearly what are the added values / main expertise that the course is intended to teach
• Deliver what is promised in the course curriculum and even a little more
• Bonus is a great added value
• The marketing channel can be delegated to: Affiliates, influencers, e-learning platforms etc
• If you are ready to it, learn marketing and particularly digital marketing, there are only gains behind it

Content writing

Introduction

The fourth method for Monetizing Lean Market Research Expertise is Content Writing. Content Writer stands for offering services and products eg blog articles, white papers, case studies, reports etc leveraging the lean market research skills and toolbox.

Difficulty is medium.

Time to profitability is between 3 and 9 months.

Income per year is between $20k and $150k.

Needed skills

Regarding the needed skills for being a successful Content writer::

The technical aspect is vital since this is the expertise and knowledge that your audience is expecting from you in this case.

Consequently it’s vital to provide high quality knowledge and expertise in this case.

Marketing on the other hand is vital in this case as well.

Particular digital marketing skills like SEO or search engine optimization are very important for content writers.

SEO stands for using accurate wording that is compatible with the target topic and aims at optimizing the ranking of the written content among the search engines.

Finally, Awareness is always important but can be set at its minimum requirement for this business model.

Indeed, your customers are seeking high level writing for a particular subject and they often take the awareness part for this business model.

Action plan

1. Learn the right and well structured skills regarding lean market research
2. Deepen the writing skills and proficiency
3. Build a portfolio
4. Make as much guest writing as possible
5. Get first client and duplicate

Pros tips

• As a first step, learn, learn then learn the ins and outs of lean market research
• If the language that you should write in is not your native language nor a language that you feel mastering, you can hire ghost writers for editing your copies
• Your main added value is lean market research so focus on that key skill
• The difference between content writing and online freelancing in LMR is that in the former you may not write the content in your name necessarily
• Online writers are usually paid per written word something between $0.1 and $1 hence a 3000 word report ie 10 pages can be billed up to $3000

Report trading

Introduction

The fifth method for Monetizing Lean Market Research Expertise is Lean Market Research (LMR) Report Trading. LMR Report Trading stands for marketing research reports rights or build them from scratch then sell them to interested customers.

Difficulty is medium.

Time to profitability is between 3 and 12 months.

Income per year is between $20k and $200k.

Needed skills

Regarding the needed skills for being a successful report trader:

The technical aspect is important but it’ not vital for a report trader to be an absolute expert of lean market research.

On the other hand, what is vital to him is to master very well the ins and outs, the typical used tools and what are the needed skills for hiring champions in lean market research.

Marketing on the other hand is vital in this case as well.

Particular digital marketing skills are important like media buy or how to buy banners from other sites and influencers, SEO or search engine optimization, SMM or social media marketing.

Awareness is also vital for a report trader.

Indeed, what is meant by high awareness is to be highly conscious about the market, the trends, the competition, the customer’s expectations etc so it’s trivial that it’s vital for any report trader.

Action plan

1. Learn the right and well structured skills regarding lean market research
2. Learn online marketing skills eg digital marketing, content writing and copywriting
3. Build online credibility mainly through free content and examples
4. Look for customers and hire research freelancers
5. Manage the research project building / purchasing / trading

Pros tips

• This is for people that have cross disciplinary skills
• It’s vital to learn correctly lean market research ins and outs to be able to speak the language of the different stakeholders, hire the right freelancer(s) and manage well the research project
• Bill comfortable margins of at least 30% eg if the project is billed $1000, make sure that at least $300 are going to the agency’s pocket
• it can reach $1k for highly deep diving reports with high amount of primary research
• Marketing is a key skill to master for building a good reports trading machine
• Credibility of the trader is built by three strong factors: Free content / portfolio, customers reorders and customer referrals

Digital affiliate marketing

Introduction

The sixth method for Monetizing Lean Market Research Expertise is Digital / Affiliate Marketing. Digital / Affiliate Marketing stands for offering market research products and/or services as lead magnets and bundles for selling third party products and/or services.

Difficulty is assessed at medium.

Time to profitability is expected to be between 3 and 12 months.

Income per year is expected to range between $20k and $300k.

Needed skills

Regarding the needed skills for being a successful digital or affiliate marketer:

The technical aspect is important but it’ not vital for an agency creator to be an absolute expert of lean market research

On the other hand, what is vital to him is to master very well the ins and outs, the typical used tools and what are the needed skills for hiring champions in lean market research.

Marketing on the other hand is vital in this case as well.

Particular digital marketing skills are important like media buy or how to buy banners from other sites and influencers, SEO or search engine optimization, SMM or social media marketing.

Awareness is also vital for a report trader.

Indeed, what is meant by high awareness is to be highly conscious about the market, the trends, the competition, the customer’s expectations etc so it’s trivial that it’s vital for any digital and affiliate marketer.

Action plan

1. Learn the right and well structured skills regarding lean market research
2. Identify the right products to be promoted and the right customers that are consistent with your LML products
3. Build a portfolio and lead magnets
4. Automate the sales channel
5. Fine tune, diversify and duplicate

Pros tips

• As a first step, learn, learn then learn the ins and outs of lean market research
• Your main added value is lean market research so focus on that key skill
• It’s key and at the same time the most difficult part to find the right balance between the : Sold product, the proposed LMR products for triggering the sale and finding the right audience for this ecosystem
• It’s challenging but once it’s done then everything becomes so easier
• Testing different products and configurations is key for finding the right balance

Saas

Introduction

The seventh method for Monetizing Lean Market Research Expertise is SaaS. SaaS for LMR stands for Creating digital product eg SaaS, phone apps etc for market intelligence. This is done often in the framework of startup founding whether in single or group modes. .

Difficulty is assessed at Difficult.

Time to profitability is expected to be between 12 and 60 months.

Income per year is expected to range between $Ms and $Bs.

Needed skills

Regarding the needed skills for being a successful SaaS entrepreneur:

The technical aspect is very important for any SaaS entrepreneur.

In this particular case, not only the lean market research technical side is meant but also a whole bunch of different skills like: SOftware development, product management, software quality assurance, user experience etc.

Indeed, in order to survive and grow among the fierce SaaS business, it’s important to be able to build and deliver high added value and user friendly software that answers efficiently to real problems of your customers.

Marketing on the other hand is vital in this case as well.

Indeed, it’s worthless to build the best lean market research software without being able to market it..

Awareness is also vital for a software entrepreneur.

Indeed, what is meant by high awareness is to be highly conscious about the market, the trends, the competition, the customer’s expectations etc so it’s trivial that it’s vital for any software entrepreneur.

Action plan

1. Learn the right and well structured skills regarding lean market research
2. Deepen the coding skills and proficiency if bootstrapping
3. Learn digital marketing skills if not yet done
4. Define the digital product competitive strategy and main specs
5. Deploy ASAP, test, refine

Pros tips

• Knowing what the market intelligence industry is looking for and serve them with the SaaS that they are looking for
• Study carefully similar success stories
• Study carefully failure stories
• You are not obliged to know how to code nor how to market or sale, these skills can be delegated by hiring or partnering
• Setting up the right strategy, product specs and market research regarding the product to be built are the inevitable and minimum  skills that you should have
• Only 1 to 10% of SaaS projects succeed
• Testing, agility, trial and error mindset is far more important than looking for the perfect product especially at the start of the venture