You know what you want to sell, and you probably know how much you want to sell it for.  And that may seem to be about it for the product or service.  

But while it is possible to proceed immediately onto the issue of the Market, the most successful campaigns tend to be based on further research at this point.

The five methods looks at the standard ways of selling and considers which of these are best suited to selling into education.

Ourselves looks for unique answers to questions about why the customer should buy from you rather than from someone else.  

If your response to such questions is that you believe that everyone knows you and what you stand for, try our simple test.   It is completely free and comes with no obligation - so do try it.  We think it could be a great revelation.

Competitor analysis is the vital area of knowing what your rivals are doing.  If you are aware of their adverts, their products, their prices and their reputation in the market, it certainly makes your selling easier.

Questionnaires involves asking customers and non-customers about their views and attitudes about you, your product or service, and maybe even researching awareness on your competitors.  Creating questionnaires is not quite so simple as you may think - but it can also be a lot lower in cost than you might imagine.  

Evidence is gained from people who think your product or service is wonderful, and from those with complaints.  Curiously, both forms of evidence can be of great value to you in terms of marketing.

Research looks at a particularly cost-effective method of getting to know more about what people think of you.