# New business research...



## EagleC (Jan 13, 2012)

I'm thinking of setting up a day care centre and possibly other dog services in my local area which is a very large village.

I'm pretty sure there is a large gap in the market in this area but firstly i need to do my research. I have designed a questionnaire to ask local people if they would use this service, how often, how much they would be willing to pay and if they would like the centre to offer any other services such as walking, grooming etc.

There is a page on Facebook for our village so i asked them to post the link to my questionnaire but I only have about 15 replies. I need as much feedback as possible so any ideas how else I can collect this information?

I was thinking of asking the local vets to help but not sure if they would agree...?


----------



## 912142 (Mar 28, 2011)

Questionnaires can be difficult and have to be worded correctly to get the feedback you are looking for and I'm never convinced that people answer them truthfully anyway.

I think another thing you could do is to look at the area you are in and find out what businesses are in the area, what hours they do, how many employees etc that will give you an indication as to whether your services may be required.

In addition I would look to see if there were any other similar businesses in the area already offering similar services.


----------



## BoredomBusters (Dec 8, 2011)

I used this website to get me started on my research - Dog Daycare Demographics | Dog Daycare, Dog Boarding, and Dog Grooming - PAWS a really great site! I used local authority figures, as well as pet food surveys on how many dog owners there were on average in my town, worked out who had the money *and* a dog and went from there.

I wish I could find where I put my notes, I thought they were on the computer, but searching finds nothing! Maybe they're in my box of 'stuff to do' that I've never got round to!

You could ask the vets and pet shops if they would let you leave some questionaires, but I'd take in a gift for the nurses and receptionists, I've had some very good referrals after taking in a small basket with a couple of mugs, tea and coffee!


----------



## EagleC (Jan 13, 2012)

Thank you so much for this! I have had a look and i am trying to gather statistics about my local area but finding that there is not much on the internet so struggling a bit.

Yesterday i found out that I am going to be made redundant in September so this has now become a very real project for me. I feel this has happened for a reason and its now or never! ahh! hmy:


----------



## weetbix (Jul 12, 2012)

Definitely ask your vets as you're probably no competition to them and they'll have a good local knowledge.

Also, 15 replies is not bad!

Good luck.


----------

