Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube - https://youtu.be/NKZH3pieLe0

Transcript

Welcome to Business Kickstart! Our mission is to help you build your personal business toolbox and in the process inspire you to embark on your own entrepreneurial journey. Your business toolbox consists of knowledges, skills, resources, and strategies needed to start and run your own business. 

Market research is the process of systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data about a market, including information about the target audience, competitors, and the overall industry.

Without market research, you risk launching a business based on assumptions rather than facts, which could lead to costly mistakes, missed opportunities, and ultimately, failure. Let’s discuss a few of the more critical steps in the marketing research process.

Market Overview
The market overview provides a broad understanding of the market you're entering. It involves analyzing the current state of the industry, identifying key characteristics, and evaluating market size, growth potential, and trends. 

The goal is to set the stage for a deeper dive into the opportunities and challenges within that market.

Target Market
The target market refers to the specific group of potential customers that a business intends to serve. This component identifies and defines the characteristics, needs, and preferences of the customers who are most likely to purchase your product or service.

Industry Trends
Industry trends refer to the current directions in which the broader industry is heading, based on changes in consumer behavior, technology, regulations, and other factors. Understanding these trends helps businesses identify emerging opportunities, potential challenges, and areas for innovation.

Competitive Analysis
Competitive analysis involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors within the market. This analysis helps you understand the competitive landscape, identify market gaps, and define your unique value proposition.

Scenario
For the purpose of discussion, let’s assume we are engaging in market research for a proposed business that will offer individual tutoring options for students preparing for the NPTE.

Market Overview
Demand - Increased demand for assistance with licensure preparation due to recent blueprint changes to the NPTE and the introduction of alternate styled questions

Market size - According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), there were over 250,000 licensed physical therapists in the United States as of 2023, with approximately 15,000 new PT graduates entering the workforce each year. 

Market growth – Physical therapy is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 7% over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Target Market
Customers - The primary customer for this business includes prospective physical therapists preparing to take the NPTE. Specifically, new graduates, foreign trained PTs, and candidates that have previously failed the NPTE.

Age - Primarily ages 24-35, as most candidates are recent graduates or individuals looking to retake the NPTE.

Geography - National scope, with a focus on regions with high numbers of PT schools or larger healthcare systems.

Income - Varies based on the region, but generally candidates will be middle-class, often balancing tuition, fees, living expenses, and study costs.

Industry Trends
Shift toward online learning - Online education, including virtual tutoring, has become increasingly popular due to flexibility and convenience and the desire to access services from anywhere and at any time.

Increased demand for personalized learning - As educational methods evolve, there is a growing demand for individualized, one-on-one tutoring and mentorship programs that cater to diverse learning styles and needs, particularly for high-stakes exams like the NPTE.

Online expansion - The rise of telehealth and virtual healthcare services is also extending to educational services, providing an opportunity for online tutoring services to meet the needs of geographically dispersed students.

Changes in NPTE focus - The focus of the NPTE has gradually moved from memorization to application. This decision making focus has increased the complexity of preparing for this critically important examination and increased the desire of students to receive tutoring services. 

Competitive Analysis
The market for NPTE preparation is competitive, with several well-established players offering a variety of courses, workshops, and tutoring services. Key competitors include:

Scorebuilders: Likely the largest NPTE preparation company, offering comprehensive study materials, online courses, practice exams, workshops, and a variety of free offerings.

PT Final Exam: A company that offers an online NPTE preparation program. PT Final Exam is known for its videos, online courses, and practice exams, with a variety of flexible learning options.

Final Frontier: An online NPTE preparation company that offers prescriptive solutions to students preparing for the NPTE. Their offerings are primarily video based with daily assignments.

Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy: An organization that develops, maintains, and administers the NPTE. Their sole offering includes several online practice exams that simulate the NPTE.

Khan Academy and YouTube Channels: Free resources and platforms with educational content for physical therapy students. While these platforms offer free access, they lack tailored, individual tutoring services.

Summary
In today’s data-driven world, all individuals have the opportunity to conduct market research, regardless of their experience level. 

By combining quantitative and qualitative data, individuals can gain a holistic understanding of the market—helping to spot gaps, anticipate customer needs, and make more informed, strategic decisions.

The key is knowing how to ask the right questions and interpret the data effectively, ensuring that your market research efforts lead to actionable, valuable outcomes for your business.

Action
Jump in with both feet! The key is to start to gather data. 

Start by identifying two meaningful subtopics for your hypothesized business in each of the discussed areas (market overview, target market, industry trends, competitive analysis).

As your business concept becomes more defined, the scope of your market research will narrow and the collected quantitative and qualitative data will have even more meaning.

And there you have it, another dose of PT-preneurial inspiration to fuel your journey. Check out more inspiring stories from PTs and PTAs our there making waves by listening and subscribing to our podcasts on your favorite streaming platforms. And, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast. Thanks for listening!