The #1 most important thing in market research is researching competitors. It's pretty much the first thing you need to do. Why? Because if a competitor is already doing exactly what you're doing, even all the research about your target market that you want to sell to won't mean anything--BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE IS DOING IT!

Anyway, that's probably the most mundane of tips for Market Research. I just had to post it so we have a base for the tip I really want to share: SELL YOUR PRODUCT BEFORE YOU BUILD IT! Ideally, you'd plan the application all out so you know what you're selling. But if you have a general idea, you can get somewhere. The idea is you need to be 110% sure that users actually want your product. And I'm talking mainly about products that service professionals and very specific needs--I'm not talking about widget-makers or social aggregators. I'm talking about a specific case when a startup's purpose is to create efficiency for providers in a market.  What you need to do is present the product plan to professionals who would use and try to simulate how they will use it as much as possible. Get their feedback on it, and make them exactly what they'd use.

Simple enough, right? Yea, but nobody does it well enough. I call learning to do this the transition from the immature Web 2.0 entrepreneur to the all grownup Web 2.0 entrepreneur...So, I'm a big fan of software that creates efficiency in anitiquated markets for direct use by professionals. IF THESE GUYS WILL BE THE CORE USERS OF YOUR SYSTEM--SPEND 3 MONTHS WORKING WITH THEM BEFORE YOU START DEVELOPING YOUR SOFTWARE!