When talking about a small business for sale, it is of utmost significance to understand the buyer and to create a customer through this understanding. In theory, this is called a buyer behavior study. According to experts the time and effort spent on this relatively new discipline have been of enormous magnitude. Believe it or not, every buyer-study has unfolded some new dimension of this discipline. As a matter of fact the subject has been approached and analyzed from different angles and under different premises.

There are few questions, which needs to be answered in this regard. What motivates the buyer What induces him to buy Why does he buy a specific brand from a particular shop Why does he shift his preferences from one shop to another or from one brand to another How does he react to a new product introduced in the market or a piece of information addressed to him What are the stages he travels through before he makes the decision to buy These are some of the most important questions that are of perennial interest. As a matter of fact it is around these questions that the product and promotion strategies ultimately revolve.

If experts are to be believed, it needs to be emphasized at the very outset that there is no unified, well-defined, tested and universally established theory of buyer behavior. As a matter of fact what we have today are certain ideas on buyer behavior. It is worth mentioning in this regard that some of these ideas have taken their cue from economics, others from psychology, and yet others have drawn cues from several of the social sciences simultaneously. In theory, business firms and professional researchers have studied the subject extensively, contributing a large assortment of information on buyer behavior. Though, fact remains that a universally accepted theory of the subject has yet to emerge.

Everyone will agree with the fact that a buyer is a riddle. As a matter of fact he is a highly complex entity. It is worth mentioning in this regard that his needs and desires are innumerable, and they vary from security needs to aesthetic needs. In theory, these needs and desires are often at different stages of emergence and actualization. According to experts, some are latent, some manifest, and others highly dominant. Fact remains that the buyer has his own ways and means of meeting these needs. It is worth noting that some of these needs are within his means; he can easily meet them. On the other hand, some others may be beyond realization.

Theoretically speaking, making a profit is the primary goal in any business enterprise. The same holds true for small businesses for sale. Profit can be defined as the excess of income over expense. As a matter of fact, profit is an objective indicator of productivity, and a solid basis for growth, expansion and survival. In addition, profit enables a businessman to realize his other objectives too.

But the fact remains that not all enterprises are interested in making profits. For instance, hospitals, schools, charitable institutions and government agencies are not basically concerned with the acquisition of profits. It is worth noting that the non-profit enterprises customarily rely on gifts, endowments, receipts from money-raising projects, and subsidies. According to experts, in profit-making enterprises, profit should not be the end in itself. As a matter of fact profit should be the beginning--acting as seed money for more products, more plants, more dividends and more opportunities.

In theory, defining ones business accurately is the real starting point when talking about businesses for sale. As a matter of fact it is the prime requisite for selecting the right opportunities and for steering the corporation in the right direction. It is worth mentioning in this regard that to make sense out of the multifarious changes taking place in the environment it is essential to understand few things. It includes a possible benefit and what could be a hidden threat, a corporation must first understand what business it is in. According to experts, it must know what its aspirations are, where exactly it would like to reach and what it would like itself to be in the future.

It is worth noting that proper definition of the business does bring several benefits to the firm. Theoretically speaking, it reveals to the firm many relevant functions about its functioning which it may not be aware of otherwise; many closed assumptions get tested. In addition, it brings to the fore the weaknesses, if any, in the very conceptualization of the business by the firm. If experts are to be believed, it also highlights the errors in judgement that might have already taken place on any of these aspects. Most importantly, the exercise invariably brings the purpose and objectives of the business into a clearer focus.

There is no denying the fact that defining ones business has become an exacting exercise today because of the fast changes taking place in the realms of technology, products and customer preference. As a matter of fact when product-market boundaries get extended, when different product categories of yesteryears blend and merge and when new and substitute products keep invading the market, altering the existing business boundaries, understanding and defining ones business becomes difficult.

One can clearly emphasize the fact that as business boundaries are becoming highly volatile, unless one is careful, one may err in identifying the nature and boundaries of ones business. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the more narrowly a corporation defines and perceives its business, the larger are the probabilities of its running into loss. As a matter of fact when the definition of the business is narrow, quite naturally, the assessment about the competition will be narrow, and the vision of the likely changes that will invade the business and of new opportunities that will spring up in the business will also be narrow.