Any business, young or old, should be utilizing market research if they are looking to launch a new product or service, if they are seeking to expand globally, or if they are planning on opening a new premises. Market research allows you the power of analysis rather than relying on guesswork. Astute market research will enable you to focus on your target niche, fulfilling their needs and honing your item or service so that it surpasses your rivals. Take a look at these steps you need to take to ensure that your market research is effective.
Image credit Pexels – CC0 Licence
Spot Trends
If you keep a close eye on your rivals within your industry, you’ll be able to spot trends easily. Are your customers looking for a certain item or is one of your services becoming more popular? If so, work towards tapping into this trend and honing a new and improved service or item. Ask specific questions in your market research and ask the right people. Choose your demographic carefully and don’t deviate. The more specific your sample, the more useful the trends and research that you can analyze. You can use market research that is already in the public domain, but you need to be careful that you can attribute it to your niche. And, be aware that this data could also be out of date.
Get Out There
Conduct research in numerous ways. Consider utilizing survey software to send out online questionnaires to potential demographic hits. These surveys are presented in a non-threatening way and are effective to get the millennial generation involved. Alternatively, you could also employ third party market researchers who get out there and have a physical presence either on the street or sat down with a focus group. Surveys, discussions and interviews can all be useful when trying to analyze qualitative data. Software can also help you to input the answers and create databases that are searchable and that will automatically pull out key data for your consideration.
Image credit Pexels – CC0 Licence
Use An Agency
We all know the big guns when it comes to market research. Global agencies like Kantar and Ipsos MORI cost a lot of money to outsource to, but they also have the finest analytical minds in the business to analyze your raw data. By focusing on these data sets, they can pick out information that you may not have even considered. They will work with you to construct questions and focus groups. If you don’t have the cash to go for a large market research agency, stick to a more local agency. These can be more effective especially if your business is more regional and it needs a geographical sensitivity.
Market research is fundamental if you are a new business looking to get ahead of your competitors. However, it is also beneficial to those ventures who have been around a while and need to relocate their mojo. Think about using market research whenever you are launching something new, expanding your business or looking to attract a new demographic to your market.
Recent Comments