Market research can point your business towards the right direction. With the right plan, you can find out who your customers are, where they are located and if they will be willing to buy your products or use your services.
Do you need to know what type of product/service will bring in a profit? Or maybe, you need data on whether your products/services are meeting the needs and expectations of your customers. Through effective market research, you can understand whether your product needs a new package design, if you should offer more value-add services or if your delivery methods needs tweaking.
Marketing research can help you in two ways. Your business can use market research to measure the success of your current plan or create a new plan. This is why research has to be done by right way and by the right experts. Poorly done research can steer your company in the wrong direction. Read on to find out how to conduct market research, the methods of market research and what mistakes to avoid.
Types of market research you can use
Primary market research refers to the process of collecting data by evaluating your current sales and the effectiveness of your current practices. Through primary market research, you can also find out information about your competitors. Data for primary research is usually collected through interviews, questionnaires, surveys or focus groups. Customers are questioned about the factors that they consider while buying a product, likes/dislikes about a product, areas for improvement and the appropriate price for a product or service.
Secondary market research is the next type of research that is conducted to evaluate data that has already been published. With the aid of secondary data, competitors can be identified, benchmarks can be established and target segments can be identified.
Quantitative and qualitative data collection methods
Data collection is primarily conducted by quantitative and qualitative methods. Qualitative data collection requires a large sample size and utilizes mathematical analysis. One method to gather quantitative data is through web analytics, which can shed light on where your leads are coming from, how long visitors are staying on your website and the specific pages from where they are existing.
Qualitative data on the other hand uses a small sample size to help you define problems and find out about your consumers’ beliefs, values and opinions.
Mistakes to avoid
Trying to take a shortcut with market research cannot give you the real picture. For instance, do not solely rely on the published work of others (secondary research), without carrying out your own primary research. The information of others can be outdated and you can miss out on the relevant factors affecting your business. Another pitfall would be to use only web resources. Such information may not be completely accurate. Try to also conduct research at your local college campus, library or business center. Finally, try to avoid conducting surveys only on the people that you know like family, friends and colleagues. To get access to useful and accurate data, you will need to talk to real customers and discuss their expectations, wants and needs.
Try market research today!
Your business cannot succeed without comprehending your customers, products, services and the market in general. Operating without effective market research can give your competitors an advantage over your enterprise. Why not get started with market research services right away?
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Interested to know more?
- Quantitative or Qualitative Market Research – Which Type of Research is for You?
- Seven Business Enhancing Benefits of Using Market Research
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Great to read this valuable information. Thanks for sharing.