Did you know that online market research methods are more effective, convenient and cost-friendly when compared with traditional market research methods? Find out more.
In the not-so-distant past, market research was a tedious, expensive, and distinctively complex manual process, usually carried out without standardized techniques. With the arrival of the internet, limitations in market research have been reduced considerably. Online market research has successfully beaten hurdles like the excessive cost of research, protracted timelines, and heavy workloads.
Traditional limitations of market research have been substantially reduced with the help of the internet. In addition, the possibilities for better quality research through online market research continues to grow by the day. Formidable hurdles to traditional market research such as excessive costs, heavy workloads, and protracted timelines no longer exist, thanks to online market research.
Today, both primary and secondary market research can be easily conducted over the internet. Primary research refers to the collection of original data, while secondary research refers to the collection and evaluation of secondary data. Primary research, though time-consuming and expensive can give you more specific results when compared with secondary research.
Let us explore the methods of online primary market research and secondary market research
Online Primary Market Research Methods
- Instant communities: Using instant communities for primary research is a good idea, as these communities can provide very fast consumer feedback, thereby minimizing the time required for research from months or weeks to only a few days. For instance, chat forums relating to your product/service can provide you with valuable feedback for market research.
- Online surveys and polls: With the help of online polls and surveys, you can collect specific research required for your marketing campaign and structure your research accordingly. Information gathered from polls and surveys is reliable and effective as they can consider all the aspects of your market research. The only minus of using an online poll is the cost. Polls must be kept simple as online users may not have the attention span to answer time-consuming or lengthy questions.
- Social media: Sites like Facebook and Twitter have shown their capability as online market research channels. Through popular social media sites, enterprises can get useful information about their products/services within a very short period. To achieve more quality research results, you can focus on a few social groups, like Twitter or Google+
- Focus groups: Online focus groups are chat-based or even audio-video based at times. The pre-selected participants in this type of research will interact with one another to offer insights on a product/service, while answering a series of research questions. The only requisite for this type of research is a high-speed internet which can ensure a smooth discussion.
SECONDARY ONLINE RESEARCH METHODS
- Keyword research: Keyword research can show you how prospective customers look for a product/service on the internet. This type of research can help businesses evaluate product/service niches that they might want to explore. Keyword research will also show you the type of competition that you face.
- Public records: Information from public records can give a business promising idea on what direction to take in online market research. There are several websites that offer quantitative data which is relevant. For instance, you can get access to free demographic data from government sites.
- Blogs: Online secondary market research can also be conducted with the help of blogs. Reading the blogs of key opinion leaders is a terrific way to evaluate how the target audience will respond to the products/services offered by a business. Blogs come with loads of customer feedback, active participants, and current content, making it a good research option.
Whether you choose primary or secondary online market research, you can benefit from timely and effective feedback on how your target market feels about your products/services. When compared with traditional market research, online market research is much less expensive and at the same time will give you high-quality information within a quick timeframe.
Would you like to know more about online market research and how it works? Find out here.
Did you like reading this post? What is your opinion about online market research? Would you prefer online research over traditional methods of market research? Let us know what you think of leaving a comment in the box below. We, at Outsource2india, love to hear from you!
Interested to know more?
Editor
Latest posts by Editor (see all)
- Top 4 Types of Forensic Accounting Services - December 10, 2021
- What is Better, Jackson Hewitt or H&R Block? - December 3, 2021
- The Future of Digital Marketing: What’s New in 2022? - November 19, 2021
