Market Research What Is It Exactly?
It’s the process to gather information regarding your potential customers. It aids in defining your customer personas, the target market, and determining the effectiveness of your business by answering questions such as: Who are they? What are their purchase and purchasing habits? How many of them are located in your region?
Through analysing the issues of your ideal client along with their desires and the available solutions, you can create your product, service and overall strategy to give your customers the best service.
What Is the Reason Why Market Research Is Vital?
If you’re starting an enterprise for the first time, knowing your customers is among the most important things you have to do. When you’re not familiar with who your customer is and their needs, you’ll be unable to assist them in solving their problems. It’s difficult to know what kind of marketing and advertising are efficient. It’s not easy to figure out the extent to which your product or service is something customers would spend money on.
Market research can give insight on the aspects that remain unanswered. It will dramatically reduce the risk at the beginning of your business. It will aid in determining your competitive edge and the way your strengths stack up against those of the competition. It will also help improve the marketing and sales process.
Do You Require Marketing Studies for Your Business?
Perhaps you’re wondering ‘does my business really require research regarding the market?’ Answer these questions to find out:
- Do you cater to a market that is mostly local?
- Is the business area that you’re about already exist?
- Do you have an idea to stand out from your competition?
- Are customers investing enough in the type of business that you manage to assist both you and your rivals?
- Have you mastered your subject thoroughly from previous work experiences?
If you answered yes to these three or more questions, then you might have a greater chance of doing smaller amounts of market study. Be aware that, even if you’re well-informed about your company, industry and your competitors, they are likely to alter. It’s a best practice to be researching or scheduling regularly scheduled meetings with market research experts to ensure you’re at the cutting edge of the latest trends.
What Is the Best Way to Carry Out Market Research?
The process of conducting market research can be a daunting task initially . However, it’s not an issue if you’re aware of what you’re trying to discover. We’ll go over the different kinds of market research that can be used in the near future, but for now, you can start with this step-by-step process:
1. Start by Identifying the Market for Which You Are Targeting
Imagine someone who walks through your door, or picking up the phone and makes an appointment with your company. It’s your perfect customer that is suffering from the problem you address and is willing to invest money in the solution. Think about the particulars of the individual. What is their name? Do they have a name?
Fantastic Customers and Traits That Are Common to All
The ‘ideal client’ is the market you want to target. Your business could have multiple potential markets, however it’s typically best to limit your list of markets to a maximum of two or three.
Each market you are targeting must be characterised by common features. It could be the result of demographics such as gender or age groupings, income levels or areas. These are referred to as psychographic traits, which represent groups of individuals who are interested in similar things or have the same preferences. The market you’re looking at could be a particular kind of person employed in other organisations, such as the head of IT or marketing.
The majority of times, the targeted market is a mixture of demographic and psychographic categories. For instance there is a possibility that you are working on an entirely new type of footwear that is targeted at women who compete in triathlons. You could create an establishment for hair that targets urban young, hipster men.
Market Segmentation
Offering multiple target markets for your business is referred to by the term ‘segmentation of markets.’ It may sound complicated, however what’s actually happening is dividing the market segmentation into different groups that you’re trying to sell to. The market segments for each can be distinct and buy goods or services for different reasons.
It is likely that you’ll develop various advertising strategies that target various markets, or making your service or product available for every market segment.
2. Contact Prospective Customers
Once you’ve identified your target market or, at a minimum you’ve made an accurate assumption about the characteristics of your market you have to complete the most crucial step of the market research. It’s time to step back from your desk and get off your computer and walk away. This means that you need to go out and meet with those who might be in your target market. This is called the primary market research.
It is possible to conduct online surveys as well as other research studies, but there’s no alternative to speaking with prospective customers. You’ll gain a deeper insight about your customers by observing their homes or workplaces and gain a better understanding of their buying decisions by speaking to them. This is far more important than any survey could ever give.
Take this step to take one step and you’ll be a step ahead of the rest of the pack. The reason is that most people do not bother with this aspect. It’s scary to meet strangers. What do they do if they’re not interested in purchasing what you’re planning to create?
So, don’t be like most entrepreneurs and ignore this crucial stage. It could be the difference between success or failure. Making this decision at the beginning stages will help you refine your business plan and make the best possible future of your company.
3. Find Out Whether the Market Is Enough
After you’ve identified the target market and verified it through speaking to them in person, it’s time to conduct studies to assess the size of your market that is sufficient to support your business. If you do not have enough customers to sustain your business or that of your competitors, you should think about making adjustments to your product or service offering.
For example: your market is just a couple of thousand potential buyers, then you’ll have to sell frequently or at a substantial cost in order to build an income-generating and sustainable business.
To figure out if your market is big enough, it is important to conduct some sort of study. Make use of the characteristics you have specified in the steps on market segments and find out the number of people who match your geographical, psychographic or demographic needs.
If you’re aiming at an established market that is crowded you conduct what’s known as research in the field. For instance you’re establishing a brand new company in the market for sports-related drinks or the mobile phone market. In these situations, knowing the price consumers pay for of the current products available can give you the most precise estimate of the size of the market.
In this case, you must look for studies on the industry and trade publications that are relevant to your industry. They often provide a summary of the size of the market.
4. Record Your Findings
The final (and the easiest) stage of the research procedure is to record your results. The level of formality you wish to use in your research will depend on the method you plan to use it.
If you’re just seeking to share your results to your business partners and employees of your business it’s likely that you can speak with them informally. If you’re seeking investors for your business then you may have to conduct a larger formal market research and conduct this type of a study of market.
Presenting Your Market Study
The most crucial document that any business has to produce can be described as an effective buyer persona. A persona is a description of an individual who can connect with all the key aspects of your market. Just as you can have a wide range of segments of your company, you could have different customer profiles.
If we’re thinking of developing a completely new marketing strategy or introducing new products or services We often ask “Would Garrett like this?” Learn more about the strategy we used to design Garrett in the following article.
What Is the Strategies to Conduct Market Research?
If you already have a market research method, it can be difficult to figure out the best methods for market research you should employ. There are numerous methods to link data, however they can be condensed to just two fundamental types of marketing study. Secondary research and primary research.
Which Is Your Main Research?
The main research method is the collection of direct data from people in your market of choice. This removes the middleman and ensures that the data you’re collecting is from actual buyers. Like I mentioned before, this is the type of research you must do to verify your business plan. It’s broken down into two result categories: exploratory and specific.
The primary study that’s exploratory entails the non-quantifiable feedback of the customers. It is not about evaluating the result, however, you should gauge your curiosity or emotional response by asking open-ended questions or looking over possible alternatives. This kind of information will assist you in understanding the significance of certain outcomes and data points.
The data was collected through specific research. This is the time when you must formulate specific questions which are then evaluated later in order to assess the value of a product or product, and the direction you will need to take or the response of your client base. This kind of analysis can enable you to look into the specific issues or opportunities your company is facing and offer figures of data to help you make informed decisions.
Does Secondary Research Constitute a Type of Research?
Secondary research allows you to study all other data that you have the ability to get access to. This includes sources like:
- The open sources are: Most of them are completely free and have easily accessible data obtained from the government’s research programs.
- The sources are commercial: Research studies are conducted by private companies on the state of affairs in industries, sectors and breakthroughs.
- The sources you get from your own: The data you’ve acquired through your day-to-day work activities. Everything from financial statements to analytics reports could be considered to be sources.
Which Is More Effective, Primary Research, or Secondary Research?
Secondary or primary research are similar to each other. They just have different uses and scenarios. It is crucial to utilise an appropriate blend of the primary research and secondary in order to give a complete market research and it is essential to combine both to give a full picture of your place in the market.
When you’re starting your journey, make sure to do some initial research to make sure that you’re getting the proper information to demonstrate the success of your company. Examine the results against other sources such as the industry comparisons as well as market research reports, alongside the data you have gathered. Based on your research findings, you’ll be better equipped to use secondary research more frequently. However it’s advisable to conduct periodic primary research especially when you’re making a major decision.
Different Kinds of Research on the Market
What type of market research could you conduct? Here are some options;
Interviews
I’ve already discussed it however the most efficient method to achieve this is to connect with your customers who are currently or are planning to be in person or through an online platform. Be sure that you have a well-thought-out set of closed and open-ended questions in mind and be aware of your interviewee’s body speech, tone of voice as well as their responses.
Focus Groups
Like interviews, focus groups offer direct input of your clients mixing. Instead of getting responses or responses in a bubble that is not your own it is possible to learn how customers respond in response to other customers in the market. It is possible to ask questions, run tests of the product or glance at a demo.
Pricing
It is possible to ask questions about pricing in sessions or focus groups, however you can also choose to conduct research on price. This could include A/B testing for various prices for the site and offering discounts for specific sections, as well as running campaigns for advertising that include various prices. It is crucial to know what clients are willing to pay and know what they consider to be reasonable pricing.
Awareness
This type of analysis is designed to determine the amount to which your audience is aware of your brand and the extent to which they are aware of the brand. What do they imagine when they hear about your brand? Which competitors appear first?
It’s a fantastic way to evaluate your market share and also to determine the competitors you’re in competition with. You can include this test in other tests or surveys that offer incentives to collect this kind of data.
Customer Interest
In your initial process of verification you must find out the current level of interest among your clients, i.e. do they desire to purchase goods or services. It’s simple to ask and determine the answer is yes or no, but you can start the sale for a short period or even pre-sale to create the initial revenue stream for your business. Give the option to purchase during the course of your meetings, group discussions or focused groups and also to pre-order items through the use of an easy landing page or by measuring the level of participation through a paid advertising campaign.
Customer satisfaction
This study will enable you to assess the level of customer satisfaction and what actions you should implement to ensure that customers come to you for a second time. It is possible to conduct this kind of research through focus groups or through interviews. However, you may also consider loyalty programs, offers with limited duration and customer service initiatives, and other strategies to boost customer loyalty.
Market Research Can Be an Everyday Part Within Your Organisation
Market research which is comprehensive will assist you to avoid costly errors during the initial stages of growth of your business. It should be a standard practice often employed when making important business decisions and opportunities for growth or to simply reaffirm your understanding of the market.
Take a look at our most recent blog: When Does a Small Business Need to Hire an Executive Team
ActionCOACH can help you from business coaching and mentoring to sales training and marketing assistance. No matter what stage your business is in, our team of experienced coaches can help you take it to the next level.
If you’re serious about looking in to market research for business growth, ActionCOACH is the perfect partner to help you get there.
Contact us today at 01305 566150 or email westdorset@actioncoach.co.uk for a FREE business coaching session.
