Market research is crucial for decisions like new product development and for getting the insight you need to be confident about your direction and big marketing decisions.
Why does it matter?
Just about every organisation will benefit in some way from even the most elementary market research. Even if it does not provide new information, it will at least confirm what you already know. Large companies spend a lot of time and resources on this type of work, but it doesn’t need to be expensive or difficult. There are plenty of online resources to help you do-it-yourself.
In a world where we know more but sometimes understand less – thanks to our increasingly digital lives and changing social interactions – the volume of data available to marketers creates both new challenges and opportunities. Market research practitioners are drawing on an ever-wider range of information pools such as media monitoring, social media data, clickstream files and online searches, all new tools in the marketer’s arsenal.
However, it doesn’t need to be that complicated. Market research is basically about data. Surveys help you easily collect a range of information from a large number of people, and with services like the new survey creation tool Attest, available at askattest.com, this information is within the reach of everyone – from a small business to a corporate giant.
The personal touch
You can conduct surveys when you or your staff meet customers, through web-based platforms (like the tool from askattest.com mentioned above) and through personal interactions. It’s important to ask the right questions as this will be key to the success of your later analysis. Find out what people think of your idea, why and what you can do better.
A focus group will provide similar direct feedback from customers and is a useful tool. Gather a group of typically between 8 to 10 people and ask them a focused group of key questions. What you really want to hear from them is how your product is used, what they like about it and any areas for improvement. Take notes during the discussion to reflect on later.
To summarise, market research is about collecting qualitative information, and ideas, from your existing and potential customers. Then taking that information and using it to make decisions about the direction of your business. There are multiple sources that will help you set up and analyse these details and with easy options available, building your business needn’t be hard work.
