Okay, so you’ve heard the term “market research” bandied about. But, do you really know what it means? Misconceptions abound and it may be hard to develop a comprehensive understanding. This blog explains what market research is and how anyone in any business industry can benefit from it.
What Is the Definition of Market Research?
Market research is a calculated and extensive effort to gather information about a particular company’s target audience. The aim is to identify the segment of the public most likely to be interested in the company’s products or services. It is essential!
If a company fails to do market research before launching a marketing campaign, their time and money will be wasted. The wrong audience will be the recipient of their efforts. Market research is one of the most pertinent factors determining a company’s success rate.
A market researcher studies current economic trends and consumer behavior. Before initiating a market research project, they must determine who the company’s target audience is. What does that company do? Who can benefit from these products or services? Once these questions are answered, the researcher studies those groups of consumers most likely to fit the bill.
If, for example, a company wants to create a television commercial, it’d behoove the researchers to know what other programs the targeted consumers watch. Researchers can then develop the company’s commercial in accordance with their findings.
What Are the Main Purposes of Market Research?
There are a variety of ways to roll out a marketing campaign. Why begin with market research? What successes might a company see as a result of their market research? In this section of our blog, we lay out what purposes market research serves.
To Gain a Loyal Customer Base
Now that your business has launched, you must attract customers. One way to do this is to create highly personalized marketing messages. Make your prospective customer feel as though they are destined to have your product. Appeal to their emotional side rather than their intellectual side. The only way you will know how to do this is via market research.
Once your business launches, you will need to draw in customers. One of the most effective ways to do this is to send out personalized marketing messages. Create such an aura around your product that prospective customers feel they are destined to have it. Appeal to their emotional side rather than their intellectual side. Market research will allow you to discover what your customers truly care about.
Using Market Research to Make Sound Business Decisions
Original: No matter what your industry or how long you have been in business, the time will come when you must make decisions on how to move forward. Market research is a vital part of that. Now your research will consist of studying consumer behavior as it relates to YOUR company.
New: Optimization is the lifeblood of a good business—it matters not your industry or how long you have been in business. The time will eventually come when you must innovate your company’s plan of action in order to stay relevant in the marketplace. Market research is a vital part of that process. As an established business, you now have the good fortune of being able to analyze consumer behavior as it relates to YOUR company.
At this stage, the questions you ask should change. For example, what products are your customers buying? What are they not buying? What do your customers’ reviews of your business look like? Only marketing research will reveal these answers and show you the path forward.
Allowing You to Always Be Relevant to Your Customers
Exactly what does that mean? Just because your products or services are relevant to your customers at a specific point in time does not mean they will stay that way. Times change and so do consumer needs. Now you must develop a marketing research method to determine if you need to make adjustments to what your company offers.
One of the ways you can do this is to study customer data. Right now you want to know if they are still buying those goods or services from you, or if business has slacked off. If the latter is true, it is imperative you make the necessary changes to bring them back. Do you see why market research remains critical to your business?
What Are the Main Types of Market Research?
As you will see here, there are several. They are as follows:
- Brand research – creates and maintains an identity for the company within its targeted audience.
- Campaign effectiveness research – when ads are released to the public, it is critical to ascertain whether they are connecting with the public.
- Analyzing the competition – if even one of your competitors is doing better than your company, you must find out why. Market research is also called for in such an instance.
- Consumer insight research – this is the study of the reasons why your customers love you. It is important in order to determine how your company moves forward.
- Research methods for determining customer segmentation – what this does is divide your customers into smaller groups. Then you can plan future marketing strategies accordingly.
- Product development research – not only is it necessary to study the behavior of your audience, but also the products they covet. Then you can better plan for how to improve your products or add new ones to your business.
- Usability testing research – this is another facet of product development. Before you put your product or service on the market, you have to determine whether it is able to be used by your targeted audience.
- Research on Customer Satisfaction – once your customers purchase what you have to offer them, you must gauge how well they like it. Reviews are only a small part of the picture. Most unhappy customers will not leave a review, they will just go away. Determining how happy they are with you is vital to your existence.
What Can Happen If You Do Not Have Market Research Done?
We touched upon this earlier. It is partly a convenience factor. You do not want to waste your time, effort, and money advertising to folks who have no interest in what you are selling. However, it is so much more than that.
The different components of market research, which we just explained, are critical to the lifeblood of your company’s existence. It can be a life or death sentence for your company. Simply explained, you want to offer your best products or services to the right people. Without this, your business would fail, pure and simple.
Hire a Tampa Digital Marketing Agency
Unless you have someone in-house who is knowledgeable and has the time to put into market research for YOUR company, you should hire an agency. We can produce the results you need in order for your business to thrive.
We employ the philosophy of how providing their customers with great market research value creates a world where everybody grows, so everybody wins. We ooze great market research skills. Bake More Pies knows how to get the job done correctly. Check out our services today or get in touch with our team.
