One of the best ways that you can understand your market better is through research.
Market research is a great way to find out what your customers want and what you can do better to make sure that they get it.
There are many ways to do market research and we’ll cover all of them!
This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Please read my disclosure policy here.
But before we can get into the specific methodology behind modern market research, we first need to delve into the meaning behind the term and the benefits that your business will get by doing good market research.
Every major business that is successful today has done some kind of market research to make them successful and it can work for you too.
What is Market Research?
Simply put, market research is the gathering of information that tells you how to improve your marketing efforts.
Market research is done through various methods, some of them quite formal and others very informal.
It also varies considerably when it comes to cost and the amount of work involved. For example, there are many firms out there that do nothing but conduct market research.
What methods you choose and how much money you spend will depend upon what your needs are, what information you are trying to get, and what your budget for market research realistically is.
Are you attracting the right market audience? Click the image below to take a FREE assessment to find what your unique brilliance is and then use it to uplevel your business!
Benefits of Market Research
Now, let’s talk about some of the benefits of market research. Companies that do market research are much better off than companies that do not, and many small businesses think that they just can’t afford to do it.
The truth is, you really can’t afford not to do it, because the success of your business may depend upon knowing what your customers want.
Let’s talk about some of the benefits that you get when you do market research.
Improve Communication With Your Customers
When you get the results of your market research, you’ll know how effective your communication is with your customers currently, what they want to hear and see, what they like and don’t like, and many other factors that affect those communications.
Helps You Minimize Risk
Are you planning a big product launch?
Before you spend all of the money needed to create and market a new product, wouldn’t it be smarter to ask people whether they want the product in the first place?
Market research allows you to do just that.
Identify Potential Problems
You can’t think of everything and when it comes down to a product or service, your customers that actually use the product are going to know the flaws much better than you can.
If you can figure out those flaws before it is too late, then you can use that research to fix them and have a much better rate of return.
Allows You To See Opportunities
While doing your market research, you might come across something that you can take advantage of that you would have never thought of normally.
Market research has a way of making things clear because it approaches things from the customer’s point of view.
Gives You Information On Your Online Identity
You’ll be able to have a better idea of how people look at your company through market research.
You’ll see how customers regard you and find out what your reputation really is.
If you find out that your company has a negative perception, then you can take steps to fix that problem.
Establish Your Position Within The Market
Do you know what your current market position is? Are you closer to the top or closer to the bottom?
If you don’t know the answer to this question you will have a hard time improving that position.
Market research can tell you where you stand.
Helps You Create Trends
If you do market research regularly, and analyze the information gathered carefully, before too long you will be able to see trends coming or create them yourself.
Then you can capitalize on those trends.
Allows You To Plan Ahead
If you can figure out how a product is going to be received, and how much advertising budget should be allotted to it, then you will have a great deal more success because you are prepared.
Market research gives you the information that you need to plan far ahead in the future and strike with more accuracy.
What You Are Trying to Learn
Now, let’s talk about some of the things that you are trying to learn by conducting market research.
You need to be aware of what your goals are before they begin.
They should be something like the following:
Is there a niche for my product or service?
If you are planning on releasing a new product or service to the market then the first question you have to answer is whether there is a need for it or not.
If there is a need for the product or service, does yours actually fulfill those needs?
You might have approached a product or service in a unique way looking to distinguish yourself from the competition.
While this is a solid tactic, you do want to be cautious that your product still meets the need of the customer.
For example, a person opening a restaurant needs to take into account that in modern times there are low-carb, vegetarian, and several other types of diet and the restaurant has to meet those needs as well.
Finally, you want to find out if your pricing is competitive. If you price yourself too high then everyone is going to go to your competitors instead.
Market research can tell you exactly what you should set your prices at to be competitive.
Check out the next post, where we go over some ways on How To Conduct Market Research.
Interested in more ways to balance your life and your business? Join my FREE Facebook Group – Time Money & Happiness Matters!
Pin and save for later!
