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Every company makes major decisions that affect revenue, growth and customer loyalty. The success of these decisions, when it comes to things like introducing new products or developing marketing strategies, varies based on how strong your foundation is in relation to market intelligence.
Market research allows companies to collect and analyze data on customers, competitors, and industry trends to help them make decisions based on facts rather than prediction.
Market research is often thought of as only the realm of “large” organizations, but it is equally valuable to small or medium size businesses. Companies that are looking to reduce their business risks, compete successfully and make well informed choices are all using systematic techniques to gain insight into the market.
Understanding Market Research
Market research is the study of how the market functions and how consumers are affected by the behaviour of others that purchase goods or services from within the same market. The market research process can take many forms, including surveys, one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and studying existing information such as purchase history and click-through rate.
The purpose of using professional market research services is to ensure that the data is collected objectively, and that the data is interpreted appropriately. Instead of being dependent on assumptions or limited internal perspectives, businesses will have access to evidence based insights.
Understanding Your Customers Beyond Demographics
Understanding your customers’ demographics is vital in trying to pinpoint what kind of buyer they are and helping to figure out why someone might buy your goods or services. This can be determined by conducting Market Research to learn about the customer’s motivations, needs, expectations and pain points.
Businesses can use these data sets to create their products, services and marketing methods to better match the wants and needs of customers. More closely aligning with customers creates a stronger relationship with them which improves how customers experience a company, resulting in greater loyalty and retention.
Identifying Opportunities for Future Growth
Businesses looking to grow can use market research to identify potential areas for growth. Market research gives businesses an early warning about trends and shifts in their customers’ habits, which allows them to find “gaps” in the marketplace or consumer needs ahead of competitors.
Market research may identify “underserved” consumer segments or demand for a new product/service feature or changing consumer preference for how they want to interact with a brand. Businesses that utilize this information sooner rather than later are usually much better equipped to respond to and grow their business.
Enhancing Your Marketing Effectiveness
Targeted marketing produces the greatest impact on success. A business will perform market research to ascertain what marketing messages touch its customers and which marketing channel returns the best ROI for that particular market.
Market research allows businesses to concentrate their time and energy on those strategies which will yield the best bang for their buck.
Companies utilizing this data driven decision making process will be able to experience much higher return on investment (ROI), develop stronger brand recognition and develop much better marketing campaigns than companies that rely upon their intuition alone.
Supporting Your Long-Term Strategic Goals
Research is ongoing – it’s not a ‘once and done’ affair. Consumer expectations, and market conditions, change over time so continuing to do your market research will help ensure your strategies are aligned with where the market currently stands.
Being kept up to date with the steady flow of market statistics helps businesses adapt their planning, as well as being able to test new ideas.
Business owners that reinvest in market research services results are more likely to adapt and thrive long-term, leading to continued growth and smart business decisions.
Final Thoughts
Market research helps companies better understand their market segments. It sheds light on the blind spots that exist when business owners make decisions, and it gives businesses a real-world understanding of their market, allowing them to make smart business decisions.
Whether they know it or not, savvy business owners committed to long-term success will come to view market research as essential for strategic planning. It lays the groundwork for really knowing what the customer wants, and where the growth opportunities are.
