What is market research?
We can define effective market research as the administrative tool used by companies or businesses to obtain information that can facilitate decision-making. For the collection, scientific and practical means can be used, such as statistics and data analysis, and it is very useful for brands that are just starting or looking to expand their product catalog.
Does market research work?
Effective Market research is a vital element when developing your marketing plan. When done correctly, it can help you make better decisions, establish the price of your product or service, the messages you should use to win over your customers, and even launch advertising campaigns aligned with your buyer persona.
Steps for Effective Market Research
Effective research is necessary for identifying the problem of business. today most businesses use different software that helps businesses to conduct comprehensive research with less ratio of errors in it. To conduct effective market research some steps must have been followed while conducting research.
Steps for Effective Market Research
1) Identify the Problem.
2) Defining the Sample.
3) Carry Out Data Collection.
4) Analysis of Results.
5) Making of Research Report.
6) Decision Making.
1) Identify the Problem:
While doing effective market research, identification of the problem on which you want to conduct that research is necessary. If you have a well-defined subject of effective market research when you are going for research so it makes it easy for you to make questions according to it. Researchers ask questions to a small group of select people from which they collect data and analyze it to get answers to their questions.
You should have to know the problem of your product or Company on which you want answers from the market by conducting market research.
2) Defining the Sample:
Selecting a relevant sample is very important in research. Usually, businesses don’t have much time for the wrong population and sampling. The selected sample must have respective characteristics which are needed in effective market research. Data is collected through different techniques. A sample is a small group of people who represent a large population.
The size of the selected sample tells about the quantity of the population. a large group of people in the sample gives the researcher more accurate data and avoids biases. If you want to avoid inaccuracy in data collection you must have balanced and representative samples.
Marketers usually face a lot of problems while collecting data in research as people reject to answer as they don’t have much time or people don’t give accurate answers/data to the researcher.
Effective market research surveys that are conducted thoughtfully are based on statistical and probability theories, also on scientific sampling. In probability sampling, all members of the population are considered with the same probability and the sample will be taken randomly.
While in non-probability sampling we select samples according to characteristics and knowledge of that sample. Variables like gender, age, place of living, etc are defined so by defining these criteria researchers have to control for creating efficient respective samples.
3) Carry Out Data Collection:
Correct data collection is necessary for effective market research. data collection instruments have to be developed to collect accurate data. For studying trends in the market and the future success of your product or business relevant and accurate data collection is necessary. If you select the wrong methodology for data collection you get failed to get an accurate result from the research.
4) Analysis of Results:
After the collection of research data, if you can’t do an in-depth and accurate analysis then all the activities perform before are useless. All the points of a market research process are linked with each other. Data are collected to find the answer to a problem a business is facing but when there is no accurate analysis done then you can’t find the answer to your questions.
Data analysis in the report should be written clearly so that effective decisions can be made based on the available analysis results. all the previous phases are done for finding the result by analyzing that data.
The qualitative data that researchers measure to obtain results are age, gender, profession, and the rest of the things that are emotions and experience will be interlocutors to us by transmitting. An empathy map is a tool that is used for this purpose.
To make successful research there should be a process planned carefully, hypotheses are made accordingly and data be collected accurately. Analysis of the collected data and making results from it is necessary.
5) Making of Research Report:
After the analysis of data, now you have to present an effective market research report which contains the answer to questions that arise for business. The research report consists of those findings and solutions that solve the problem faced by a business. A mistake that is made by researchers in the report is following the same pattern of questions but not having the potential of telling all things in detail.
A good report contains results that contain answers to those questions which arise and on which investigations have occurred. Research contains all relevant data and finding on basis of that collection of data.
6) Decision Making:
Effective market research helps a business to get accurate information about the market. You get information about consumer choice, their thinking about your business, customer feedback, target market, what price should be affordable for your product, consumers’ demands, desires, etc.
Based on all available information and that research, the business can take decisions easily for the welfare of customers as well as for earning profit for their organization. Decision-making is an art and based on research conducted from time to time, it is easy for management to reach a decision.
Techniques for conducting effective market research
As I already mentioned, when you do market research you can use the results to create a business and marketing plan or you can simply measure the success of your current plan.
That’s why it’s important to ask the right questions to the right people. Failing to do so could give you results that lead you in the wrong direction. To achieve this, there are two types of research:
Primary – Collects data from analysis of sales and current practices. It also takes into account the plans of the competitors.
Secondary – The goal is to analyze data that has already been published. With this type of data, competitors, benchmarks, and target segments can be identified.
Here are some techniques for conducting successful market research :
Interviews (either by phone or face-to-face).
Surveys (online, by email, by phone, or even physically if you have a physical store).
Questionnaires (in person or online).
Focus groups, are nothing more than a group of clients and/or potential clients who share their opinion on a specific fact.
Online research, will help you determine what information about your competition you can use, past campaigns, their results, etc.