Over the past few years, we at Trigger Worldwide have published many Marketing- and Advertising-related articles to help business leaders improve their marketing effectiveness and create sustainable business growth. With the constant and rapid changes in customer preference and purchase decisions, it can become difficult for businesses to not only stay relevant and create customer loyalty but also to make sound business decisions that ensure the profitability needed for survival and sustained growth. It is therefore important that businesses conduct market research periodically, especially for new products that they intend launching in the market.
"Without data, you're just another marketer with an opinion"
As most seasoned marketers already know, Marketing Research consists of a set of techniques used to collect information and better understand their customers. Based on the age/ life stage of the product, the purpose behind the research could be to improve product design, or improve customer experience, devise a cohesive marketing strategy, create compelling stories that attract high-quality leads, improve brand considerations and increase conversions.
Businesses are usually crystal clear about 'What' they are selling. It is only with market research that businesses understand 'Why' customers will buy from them. Without truly understanding your customer - their pain-points, their biases, their wants, needs and desires, it is impossible to accurately create a customer profile that helps marketing target correctly. Furthermore, it is through marketing research that businesses can hone in on their value proposition and thereby create engaging content, decide marketing mediums and allocate marketing budgets.
Related Reading: Marketing Budgets
"Marketing without market research is like driving with your eyes closed"
There exist 3 main types of market research
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Explorative Research - This type of market research is usually adopted at the beginning of a new project (i.e. launching a new product/ solution in the market with the intent of understanding the business potential and viability for growth and profit).
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Descriptive Research - This type of market research is usually adopted when there are pre-existing insights and information. It is used to validate hypotheses and identify flaws in the planning or development. It is used to test ideas or approaches as it follows a qualitative research methodology.
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Causal Research - This type of market research is usually adopted after an explorative and descriptive research is completed. The purpose is to legitimise or disprove previous insights or determine cause and effect (i.e. effectiveness of marketing campaigns).
There are 4 common methods used in market research
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Surveys - A form of market research method that engages with respondents in a short series of open-ended or closed-ended questions. They can be delivered via online questionnaires or email. This form of market research is very common as it is easy to set up, inexpensive to implement and the data can be collected quickly.
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Interviews - A form of market research method involving one-on-one conversations ideally done face to face. This type of market research allow marketers to deep dive into their customers state of mind, reading non-verbal cues, listening to feedback, emphasising for their experiences to eventually get an insightful understanding into how the product actually fulfils a customer’s need and thereby reducing friction between what a company sells and why a customer buys it.
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Focus Groups - This form of market research method is conducted by a well-trained moderator with a group of selected people that fits a company’s target audience. There exist two big issues with doing this kind of research - Dominance Bias (having one forceful participant that influences the group) and Moderator Style Bias (how a moderator conducts the research can directly affect the results).
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Observation - This form of market research method involves the moderator taking note by observing from a distance (without influence) how a customer engages with a product. This approach helps brands understand how customers interact with their products in a natural setting; however it is very limiting because you aren't allowed to get into your customer’s head to understand the WHY behind the engagement
The 8 Steps to a successful market research
While marketing research can take many forms (i.e. Survey, Interviews, Focus Groups, Observations) it requires careful planning of the investigation process for it to provide insights and results that are effective.
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Identifying and Defining the Business Problem
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Defining the Objectives behind doing the research
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Planning and Designing the Research Study including Information (external and internal) Sources
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Planning the Sample (Target Population)
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Collecting Data
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Processing and Analysing the Data
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Formulating a Conclusion
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Presenting the Report
10 Free Marketing Resource Tools used for Information Sourcing, Consolidation and Data Visualisation
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Google Alerts
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Synthesio
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Knime
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Market Research RFQ
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Rapid Miner
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Google Fusion Tables
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NodeX
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Tableau
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High Charts
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Open Refine
15 Undeniable Benefits of Market Research
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Reduce Risks
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Create Definitive Marketing Plans
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Improving Marketing Effectiveness
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Reduce Marketing Wastage
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Keep the Business Relevant
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Identify Potential Threats
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Measure Brand Reputation
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Improve Brand Loyalty
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Forecast Revenue
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Increase Survival of the Business
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Make Informed Decisions
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Understand the Competition
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Uncover Business Opportunities
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Improve Speed
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Create Value
Conclusion: Market Research is a crucial part of all marketing plans. While businesses may think they know where their target market is, who their ideal customer is, what perceptions exist in the market for their products/ solutions; they are often surprised with the results that come back from market research. Whether you’re a marketer of a small business (and believe that market reach is an unnecessary task) or you’re a marketer of an enterprise business (and believe that you already know and have all the answers); conducting market research can help your business reduce risks, stay relevant, ensure marketing effectiveness, manage reputation, make better informed decisions and create value for your company/ brand in the long run.
Trigger Worldwide is a Brand Marketing Agency, built specifically for businesses to create Sustainable Growth. Our proprietary tools and process methodologies harness Technology, Creativity & Innovation, leverage Economic Drivers and Consumer Beliefs to help businesses overcome marketing inefficiencies and achieve their Growth Agendas.
“CREATE AN INSPIRED FUTURE FOR YOUR BUSINESS”
~ Trigger Worldwide