Before launching a new product or service on the market we must understand who the product is aimed at, what problems it solves and who will find it beneficial. The same goes for a communication campaign or a new business strategy. In the end, all initiatives lead us to the same start: market research.
Creating a new brand, launching a new product or opening a business unit without doing a market research is like throwing a dice in the air and waiting for the number we want to get. It is leaving everything to fate and reducing our chances of success to one in a million.
Research is an essential part of any project. In the business world as well. If we want our proposal to succeed in the market, we cannot simply launch it and trust our luck. We must know in detail the market and the target audience for our proposal.
Thus, market research is the first step in any new business project.
Conducting efficient market research takes time and resources, although new digital platforms and technologies have expanded the possibilities of conducting market research without the need to invest large amounts of money. What any market research does require is preparation, strategic planning and time. The good news is that the investment is worth it.
A well-done market research can help us to identify our potential customers with greater precision, to set the price that will bring us the greatest benefits or to reorient the communication, marketing and advertising campaign linked to the launch, for example.
In the words of Forbes council member Andrew Faridani, "Market research is the most critical piece of a marketing launch because it helps businesses understand the audience segment and, by extension, the actual need of a product or service."
If Faridani's words don't convince you, when you're thinking of not doing a market research, remember that it's very likely that your competitors will.
At Kale we are experts in conducting market research of all kinds and we have helped many renowned companies to optimize their offerings through research techniques, both qualitative and quantitative.
On this occasion, we leave you with some tips that will help you carry out an effective market research.
1. The approach is key
The planning of a market research is a major stage of the project. Before starting to build our study we must be clear about what we want to find out or achieve with the study. Many times companies launch a survey or interview customers without knowing exactly what they want to know with their questions.
Thinking deeply about our market research objectives will help us to choose the most appropriate market research technique according to our needs, to define the right questions and to define the target audience of our study.
2. Objectivity
Market research gives us an opportunity to get to know the opinion of our customers and to obtain a type of feedback that we will not get any other way. This is why it is so important to be objective with our questions and try to be as unbiased as possible.
3. Go digital
When we think of market research, many of us think of five people sitting in a room and a moderator asking them questions. However, technology has advanced so much that even focus groups can now be done online.
The digital ecosystem has opened up many possibilities in terms of market research and the great advantage of going digital is that it allows us to reach more people. Depending on the type of market study we want to carry out, the number of participants is extremely relevant and can make the difference between a market study that is not very useful and one that really provides us with the insights we need.
In this sense, even email can be a good communication platform for our research. Email marketing is still one of the most effective means of direct communication for companies and in the case of market research it can be the ideal platform to communicate the intentions and motivations of our study to our clients.
Conclusion
Market research is the beginning of everything. Before launching a new proposal to the market, researching the environment, the competition and the potential customers of the product or service is key.
Market research, market research or market research is a discipline that has evolved a lot in recent years and increasingly opens up more possibilities of knowledge.