Page Contents
We live in a world where information is abundant. It can be challenging to listen through all the noise to get essential information on a particular market or audience. That’s where market research strategies come in as a means for brands and researchers to gather data from target markets and their audiences. Therefore, they can use the data to increase ROI and conversion rate.
Market research is a fork in the road as there are two approaches. Once only reliant on traditional approaches like focus groups or surveys, nowadays, using newer tools for obtaining insights, such as social media data, has been added to the growing list of market research strategies.
Here, we’ll explain what market research is and how to use it effectively.
More articles on market research and strategies
What Is Marketing Research, and Why Is It Important?
Marketing research entails more than merely looking up on google for most recent industry trends. It’s a lengthy procedure that necessitates your commitment, time, and effort.
Simply described, it is the procedure for gathering data about your audience and their needs and desires. Your goal should be to assess if your service is likely to suit their demands by digging deeper.
So, what do you discover using market research methods? Here are some examples to keep in mind:
- Customers buying behaviors
- Latest industry trends
- The needs and desires of your audience
- Pain point of your audience
- A list of your competitors
- Your rivals strategies
- Strategies for more ROI
Marketing research has a lot of benefits, as you can see.
Marketing research methods also can help you find and develop more effective campaigns regardless of your sector.
Primary vs. Secondary Market Research
Market research is divided into two categories: primary and secondary.
They might also be referred to as field and desk (although it’s outdated terminology because primary researches also can be done from your desk).
1. Primary (Field) Research
The term “primary market research” refers to research that you conduct yourself. This could entail doing your focus groups or surveys. Going out into the field to collect data is referred to as the ‘field’ part.
2. Secondary (Desk) Research
Secondary market research refers to research conducted by others that you can use the results. This could be research done by academics or financial data released by businesses.
Top 7 Winning Market Research Strategies
The approaches in this list cover both domains. Which ones you use will be determined by your objectives. Take a look around and see what you can find.
1. Analyzing Your Data
Sales data is a piece of the puzzle that can help you understand many things in this process. In a nutshell, it shows the outcome of your efforts. When combined with other data that you have gathered, sales data help researchers understand actions and consequences better. It’s also crucial to know your clients, their purchasing habits, and how they’ve changed over time.
For analyzing your data, you need a good companion. We suggest you WatchThemLive analytics. Our analytic tools will completely satisfy your need for organizing your data and help you make better choices based on them. Our analysis tool will gather all sorts of data from your customers and analyze them to provide a bigger scheme of what you are dealing with.
For example, our session replay service will give you the opportunity to completely monitor your audiences through their sessions. In fact, you can see exactly what they are doing and what pain points they are facing.
Want to try this feature completely free on your website? Click here for sign-up.
2. Focus Groups
It’s a simple concept, yet it can be challenging to bring into reality.
You gather a group of individuals, videotape them, and question them on whatever topic you want. It could be fresh product ideas for some or opinions on a political candidate for others.
The operator will try to gather some insights from these conversations or assess the larger society’s perspective on a topic. Participants will usually be picked based on a set of characteristics, such as their interests or demographics.
The advantage of a focus group is the spontaneous interaction and discussion between participants (if done correctly).
3. Surveys
In a survey study, respondents are asked survey questions. There are two types of questions: closed-ended and open-ended.
Because of the variety of question styles available, surveys are incredibly adaptable. It requires time and consideration to figure out the combination of questions to accomplish what you want. Different types of inquiries necessitate different setups.
It’s also about how you inquire. When you ask good questions, you’ll get good answers. Writing straightforward, concise questions that avoid imprecise terms and do not guide respondents along a predetermined path will assist your results in reflecting respondents’ true colors.
4. Social Media
Social media has become so ingrained in our lives that we no longer notice it. People freely express their opinions, thoughts, and hot takes on social media because it is a digital extension of themselves.
Because individuals share so much stuff on social media and it happens quickly, it’s a gold mine for market research. There’s a lot of data to mine and analyze.
5. Interviews
One of the traditional market research strategies is the interview. The interviewer speaks directly to the respondent during the interview. This market research style is more personal, allowing for more discussion and clarification, and is, therefore, more suited to open-ended inquiries. Furthermore, interviews will enable the interviewer to delve deeper than surface-level comments.
The disadvantage is that interviews can be time-consuming and costly. Those who choose this strategy will have to figure out how to allocate their resources efficiently. You should also be wary of questions that lead to meaningless outcomes, such as leading questions or plain bad ones.
6. Observation
Observational market research is a type of qualitative study in which the researcher watches their subjects in a natural or controlled setting. Test subjects in this strategy are more likely to act naturally, revealing their actual selves as they’re not under a lot of stress. They can, however, behave differently if they are aware of the observation. So, it’s crucial to keep them unaware of the observation process.
This form of study is particularly useful in retail, where it’s possible to observe customer behavior by day of the week, season, and whether or not discounts are effective, among other things. On the other hand, observational research can take a long time because researchers have little control over the surroundings they study.
7. Purchase Researches
Money may not be able to buy everything, but it may buy research. For people who want to buy relevant research reports, subscriptions are available. Reports are available for purchase on sites like Euromonitor, Mintel, and BCC Research, choosing a single-user license or a subscription.
This can save you a lot of time and give you a better understanding right away. You’ll also obtain all of your data in a structured manner, which will save you time cleaning and organizing.
In Conclusion
There are multiple market research strategies. But, not all of them will be appropriate for your situation or business. Spend additional time exploring each choice after you’ve gone through the list and found those that appeal to you.
Consider your goals, the data you’ll need, the advantages and disadvantages of each method, and the costs of performing the study and interpreting the results. If you do it right, the work will be well worth it.
