Nowadays the variety of consumers’ goods and services is incredibly diverse. As a result, all companies do their best to be unique and inimitable in their professional sphere. Market Research helps to analyze industries, competitors, consumers, and other sides that underlie the “consumer-procreator” relationship chain. The global market research industry exceeded 76.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, growing more than twofold since 2008. This shows an increase in demand for the usage of market research in business industry.
So how will you know when you need to conduct market research?
There are 7 main tips that will show the necessity of it:
Starting a new business is always accompanied by great excitement due to the total uncertainty and novelty of the entire process. After all, everything new takes time, resources and mental costs for implementation. And, alas, the expected outcome is not always positive. Quite often, the reaction of consumers to a product or service expected by an entrepreneur is illusory, subjective. Here market research comes to the rescue.
So,with the help of industry analysis, feasibility study and idea validation, you can prevent the development of unsuccessful ideas, and therefore save your own nerves, finances and time.
Industry analysis is one of the main branches of market research. Its essence is the study of a particular market niche, its mechanisms. This helps a new company at the very beginning of the business journey to learn the features of its own competitors and prepare itself not only for obviously possible challenges, but also to make the product / service as individualized, unusual and unlike the others as possible, which will definitely help to get the attention of users.
A feasibility study is an analysis that considers all of a project’s relevant factors—including economic, demand, technical, legal —to ascertain the likelihood of completing the project successfully. This is a document that provides a cost-benefit analysis of a plan. This type of analysis helps not only developers to get a “fresh look”, “an outside view” on their own project. In addition, a feasibility study allows investors to determine whether it is worth investing in a proposed project. Thus, this tool of market research will help investors save their own time, and developers – to find a reliable investor and see all the shortcomings of their own business masterpiece from the financial side.
An idea validation is the system of gathering and processing information on the relevance and utility of a business idea. This, in turn, helps to significantly reduce market risks, prove market needs and show the audience’s desire to pay for a particular product/service.
Not only launching a new product, service, or business in general can be stressful and costly. Moving into a new market area is also a very risky process that needs to be approached savvy.
In our everyday life, no one will move from one house to another without a single box of things and knowledge of the location of the house, will they? Usually, we resort to the services of a real estate manager who will help us to find “our nest”.
Market Research will help us to find and keep the «nest» in the field of technology and market relations.
First, this is industry analysis. For instance, the economic drivers, trends and social factors of a particular industry in Asian or European markets are quite often very different. It is market research that will help the developer “feel” this difference and “see” certain pitfalls of a particular market (due to national, cultural, economic or political aspects).
Feasibility study and idea validation as market research tools will help to analyze a specific idea for its introduction to different markets. It is no secret that a house in Texas is different from a house in California. The attitude of people to buying a house in Texas and California is also different. The same scheme tends to be in market relations. A product that was popular in Asia will not always be actively used by Europeans. Market research helps to prevent all unpleasant situations, business stagnation or business failures.
Sometimes you keep investing in advertising and keep coming up with new “goodies” for your own audience, but … the business does not develop. Moreover, customers leave you. Familiar? Then urgently turn to market research for help. How exactly can it help you?
Competitor research that involves identifying your competitors will help you peep into analyze the internal mechanisms of the work of competitive companies and, based on an average analysis, get a balanced formula for the success of your own business.
Сustomer satisfaction survey is another market research tool, which connects the seller with his/her own audience in a very friendly way. There is a direct survey of users for satisfaction with the services or goods provided. Such a simple but highly effective move helps to literally learn firsthand about possible shortcomings, flaws or problems. And vice versa, the method of such “communication” with customers will help you understand your zest, the most attractive part for customers.
However, not only customers “create” business. Do not forget employees. Relations within the company itself are especially important, because it is like a huge mechanism in which every cog must be strong and serviceable.
Due to the employees’ demotivation, different subjective visions of the situation and a difficult internal mental climate can do their thing: workers will either leave quickly or not come at all.
An employee engagement survey forms internal social statistics of the company: how satisfied are employees with working conditions, how comfortable and motivated they feel. These facts will help to know the level of collective unity, creativity, and willingness to work. This means that it will help not only create / improve the working group, but also significantly increase productivity of the organization.
The lack of understanding of one’s own movement focus causes a very unpleasant feeling and, as a result, insecurity in the own business and fear of further development. And given the abundance of today’s areas and directions of development, you can understandably get lost.
Market research will help to understand exactly where and how to move forward, citing not abstract unreasonable thoughts, but facts supported by analytics. Such tools as industry analysis, competitor research, customer survey will help to collect and see the whole market picture. Using different market research types like primary/secondary or generative/evaluative research, you can focus on competitors, customers, and the general “mood” in different areas of the market.
Looking at your neighbor’s beautiful house every morning seems to be very annoying, doesn’t it? Well, renovate your own house, switch all your attention and strength to it! Without a doubt Market Research will help you with this!
Competitor research as one of the categories of market analysis which provides access to information and trends among competitors. Evaluating their own strengths/weaknesses and evaluating strengths/weaknesses of their products and services helps to analyze the general mood, recognize and predict the further development of rivals’ business ideas.
Competitor research will always help your business to be one step ahead!
The lack of information and the feeling that you are missing something very often leads to a vicious circle of torment and doubts. This affects not only the broad quality of life, but the development of the own business: stagnation occurs. Although competitors are currently developing, getting better … What should you do? This phrase should automatically appear in the head: “I need to research the market!”
Strategic research It should be undertaken to acquire new knowledge directed into specified broad areas that are expected to lead to useful discoveries. Strategic Research provides information that will help make difficult decisions, solve practical problems, set goals for the future and develop action plans to achieve those goals.
Be ready for any “surprises of fate” with your individual action plan!
These are common situations for the usage of market research. The other question is at the heart of your own intuition and critical thinking. Nevertheless, knowing the latest market situation, trends and mood of competitors/customers will never be extra in your own business process, isn’t it?