Customers today have a great deal of clout. They can independently investigate your product or service and make purchasing judgments. Furthermore, rather than speaking with one of your sales representatives, they are more likely to seek referrals from friends and family or read internet evaluations.

Have you adjusted your marketing plan to reflect today’s consumers’ research, shopping, and purchasing habits?

What is Market Research?

Market research is the technique of obtaining data about your company’s customer base, key demographic, and consumers in order to assess how feasible and profitable your item or brand would be (or is) among these individuals.

You may reach your customer where they are by conducting market research. This becomes vital when our world (both digital and analogue) becomes noisier and requires more of our focus. You may correctly construct your product or service to organically appeal to your buyer by identifying their challenges, pain points, and desired answers.

Market research can also reveal information on a variety of factors that affect your bottom line, such as:

1. Where do your target audience and current consumers go to learn about your product or service?
2. Which of your rivals does your target market turn to for information, choices, or purchases?
3. What’s hot in your sector and in your buyer’s mind?
4. Who makes up your audience, and what obstacles do they face?
5. What factors determine your target audience’s purchasing decisions and conversions?

Types of Market Research

There are several sorts of market research that fall under these two categories, which we’ll go over in more detail below. It’s not necessary to specify which of the two umbrellas your market research belongs under, though some marketers prefer to do so.

Primary Research

The acquisition of first-hand data about your industry and the consumers who make up your industry is known as primary research. It comes in handy when sectioning your audience and creating a customer profile. Furthermore, there are two types of primary market research: 

1. Exploratory Primary research – This type of primary market research is primarily concerned with prospective problems that might be worth addressing as a group rather than measurable customer trends.
2. Specific Primary research – Exploratory primary market research is frequently followed by specific primary market research, which is used to delve deeper into issues or opportunities that the company has already identified as essential.

Secondary Research

Secondary research refers to all of the data and public information that you have access to in order to draw conclusions (e.g. trend reports, market statistics, industry content, and sales data you already have on your business). Secondary research is very beneficial when analysing your competition. The following are the key categories into which your secondary market research will fall:

1. Public sources – When conducting secondary market research, these sources are your initial and most accessible layer of material. They’re frequently free to find and evaluate, so you get a lot of value for your cash.
2. Commercial sources – Market reports, which contain industry insight generated by research companies, are frequently used as these sources.

Final words

Conducting market research can be a fascinating experience. Even if you believe you have a good understanding of your customers, taking the survey will most likely reveal new channels and messaging recommendations to help you better your interactions.