The
systematic collection and analysis of information in relation
to the market that your business is targeting at can be
defined as market research. In today’s fast changing
and competitive business environment, market research is
important to position the products and services offered
by businesses in order to increase their market share and
also retaining customer loyalty. Successful product launches
can be achieved by adopting a pro-active approach to understand
the needs and requirements of the market by the information
gained from good market research. There are many types of
information gained during the course of conducting market
research, namely :-
•
Market Demographics, Location and Size
• Product Receptiveness by the Market
• Market Trends and Industry Outlooks
• Industry Structure and Distribution Channels
Market
Research Is Key To Business Success!
Good
market research activities can ensure that businesses are
constantly positioning themselves to meet ever-changing
customers’ expectation and needs by gathering useful
information from the market. A properly planned questions
and research process are necessary to obtain the answers
that lead businesses to make better judgments and intelligent
decision-making to improve on their current or new products
and services to be offered.
Can
Businesses Afford To Ignore Market Research?
More
and more industries are structuring their internal business
operations and marketing strategies around the customer.
In other words, businesses are adopting a customer-centric
approach to marketing and this is why market research should
not be ignored although traditionally some businesses feel
that it is a waste of time or adding unnecessary cost to
their business. Failure to grasp the needs of the market
can often mean costlier failure further down the road by
overlooking the need for good market research. Can your
business afford to ignore market research? The answer is
quite obvious!
Useful
Information From Market Research
Customer/Client/Market
Information
Who are your existing and potential customers? Who are more
likely to buy your products or services? How much are they
willing to spend? What are their tastes and buying habits?
What is their age group? How much do they make? These questions
must be answered in order to develop or improve your products
or services to turn the target market into your new customers
and also to retain the loyalty of your existing customers
by reducing customer churn.
Industry Information
What are the changing trends of the industry? What are the
challenges facing the industry? Do economic cycles and regulatory
changes affect your industry? Answers to these important
questions will enable decision makers to streamline their
operations and position their organizations to meet the
challenges facing their industry.
Competitor
Information
What is their market share? Are they attracting your customers
away? What are they offering to the market? Where do you
stand in the face of your competition? How do they advertise
or promote their products and services? Are their pricing
as competitive as yours? Understanding your competition
is important in benchmarking your business and knowing what
are the factors in play to be successful in a competitive
business environment.
Market
Research – How Is It Done?
Types
Of Market Research
• Primary Research – it is essentially asking
the potential customer what they think
about your products or services. Actual field research is
conducted in person or by phone in the
form of opinion surveys.
• Secondary Research – it is information gathered
from published sources and is easier and
less expensive than primary research although it is limited
in what it can tell. Sources include governmental,
trade associations, magazines and journals,
chamber of commerce reports and publications.
Categories
Of Data Collected
• Raw Statistics
• Diagrams, pictures, descriptions of the raw data
and statistics
• Opinions from customers and industry experts
Important
attributes for research questions are they must be a true
reflection of what you really need to know and the answers
must be in the form of statistics, diagrams, or opinions.
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