If you are a business owner, you would definitely know what market research is. Not just that, you would even surely know the importance of good market research and analysis. To put it in short, market research and analysis is the key component for the success of any business. If you are not conducting proper market research, you will be left behind. The reason is the market changes every day.
This is why it is very important to indulge in market research regularly and analyze the data. Only after that, you will be able to implement the right things for your business.
Best ways to do market research & analysis for a business
If you wonder, how you can conduct market research and analysis for your business, we have some wonderful tips for you. Just go ahead.
Recommended for you: Data Evaluation in Research: Accuracy, Precision & Types of Errors.
1. Be clear with your purpose
Though the ultimate purpose of market research and analysis is to achieve success, the reason for it can vary. For instance, sometimes you conduct market research to learn more about your competitors, and, sometimes, it might be done to understand the new market system. So, here the thing is that you need to be clear in your mind with the purpose of your research conduct and then gather the data according to that requirement.
2. Find out the situation of your industry
Without figuring out the current situation of your industry, you can’t perform any accurate market research. This is why it is very important to make a detailed outline of your industry and see whether it is going up in the future or down and then act accordingly. This way, you will not only learn a lot of new things about your industry but also be able to understand it in a precise way and gain more success in your business.
3. Know your target customer
Well, this is a very important aspect while doing market research and analysis. If you fail to identify your target customers, not only your market research will be useless, but you will also not be able to make anything out of your business. Therefore, make sure to identify the target customers of your business and then research about them like their gender, location, needs, interest, and many other things that will help you know your customers better and serve them in the best possible way.
4. Keep eye on competitors
You will not believe but almost half of market research and analysis are conducted just to understand the competitors. Yes, that’s true. If you also want to make something big in your business, you must keep your competitors in mind while doing market research.
Find out their business strategies and how they are different from you. Also, research about their strengths and weaknesses, there must be something. Look for the reason why customers are opting for your competitors and not for you. Try to find out all these things of not just one competitor but all of them.
5. Make it short and crisp
Conducting market research is time-consuming and effort-taking work in itself. This is why just don’t try to cover everything in a single go. Try to focus on a particular part of business and research even tiny details about that. This way, you will be able to get crisp details without feeling tired and probably annoyed.
If you feel like you need more market research to understand your industry better, go for another session. But don’t try to gather too much information in a single session. It will only make things messy, and you won’t be able to make out anything significant.
6. Get into the shoes of your customers
Once you have identified your targeted customers, try to get into their shoes and learn more about them. Only after that, you will be able to serve them according to their needs. Try to find out their interests in daily life things. Get into their shoes and imagine why you would like to purchase the products that you are offering. And if not, why not?
Conducting this research will take some time but it will definitely help you churn out big benefits in your business because this way you will be able to offer people what they are really looking for.
7. Identify uninterested customers
Identifying just target customers is not important. Getting to know your uninterested customers is equally important too. This is why while conducting detailed market research and analysis, you should also give some attention to people who are not interested in your products or items as well.
The reason is, if you talk about your products in front of them, you won’t obviously get any leads. Simply because those people have nothing to do with that particular industry. So, find out the people who are of no use to you and then implement your business strategies accordingly.
8. Put your customers before yourself
Another important thing that you must keep in mind while performing market research and analysis is that customers come before you. Never ever conduct research according to your future business plans but the needs of customers. For instance, if you are going to launch some new products in the upcoming time but your customers are not interested in them, how will you yield the benefits?
Given this fact, put your customers above everything and just act according to their needs and demands if you really want to gain success in business.
9. Don’t stick to just one research method
There is no sure-shot way to conduct market research. There are various methods and tricks. Some might work remarkably well for you while some might not. This is why it is important to try different research methods instead of just sticking to one. It might sound time-consuming, but yes, you would need to try the different research methods that suit your industry and then see what works best for you.
You may like: 16 Best Free Website Analysis / Analytics Tools to Supercharge your SEO.
10. Go by quality not quantity
Conducting research does not mean having multiple pages of data and then analyzing things. It is about collecting accurate information. If you haven’t done the research properly targeting the main customers, your 10 pages of data can be of no use. Like all other things, here too, you should go by quality, not quantity. If you are precise enough and target the key points, just a little data would be enough to have a basic understanding of your industry, and it will definitely be far better than long but useless data.
11. Don’t make assumptions
Conducting research means getting factual information. Guessing games do not work in research, be it of any kind. This is why don’t make any assumptions while conducting market research. If you are not sure about certain data, simply leave it. Just get the factual details and implement your business plans according to them. Whatever data you will get, be it surprising or shocking, that would be the reality of the industry.
12. Give it enough time
You are conducting market research, not playing a game. Performing market research is not a single-day task. It requires days of hard work, dedication, and attention. Given the fact, it will take time if you want to justify your hard work and get some results from it. Don’t just do everything in a single day skipping important points in your research. Give enough time to it and make sure it helps you grow your business in some or another way.
13. Graphics or more helpful
When you are conducting market research, you can obviously gather data in any form. It will definitely be helpful to you. However, graphics are the best among all because they make the analysis simpler and time-saving. Graphics let you understand more data in less time because, in this time type of data presentation, everything is mentioned in bullet points. Given this fact, if possible, try to create graphics of your market research data.
14. Make it a part of your routine
“Conducting market research and analyzing the data is not a compulsion but a requirement.” – as quoted by Alex Silensky in one of his recent interviews. He is a financial adviser and management consultant by profession and also the co-owner of the consultant firm OGS Capital.
If you never perform market research for your business, nobody will ask you to do that because it is not a compulsion. But then, you can’t expect growth in your business because it is the biggest strategy to grow your business. This is the reason that business owners perform market research regularly. If you are also serious about your business and want to flourish, make market research a part of your monthly routine. You can do it once or twice or as many times as you want. Just make sure its output is useful to you.
15. Trust only reliable sources
The Internet is filled with a pool of information. Just make a quick search and the information would be right in front of you. However, can you be sure that all the information presented to you is accurate? They might be fake or lack accuracy. The authenticity factor becomes more important when you are conducting research because accurate data is everything. So, how would you get accurate information? Well, trust only reliable and verifiable sources like Wikipedia.
16. Get the help of tools
Don’t worry about the time and effort that market research requires because there are plenty of online tools available that are meant for this particular purpose only. You can take the help of those tools and make this time-consuming process easier and smoother. You definitely can’t solely rely on those tools, but they can still be a great help. Search for those tools and get your hands on which is the most suitable for your needs.
17. Connect with your customers
Now, you must be thinking about what connecting with customers has to do with market research. Well, it is deeply correlated. After all, customers are everything in a business. So, you should pay the most attention to the customers only while performing your business research.
Here, what you have to do is to connect with your handful of customers and request them politely to give honest feedback on your products. You can even ask direct questions from them or can go for any other method. This way, you will be able to know what customers have to say about your business and it is a critical part of the research.
18. Gather the data clearly
While performing market research, keep in mind to jot down the data clearly. Just don’t write the data and figures randomly. Follow a certain format and stick to that. Throughout this whole process, you will get different data figures, so make sure to write down everything clearly. This not only saves time during analysis but also helps you to understand everything clearly even if you open it after months.
Recommended for you: Top 7 Attributes to Keep in Mind while Planning and Analyzing the Brand Building Strategy.
19. Find out the outcome
Conducting deep market research is not everything. The main purpose of research actually starts after this only.
Once you have done all the research, have a look at the whole data and try to find out the exact outcome. Don’t make any assumptions. Just remain true to the factual details and get the outcome. For this, you must need some remarkable analyzing skills because the analysis is more important than the research itself.
20. Implement wisely
Your work as a market researcher is not done yet. To perform successful market research & analysis and reap good benefits, you must implement your business according to those data. Else, there is no point in wasting hours of your precious time on research and analysis. Also, be wise and quick with your decisions because the market keeps changing. And, if you stick to the same research formula for a long period of time, you won’t get the expected results.
Benefits of market research and analysis
There are a number of benefits of running market research and analysis. With the fact that it is the key factor in getting business success, we should say that it has benefits only. So, here have a look and the biggest benefit of market research and analysis:
- It reduces the risk of business downfall. By conducting deep market research, you will be able to understand your industry and market better. Given this fact, there are fewer chances of business failures.
- You get to target the right audience. When you perform the proper research, you know who your customers are and what their requirements are.
- It keeps you updated with everything in your industry and, thus, helps you grab new opportunities if they come your way.
- You get to identify your competitors and learn things from them. Also, you try to do better than them.
- Needless to say, it gives your business skyrocketing success. Without market research and analysis, you can’t gain significant success in business for sure.
Mistakes to avoid while conducting research market and analysis
Whether you’re performing market research for the first time or have already conducted it a hundred times before, you might make some mistakes that will hamper the productivity of the research if you are not careful enough. So, try to avoid the following mistakes.
- Not considering your competitors while performing the research. Yes, this is the biggest mistake that most market researchers make. They just focus on themselves and completely ignore their competitors.
- Don’t make mistakes in identifying your target audience and their demographics because, only after learning that accurately, you will be able to serve them.
- Don’t use outdated or old information. Make sure to have the latest information from reliable and trusted sources.
- Making intuitions and assumptions about the data as well as the business is the biggest mistake. Just stick to the factual details.
- If you don’t have knowledge of the industry really well, don’t analyze things. Take the help of some experts in that industry. You can definitely perform the research but, for the analysis part, take the help of an expert.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What is the best method to perform market research and analysis?
Well, there is none. Market research and analysis are not the same for everyone. For us, it can be different, and, for you, it can be something else. So, you have to go through different trial-and-error methods and then see what works best for you.
How often should I do market research?
This is again something you yourself have to decide according to your business. If you think your business requires extra research and analysis in order to gain growth, perform 2-3 times a month. Else, once a month should be sufficient.
How long does this research process take?
See, it depends. It might take just one hour or the whole day. Here, the thing is how you implement your strategies to research and how much data you need to gather. If you are implementing the right methods and you have prior experience in market research, you should be able to get your job done in a few hours.
You may also like: Motives Why You Should Invest in Market Research.
Conclusion
Though market research and analysis seem difficult and time-consuming, you will be able to do that easily for your business if you follow these tips. Conducting market research and having a deep analysis of it is very important for the success of a business.
Web developer and SEO specialist with 20+ years of experience in open-source web development, digital marketing, and search engine optimization. He is also the moderator of this blog "RS Web Solutions (RSWEBSOLS)".
