Does Market Research Matter?
No matter how amazing your business idea is, you won’t be able to make any money until you understand your customers’ needs and behavioral patterns. With changing times, you need to keep track of how big the role of the Internet is through the entire shopper journey.
In reality, many businesses feel like they don’t have the time to do their own market research. Instead, they’ll use secondary research findings when devising their own business strategy – the flaw? This research isn’t relevant to your target audience. By generalizing the results of other research, or relying on old data, your research becomes inaccurate. This can skew your entire plan. The truth is, that in this day and age, even a year old data is somewhat irrelevant.
Why Do You Need to Understand Your Customers’ Behavior?
Knowing your customers’ values, beliefs, and opinions will help you target them in a way that is relevant to them. A brand that speaks to your consumers will make them loyal to you.
Companies allot a significant portion of their budget to marketing. When you invest this much, it’s natural for you to expect a decent return. With thorough market research, you can find answers to questions like:
• Do customers generally buy similar products in-store? Do they go through renowned digital market places like Amazon?
• Has content marketing been successful in the sector you’re operating in?
• Do your customers rely on reviews they read online before purchasing?
• Are the majority of your consumers using social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram? Are they more focused on professional ones like LinkedIn?
By acting upon your insights, you can see a steady spike in your sales growth.
Stay Ahead
Through market research, you can find unique data that your competitors don’t have access to. By doing this, you can find ways to stand out amongst the clutter. In this way, you’ll get some insight into what drives your customers and cater to their specific needs. Some insights that your market research can give you are:
• Are your customers enticed by discounts?
• Do they prefer a value product?
Reduce Your Risk
If you’re a new business or have a relatively small-scale setup, your finances are already limited. Think of your market research as Google Maps. You know the general direction you want to take your brand in, but you don’t know the exact way to get there. Similar to satellite navigation, with the right research data, you can figure this out.
Endnote
Market research isn’t what it used to be. It has gone from collecting responses and interviewing your target audience to shopper marketing (surveying shopper behavior in-store) and getting data from digital conversational threads. With modern technology, you can make the most of even a small budget. This will allow you to gain valuable consumer insight.
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