Doing business is like chugging up a steep incline.
And your business is at it against a slew of other companies offering similar services. To stay ahead of the curve, you have to be creative, determined, innovative, and above all, well-informed.
Such information is gleaned through a structured and concerted effort to gather, analyze, and interpret data. That’s essentially what market research is all about. It encompasses interviews, surveys, product testing like Conjointly’s Product Concept Test, focus groups, and the like. All over, businesses are coming to terms with the pivotal role research plays in ensuring growth and profitability. Little wonder the global market research industry is worth over $76 billion dollars. Over the years, various software and tooling options have been introduced to improve the research process.
For instance, for a long time, pen and paper surveys were the primary channel of conducting research, particularly in the field. However, the advent of Tablet Surveys has made the job simpler and faster.
Listed below are three benefits of market research for your company. Let’s delve right in.
It Helps You Understand Your Customers
As Mike Gospee says, “Whoever understands the customer best, wins.”
All successful companies have a common thread running through them: they are customer-centric. It is suicidal to make assumptions about customers’ tastes, preferences, and habits and build a product or service on that assumption. Through market research, you can identify the needs and even the whims of your target market and tailor your product and services to satisfy them. That’s what business is truly about: serving the customer.
Additionally, research helps you gain a bird’s eye view of the demographics of your target market, i.e., age, gender, occupation, income range, location, etc. Such information is crucial in developing an effective marketing and advertising strategy.
It allows companies to base their choices on buyer habits, purchasing power, and customer preferences. Products, then, can be tested to gauge customer engagement and demand before they are launched.
It Helps You Identify Opportunities
One forté of successful businesses is their ability to identify gaps in the market and craft suitable solutions. As a business, you should not be focused on just developing products you think customers might like; instead, your sole focus should be on developing products and solutions that are backed by research. This ensures your business steers clear of danger zones and potential pitfalls.
By looking at the metrics, you can brainstorm, mind map, and curate solutions that are just what customers are looking for. By assessing market trends, size, growth, niche markets, etc., you can accurately predict where opportunities for your product lie and what to do to seize the opportunity.
This would also ensure you have a solid product differentiation to set you apart from competitors.
It Helps You Understand Your Competitors
Understanding your competitors is as crucial as understanding your target market. To ignore your competitors is to run the risk of being blindsided and outdated.
Keeping tabs on other businesses in your vertical would help give context to your reputation and growth. It also keeps you up to speed on trends, latest innovations and ideas as well as the strength and weaknesses of your competitors.
This knowledge helps you craft and perfect your unique selling proposition and to truly stand out among the crowd.
In a Sum
Market research should never be relegated to the background; it is a pivotal part of every stage of your business. Think of it like a crystal ball that allows you to see both the present and the future and accurately predict what your customers prefer. Effective market research will get your hamster wheel of success spinning and you smiling all the way to the bank.