Market research is a vital step in making any business or product a success, but what does market research mean? Briefly speaking, market research involves collecting and analysing data from consumers to create a better target for your product or business. That’s why it’s a key ingredient in sculpting a successful marketing campaign. If done well, consumers who aren’t interested in your product are significantly cut out, meaning those being targeted are more likely to be interested and convert to purchasing. 

With that in mind, how should we get started with market research? We’ve compiled some insights from our market research experts below. 

Step 1 - Jot down your assumptions & ideal consumer 

When making your business, product, or service, you would have been thinking about who would be the person likely to use it. Marketing research draws on those assumptions as a starting point. You want to be asking yourself the following questions: 

• Who is likely to use my product? Who probably won’t use my product? - Narrow down your target so that you’re not taking a huge stab in the dark and missing out on potential customers. 
• Who do I want my customer to be? - Think about who you want your customer to be; who do you want to keep coming back for more, and who do you want to refer your product to friends and family? 
• What do I think my research will show? - Thinking about what you think the results will show, and what results you’d like will help to guide you along your market research journey. 
• Are there any gaps in the market? - With the increase of businesses and innovations, it may seem hard to find a gap to fill, but do your research, and take time to see what your competitors have on offer and how their customers interact with their products. Think about what you can do differently or better.

Step 2 - Find your market opportunity 

Finding your opportunity to market your product takes some time, but the effort is well worth the results. 

First, you need to ask yourself why people would want to invest in your product. Is your product a want or need for them? What is going to make these people spend their hard-earned cash? Asking yourself these questions will allow you to strengthen your USPs and sculpt your market research nicely. 

With the above in mind, it’s time to start searching for trends in the market. There are various methods to do this, but if this is your first time carrying out market research, we recommend using Google as a springboard. A quick Google search will yield some fantastic results by showing other questions users have searched for. 

If it’s being searched for, think about how you can answer and provide better than any other company. Remember: Google is a powerful tool and doesn’t start and end with a Google search; all of Google’s features will assist during your entire campaign. 

Step 3 - Carry out competitive analysis 

By taking a look at your competitors, it becomes easier to fabricate your campaign. As mentioned earlier, you always want to keep in mind any spaces in the market. If you have access to your competitors’ products, test them out to see how theirs compare to yours. 

When you look at your competitors, ask yourself what their USPs are. Are your USPs different? Would a customer prefer your USPs or your competitors’? A common trend amongst customers today is wanting something fresh, so you should always be one step ahead.

We suggest taking a look through your competitors’ reviews to see what feedback their customers are giving, checking out their socials to see which products and posts get the best engagement, and going out and buying their product yourself to get started on getting to know your competitor as part of getting started with market research. 

Step 4 - Get to know your target market

Knowing your target market goes hand-in-hand with customers’ needs to have hyper-personalised experiences. 

It’s time to scrap all your ideas about basic customer personas and get personal with your customers. Think of your customer base as a tribe or community. When your customer feels like they belong, they feel special and are more likely to invest in your product. 

Engagement is a large feature of researching your customers - talk to them, find out what they love about your product, what they don’t like, and what they want to see. You can do this by sending out surveys, posting questions on social media, making a video asking customers to respond, and lots more. Get creative with your channels and encourage your customers to get involved to curate a sturdy community that strengthens your target market research.

Step 5 - Compare your findings with your assumptions

As your testing develops, you’ll start seeing lots of results. These results may mirror what you’d previously assumed, but sometimes generate shocking results you’d never have thought of. 

It’s necessary to remain objective whilst collating your data, and keep in mind that even if your results aren’t what you anticipated, they’re results to help strengthen your future marketing. 

All results can be worked with, and being prepared to be wrong is the best approach to have. By doing your market research, you’ll be saving yourself from trying to salvage a failed marketing campaign further down the line. It’s a learning process, not a quickfire solution. 

If the tests throw out some seriously questionable results, repeat the testing process before abandoning the ship or diving into a new marketing campaign.

What Market Research Boils Down To

In short, you should begin your market research as soon as you can, and remember that it’s a continuing process. Your customers’ trends will change over time, so you need to be on the ball to keep them within your reach, just as you need to consider all aspects you and your customers operate in. 

Don’t get upset if your market research is taking time to achieve results in your campaigns; there is no overnight solution; stick to your guns and let your campaigns grow. 

It is also worth noting that the steps above need to work in synergy together. Each step doesn’t finish and the next one start, rather each step works to support the others. 

If you’d rather focus on developing your products, but want to learn more about your client base, get in touch with one of our experts. We’re at hand to help design market research projects to boost your sales this year.

‍