Market Research

Market Research

Market research is a process that is incredibly important to all businesses trying to attract new customers. It is vital as without understanding the market, a company won't be able to effectively identify the threats and opportunities that the company faces. In this blog I will talk about why market research is so useful, the forms of research companies will conduct and types of data the company will use.

What is Market Research?

 Market research is all about collecting information about consumers and then analysing that data in order to benefit the company. It can help businesses make well informed decisions and focus their resources into projects with the most potential. It can help businesses decide whether there is a demand for a certain type of product, ensure optimal product placement and also improve the businesses adverts and promotions.

How to perform Market Research

There are several stages to market research but the first one is to identify the objectives or problems that the research intends to fulfil and solve. Upon deciding upon these objectives, the company will decide how it wants to collect the information. The company will choose to conduct Secondary or Primary Research. Primary Research is conducted directly by the company itself or someone they've hired. This can be costly but, is the only way to explore areas that no current data already covers. Examples of this include interviews, surveys and focus groups. Businesses often start with Secondary Research first as it is cheaper and less time consuming. Secondary information is data that an outside entity has already gathered, such as government census data. The focus of the research is always on finding the problems and opportunities, researching the appropriate areas, analysing the data and using the results to make necessary changes.

Quantitative vs Qualitative

All data gathered by either primary or secondary research falls under the category of either being quantitative or qualitative data. Quantitative data involves numerical data and statistics in order to test and support/reject a company's theory. In contrast, Qualitative data is expressed through words and focuses on people rather than numerical values. For example, interviews would provide qualitative data as it allows the company to find out about areas they may want to research further rather than confirming the theories through statistics. The data usually provides themes or ideas for the company that they can then use to improve the product and its advertisement.

Bibliography:

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NAVADHI (2017). 6 Steps of Successful Market Research Process. [online] NAVADHI Market Research. Available at: https://www.navadhi.com/blog/6-steps-successful-market-research-process [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].

Twin, A. (2021). Market Research: a Direct Report from the Customer on New Products or Services. [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/market-research.asp [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].

McLeod, S. (2019). What’s the difference between qualitative and quantitative research? [online] Simply Psychology. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].

Editors, M.N. (2022). Difference between Quantitative and Qualitative Data - Quantitative Vs Qualitative Data. [online] Microbiology Note. Available at: https://microbiologynote.com/difference-between-quantitative-and-qualitative-data/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].