Following on from our two most recent articles:

– What is market research? 
– How to evaluate market research?

We’ve told you what market research is.  Now we’re going to explain how to conduct different types of market research.

As although theory is important, without application or knowing what the best type of market research for your business is, it just simply won’t get done or provide the correct results.

The reason why this is important to your business is that conducting market research is crucial for business owners to make informed decisions, understand their target audience, and stay ahead of the competition.

There are different types of market research and methods you can choose from, and this depends on your specific goals and resources, as to which type of market research is best.

7 different types of market research: Here’s an overview of seven different types of market research that we use on a regular basis for our customers.

This presents food for thought on how best to conduct market research for your business.

Primary Research:

Requires direct involvement and feedback from your direct customers or target audience.

You can collate this research in one of four ways which are:

  1. Surveys and Questionnaires: Create surveys with relevant questions and distribute them to your target audience. You can conduct these online, via phone, or in person.
  2. Interviews: Conduct one-on-one or group interviews to gather in-depth information. This can be done in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing.
  3. Focus Groups: Assemble a small group of individuals representing your target market and engage in a guided discussion. A skilled moderator is essential for this method.
  4. Observation: Observe customer behaviour directly.

Secondary Research:

Requires indirect involvement between yourself and the market to review external impacts on the business.

  1. Online Research: Use online resources, databases, and search engines to gather existing information about your industry, competitors, and target market.
  2. Government and Industry Reports: Government agencies, industry associations, and market research firms often publish reports that can provide valuable data.
  3. Academic Journals and Publications: Academic research can offer insights and data relevant to your industry.

Competitor Analysis Research (CAR):

This provides knowledge from your direct competition in the marketplace or via demographics such as location or customer type.

You can do this in multiple ways, but ultimately the importance of CAR is it allows you to make better informed decisions in the business by being aware of the market and external impacts such as competition.

Some of the keyways you can do this form of research are as follows:

  1. Review Competitor Websites:Analyse your competitors’ websites and marketing materials to understand their strategies, products, and customer reviews.
  2. Social Media Analysis:Monitor your competitors’ social media activities and engagement with their audience.

Alternatively, you can conduct a gap analysis and seek opportunities in this line of research.

To find out more on how you can do this, please click here to download our four-step CAR sequence: The CAR Model – Free Video Series – Ask Zoe.

Customer Feedback:

Consists of direct feedback from customers following the purchase of a product or service from your business.

Two main routes of customer feedback are as follows:

  1. Online Reviews and Ratings: Monitor online reviews on platforms like Yelp, Google, and social media to understand what customers are saying about your products or services.
  2. Customer Surveys: Collect feedback from your existing customers to identify strengths and weaknesses in your offerings.

SWOT Analysis:

This is the most popular form of market research as it been available to the general public since the 1960’s and reviews the internal impacts of your business by reviewing the following key areas.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats: Analyse your business internally to identify its strengths and weaknesses and examine external factors to identify opportunities and threats.

Mystery Shopping:

This is ideal for any business and provides feedback on the care and service your ideal customers receive.

An example of this is as follows:
Hire individuals to pose as customers and evaluate the quality of service and products in your business or at your competitors.

A/B Testing:

Test variations of marketing materials, website design, or product features to determine which performs better with your audience.

However, none of the different types of market research will provide accurate results without the correct questions being asked – to gain the correct feedback from your market, ideal customer, or audience.

If you wish to learn more on this topic, you can listen to our latest podcast episode on market research and the art of asking the right questions.

Hopefully you have found this article on how to conduct different types of market research correctly for your business useful.  If you have any questions, wish to gain further bespoke advice, or have Ask Zoe carry out your market research for you, just let us know.

 

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