It is easy to dismiss the importance of marketing research, I mean Market research, so what? After all, when you first think of a business idea, spending hours on market research is the last thing on your mind. Most of us would rather start making and selling products right away than think about the value of market research. It will look easy to just jump on an idea as it comes, “jump right into it”, why spend on market research when I could just start selling already and starting making some quid for myself. I am here to burst your big and shining bubble, for any type of business, there is a real need for market research. This is especially the case for small businesses, where the first few months can prove to be precarious. New businesses need sales and customers as soon as possible, and market research can ensure that those sales and customers do not stop coming.
Market research can identify how customers and potential customers might view your business and identify gaps in customer expectations. This is powerful information to have when completing your marketing strategy. Having good market intelligence helps to minimize risks when making key business decisions.
Let’s dive into identifiable ways Market research can help businesses
Market research helps you keep a tab on your competitors
It is a good evaluation tool that can be of great use in comparative studies. You can track your company’s progress as well as the growth of your competitors, by keeping an eye on your competitors. You can devise business strategies that would keep you ahead of your business rivals.
It helps you minimize loss in your business
With market research, you can reduce the chances of loss to a large extent. Before launching a product, you can identify potential problems and even determine the solutions. The research carried out after the launch of a new product can help you find loopholes and devise plans to counter that loss and increase profits.
A better understanding of the target market
A great and first step to figuring out who wants to buy your product or service the most is to figure out who is using it already. Once you get a grip on your customer base and its defining characteristics, it would be easier for you to expand your base. Depending on your customer’s connection with your product or service, you can get a lot of information or a little bit about them. You can streamline your audience by their demography and their psychography, these will give you a better understanding of their behavior, why they do what they do and when. It will further help in crafting the market approach of your business
Identifying of opportunities and challenges
Through strategic market research, you would come across new opportunities that you might not have considered before as well as challenges, these will help you handle these challenges and opportunities before they blow in your face, this is what efficient marketing does
Lower Business Risks
Around half of businesses with employees do not survive past the fifth year (Sabri Suby). The way to make sure that your business survives for longer is to ensure that you have got a steady stream of sales and customers. To do that, you need market research.
Regular market research will be your way to check in with your current customers and potential customers to ensure that you are still meeting their needs.
Decision-Making Becomes Simple
The need for and importance of marketing research frequently comes up when making tough business decisions. Instead of having arbitrary criteria for the decisions you make as a business owner, you can always go back to your market research report. Based on that report, will this decision lead to more customers? Will you be able to reach more people who are likely to buy from you? Will it be clear to them that your business can meet their needs?
There is a real need for market research because it provides you with solid facts. Through research, you (Businesses)can make more informed decisions rather than resting the fate of the business on guesswork.
Business Growth
No one wants to set up and invest in something all in a bid to make it fail. To not do research is setting up to fail or to stay stagnant. Market research is key to business growth if you can utilize market research to give a boost to your business irrespective of the industry. It will provide you with data regarding new services and products, new channels of distribution, change in business models, new market segments, new positioning, and new pricing principles.
Webhaptic Intelligence is a full-service Research Company, open to asking and getting answers to all the difficult questions. To obtain a quote or proposal on our services, send an email to info@webhaptic.com