By: Muhammad Arif – Account Manager of Fortune PR
When you conduct a marketing research, you can use the results either to create a business and marketing plan or to measure the success of your current plan.
According to Entrepreneur.com[1], market research is the process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about the market, products or services that offered, and also about the current and potential customers; research into the characteristics, spending habits, location and needs of your business’s target market, the industry as a whole and the particular competitors you face. Market research provides a wealth of information about prospective and existing customers, the competition, and the industry in general. It allows businesses to determine the feasibility of a business before joining the market. It provides relevant data to help solve marketing challenges that a business will most likely face, market segmentation strategy, as well as product differentiation strategy.
A brief about the process of data gathering, B2B International[2] wrote that there are two types of market research, primary and secondary. The goal of primary research is to gather data from analyzing current sales and the effectiveness of current practices. Primary research also takes competitors’ plans into account, giving you information about your competition. While the goal of secondary research is to analyze data that has already been published. You can identify competitors, establish benchmarks and identify target segments.
There are two categories of data collection, quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative methods employ mathematical analysis and require a large sample size. While qualitative methods, although with small sample size, can help businesses define problems and often use interview methods to learn about customers’ opinions, values and beliefs.
After you have finished gathering your data with the types and the categories of market research that suites your objectives, you can turn your data into findings. It is important to pay attention to the rules of methodology, since translating and generating data from quantitative and qualitative method are done differently.
After your raw data has been analyzed into insightful findings, you must report and communicate those findings. The way you can make the data accessible is through using table, charts, text, and infographics. You can also make a report and presentation so that it fulfills the requirements of the clients by meeting the brief, presenting clear findings, and providing strong conclusions and recommendations. The best market research reports shall match brief, stated clearly, and concisely lead to a course of action.
[1] https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/market-research
[2] http://www.consultgsi.com/docs/A%20Practical%20Guide%20to%20Market%20Research.pdf
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