How can market research help my business?

Whether you’re new to market research or just need a little refresher, this is our quick summary of how it can help you and your business.

Think about every decision you make in your business. Wouldn’t it be great to know you’re making the right ones by checking in with your target customers on a regular basis? 

Of course, the unknowns that market research solves can vary hugely. So we’ve pulled together a list of typical marketing challenges that are common among our network, and how market research can help solve them. Hopefully one or two will resonate with you! 

Challenge number one: you don’t know much about your target customers and their habits. 

Well, consumer profiling will help you with that. 

Finding out who your target customers are and how they make decisions is super important. Knowing their interests and behaviours gives you that much-needed knowledge of how likely they are to become a customer and how you should communicate with them. 

Challenge number two: you’re unsure whether a piece of branding resonates with your audience. 

This is when you should test your creative and track its effectiveness. 

You know all of those beautiful marketing assets you and your teams have been busy creating? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know what your audience thinks about them before going live? 

That’s exactly what you can do with market research.

Challenge number three: you lack deep knowledge about your competitors or about a new market you’re planning to enter. 

You need to carry out market analysis.

New markets or categories can be your key to fresh sources of growth – and research can give you a much greater understanding of what that market wants. 

Ever been to a McDonalds in another country and been startled by a different menu? That localisation is the key to success, and it is informed by research.

Challenge number four: you just don’t know if a new product you’re working on is right for your target customers. 

You need new product development and scoping. 

The first thing you need to do when developing a new product is to find out what people are looking for and use that insight to shape your product or service. 

Take Lego for example, they realised girls weren’t buying their toys. So they tested their concepts and found that girls prefer building interiors and complete environments, rather than individual structures. 

They launched the new range and tripled the market for girls’ construction toys in just two years. 

Challenge number five: you don’t know how your brand is perceived or how it compares with your competitors. 

This is when you should track brand health and performance. 

Brand building work can be harder to track than other growth metrics, but it’s fundamental for long term success. 

Brand tracking highlights how well known your brand is in certain areas or among certain groups, what people associate with your brand, and whether they recall it at the moment of purchase. 

Whatever business objective you’re trying to reach, market research will be sure to keep you informed, on track and able to make better decisions for your business.