A wise person once said, “the future belongs to those who seize it“. While this can be confusing for some, it simply means making decisions today for a better tomorrow!
How is your product/service doing in the market? Is there an increase or decrease in patronage? Do you take time to study the trend of your product patronage? Do you know what customers/client think about your product in the market? These are vital questions that require answer and the answers lie in the strength of quality market research.
For all types of businesses, there is a great need for marketing research. This is especially the case for small and large businesses where the first few months can prove to be precarious. New businesses need sales and customers as soon as possible, and marketing research can ensure that those sales and customers don’t stop coming. Before we go further, let’s get a little understanding of what marketing research really is.
WHAT IS MARKETING RESEARCH?
Marketing Research is a systematic, objective collection and analysis of data about a particular target market, competition, and/or environment. It always incorporates some form of data collection be it secondary research (often referred to as desk research) or primary research which is collected direct from a respondent.
The purpose of any market research project is to achieve an increased understanding of the subject matter. With markets throughout the world becoming increasingly more competitive, market research is now on the agenda of many organizations, whether they be large or small.
BENEFIT OF MARKETING RESEARCH TO YOUR PRODUCT
One sure way of seizing the future of your product/service is to conduct a good marketing research. You might be thinking, do I really need a to conduct marketing research? The answer is yes, because, it will help you:
- To know the mind of your customers or prospect.
- To design a good product that will meet the needs of your target Customers.
- To make sound decision that will increase the profitability of your product and the company at large.
- It also provides an organization’s management with information needed to make decisions on the promotion, distribution, design, and pricing of products or services.
- Also help to set better goals for your business: When business owners set goals for their business, it’s typically related to growth in sales or customers. But without marketing research, you won’t be able to know if your goal is achievable and how to achieve it in the first place.
You might say that you want to double sales by the end of the next quarter. How would you know if this goal is feasible if you don’t know whether the size of your target market is more than twice the size of your current customer base? Without knowing the current size of your potential market, you’ll just be setting arbitrary goals. With marketing research, you’ll be able to determine the specific directions you want to grow your customer base. For example, do you want to grow your customers via a new untapped market segment? Or do you still have room for growth among your current target audience?
- Decision making become simple: The need for and benefit 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?
The business that knows its customers more tends to win more. If you can beat your competitors at finding out your customers’ needs and you aim to fulfill those needs, you’ve got a better chance of standing out from the competition and building a solid product brand that will stand the test of time.