5 ways to improve your business market research
There are so many start-ups set up in the last few years. Some have had tremendous success while others failed. A few years ago, it was not easy to start a business. 5 ways to improve your business market research
However, this situation has changed. Anyone, who has a computer with internet connection, business skills, and is ready to take on risks, can start a business.
Business skills can be learned through MBA or other management studies. However, there are so many business owners who never went to a business school but have the business acumen and marketing skills to run a successful business.
To be a business owner, it’s essential to identify and work on the skills required to succeed. One of the critical skills is to understand the changing market needs. A business owner can hire a professional market researcher who can continuously keep an eye on the market and its changing situations.
Check out these five ways to improve your business market research:
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Keep a track on your company’s progress
Market research can help you keep a tab on your firm’s progress and also measure the progress of competing companies. Such analysis is not just great for evaluation, but can also help your firm come up with effective business strategies that can thrust you ahead of business rivals providing the same product/service.
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Identify new opportunities
Market research can help you identify new market opportunities that might be available to your company. It can help identify geographic regions for expansion and/or test the market’s readiness for your new products or services.
For example, you could be looking to open a new retail store and need to find the right location. Or you may be planning to change your distribution channel and need to determine how the decision will affect your customer base.
To answer these questions, we could analyze existing data from government publications, Statistics Canada data and/or industry specific reports. These sources provide insights in such areas as:
- Market size
- Demographics
- Market share statistics
- Industry dynamics
- Major industry suppliers
- Key competitors
- General industry data such as number of firms and their geographic distribution
Obtaining this type of market data is a necessary first step to help firmly “size up a new market” to determine the optimal business strategy and operations.
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Understand customer needs
It is essential to understand the changing needs of the customer or the market trends before advertising or launching a product in the market.
Through market research, entrepreneurs can identify the size of their market, target customers, their tastes and likes, and how to reach the target customers.
The study of the market can be done through surveys or questionnaires, interviewing sample customers, and focus groups. The information collected through these various methods can help in developing brand positioning and targeting the right market segment.
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Avoid assumptions
After a while, it is natural to become complacent and make assumptions. Making decisions based on assumptions or opinions will be dangerous for the business.
A businessman or market researcher must always rely on the data collected through various sources, study the trends and then make decisions. No decision should be based on assumptions.
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Reduce the probability of loss
Before you release a new product into the market, you can pinpoint problems and even find probable solutions with market research. This can minimize your chances of facing a loss to a great extent. If you have already launched a product, you can use market research to identify loop holes and come up with effective plans to reduce loss and maximize your ROI.
Have you tried market research in the past? Did it help you make business decisions? We’d love to know so leave a comment below.
