Small Business Market Research Information & Its Challenges

In order to be profitable, it is important to understand your market very well. Here's how market research can help you accomplish that.
market research

The main objective of any business is to make a profit by serving its customers. The secret to making money lies in effectively marketing the business. Every business should strive to adopt better marketing strategies and techniques. To accomplish this, the first step is to conduct effective and efficient market research.

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Market Research Definition

In order to gain a better understanding of the concept of market research, it is important to understand the definition of marketing. It is a broad term that covers a wide range of business activities, executed with an eye to make a profit by ensuring total customer satisfaction. In order to guarantee customer satisfaction, it is necessary to communicate and respond to customer needs. This is where marketing research steps in.

Market research plays a crucial role in attracting potential customers and retaining current customers, by determining and fulfilling specific customer demands. In economic terms, market research is the procedure of planning effective marketing strategies such as appropriate pricing and promotion techniques, to live up to the expectations of the customers and the business. It is a tool used by businesses to analyze and measure customer data. The data collected is used to study market conditions and customer behavior before launching a new product or service.

Types of Market Research

In order to achieve the target of total customer satisfaction and conduct competent research, a business has to use input from two types of research, primary and secondary. Conducting secondary research is the first step. Secondary research is the collection of data and all the relevant published information pertaining to issues on identification of competitors and possible threats to the company, study and analysis of the demand and supply, pricing and lifestyles.

Primary research is usually conducted to highlight and compile the secondary research and fill in the necessary information that was not previously available. Primary research is usually carried out to provide management with updated information. Primary research helps to regulate company sales, keep pace with competitors and devise useful and innovative marketing methods. Secondary and primary research combined together forms the necessary database for the company to perform the required analysis and gain a better understanding and insight into market conditions.

Types of Data Collection

There are two methods of collecting data while administering secondary and primary market research. Data collection can be categorized into two types – quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative method of data collection deals with the study of statistics, using mathematical analysis. The research sample required for this method needs to be large enough so that it is accurate.

In the qualitative method, the data collected is not subject to mathematical analysis or quantification and the research sample required for this method needs to be small.

Market Research Benefits

To keep your company running successfully, it is essential for you to implement marketing strategies effectively and efficiently. You also need to constantly update marketing tools and test their effectiveness by measuring customer satisfaction on a regular basis.

Conducting extensive market research on the factors affecting market conditions and the prevailing market environment will help you to identify potential threats and opportunities for your business.

In today’s fast paced world of increasing competition, it’s very important to make use of the right opportunity at the right time. And that is exactly what market research will help your business to achieve.

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