Welcome to Marketing Research 101, your starting point for diving into the world of information-gathering to drive effective marketing strategies and campaigns.
Whether you're an entrepreneur planning to start marketing for your new business, or a manager in an organization looking to understand your customers better and engage with them more effectively, this blog post will introduce you to the basics of marketing research, to help you create and execute intentional and informed marketing programs.
The Basics of Marketing Research
Let's begin with the fundamental concepts of marketing research:
What is Marketing Research?
Traditional ‘market research’ is typically concerned with answers to the questions: “Where can I find a market for my products and services?” “How much demand exists in that marketplace?” “Who else is occupying that space?”
We like to think of ‘marketing research’ as focused on gathering the information that can help you be more effective in designing and implementing your targeted marketing programs. It involves collecting and analyzing data to clearly identify your target audience, understand their needs and preferences, and select the channels, tools, and techniques that will be most effective at engaging your selected audience. It's about getting the facts that will drive informed marketing decisions and impactful marketing activities.
Why is Marketing Research Important?
Essentially, marketing research helps you make better plans, make more informed marketing decisions, and engage your target audience more effectively. It helps you see who your potential customers (or participants) are, what needs they have that you can satisfy, and how you can most powerfully and efficiently reach them.
Top 5 Marketing Research 101 Actionable Steps
Now, let's lay out a series of steps to kickstart your marketing research journey:
1. Define Your Research Goals
Be clear about what you want to achieve with your research. Are you wanting to identify a new target audience, more clearly define the audience(s) you are currently targeting, better understand their needs, or analyze which tools, techniques, and platforms will be most effective in achieving your marketing objectives?
2. Choose Your Research Methods
First, decide what types of data you will gather.
Next, decide on how you will actually gather that data. Some options include surveys, interviews, observation, library research or online research.
Then, select the approaches and techniques you will use to analyze the data you have gathered.
The more strategic and systematic your approach to data-gathering and analysis, the more likely you will be to gain useful insights, and the more efficient your efforts will be.
3. Collect Data
Put your chosen methods into action. Make sure to collect enough data to be informative, but don’t take so long that you never get to the most important stage - taking action. Seek help with your data-gathering, from online resources, or from real people - such as a research librarian.
4. Analyze Your Findings
Dig into the data you've collected using the techniques and approaches you have selected. Remain open-minded and curious, to avoid the trap of simply supporting conclusions you have previously made. If possible, engage one or more independent third-parties in the analysis process, to bring in an objective viewpoint.
5. Make Decisions for Action
Based on your research and analysis, create or revise your strategic marketing plan.
If the marketing research was intended to inform a specific marketing campaign as part of your existing marketing program, use the insights you gained to shape that targeted campaign. However, don’t discard your instincts and business-sense in favor of the information you have gleaned. Rather, try to blend information with intuition to come up with the most effective approaches.
Real World Examples
Example 1: McDonald's Menu Innovation
McDonald's regularly conducts research to understand customer preferences. This data informs menu changes, like introducing healthier options and all-day breakfast.
Example 2: Amazon's Product Recommendations
Amazon uses data on customer browsing and buying habits to make personalized product recommendations, enhancing the shopping experience.
Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the Comments section below, or on social.
Tools and Resources
Here are some practical resources to help you get started with your marketing research:
- Survey Tools: SurveyMonkey; Google Forms
- Analytics Software: Google Analytics; tools provided by various social media platforms
- Focus Groups: professional focus group facilitation consultants such as Leadstrat or the Vianova Group
Conclusion
This article has given you an introduction to the essentials of marketing research. You can use these ideas and concepts to plan and conduct research that will drive effective, impactful marketing strategies and programs.
So, are you eager to delve deeper into marketing research? Stay tuned for more posts in our Marketing 101 series. Feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments, and let's continue this journey toward more informed marketing!
Let's do this!