Market Research - The Why and the How...
by Startacus Admin
Leading online Market Research company Marketest outline the basics of Market Research for startups. Here's the lowdown:
Why should small business or start-ups conduct market research?
The risk of starting a small business is exceedingly high, as a result a small business owner needs to reduce this risk to survive and increase the likelihood of an investment. This can easily be done through market research. Some of the benefits of market research for small businesses are;
- Increased understanding of customers leading to more meaningful marketing campaigns
- Indicate opportunities for development or expansion
- Decreased risk of decision making with proved facts and figures
- Uncovers problematic areas and areas for change
- Help track a small businesses progress by understanding customers awareness of a brand or product
- Evaluate success and decision making
How can small businesses carry out objective, unbiased research?
There are two main ways; primary and secondary research. Secondary research involves looking at information that has already been conducted and published for example; existing research reports or demographics and statistic. Primary research is the collection of data first-hand. In general there are two main types of traditional primary research; qualitative and quantitative market research.
What is the difference between Qualitative and Quantitative Market Research?
Qualitative market research provides reasoning for consumer actions, opinions, wants and needs; it helps the marketer to understand why a consumer has acted and purchased in a certain way. There are several different methods to collected qualitative market research, such as, focus groups, ‘one to one’ interviews and mini group discussions. This type of market research differs from quantitative market research as it does not follow a predetermined set of questions, but is important to carry out as it highlights the specific views of your target market whether it is on your business idea, product or service.
Quantitative market research is the collection of numerical data often resulting in statistical analysis to understand trends in the data. The main characteristic of quantitative market research is that it allows for comparisons and trends in the data to be easily found and understood. Quantitative market research is a more structured market research process and can involve a larger number of respondents to participate in the research. It is important to carry out quantitative research before starting a new business, launching a new product, or service as it gives factual figures and data. Data can collected can be through different methods; mail, face-to-face, telephone, email and online.
What are the advantages of conducting online market research?
Online market research, a key form of data collection for primary research, offers both large and small research focussed organisations the chance to eliminate the costs involved with face-to-face, postal and telephone data collection.
There are a number of advantages to commissioning online research;
- Easier targeting of respondents across numerous segmentation variables. Provides access to a precise and qualitative panel which ensures reliable data on sensitive issues.
- Multi-country projects no longer need to be an obstacle to research – worldwide research can be conducted at the click of a button.
- An inexpensive way to conduct large research projects
- It allows for a very rapid turnaround – research can be undertaken and results received within a few days as opposed to several weeks involved with face-to-face and postal data collection methods.
- The use of video, images and audio for richer questionnaire environments.
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