Tools and Apps to Aid Business Market Research
by Startacus Admin
Whether you are launching a new product, a website, an entire business, or just an advert, market research is crucial to understand what your target audience is interested in, what they react well to, and how your X, Y, and/or Z will fit in that market.
With approx 3.4 billion internet users, you would think that this would be easy, but how do you actually go about asking the questions and getting the answers? Here are some tools and apps - some free, some not - that will help you to mine the wealth of data those 3.4 billion ish users represent.
Think With Google
Mostly Free
What list of stuff is complete without something from Google? Think With Google gives you a wealth of articles, infographics, trends, and data that the giant has put together by mining Google Search results and YouTube views. It might sound like it would therefore be a random collection with only a vague relevance, but that isn’t the case. On the ‘Consumer Behavior & Trends’ page, for example, there is an article entitled ‘5 Questions Marketers Should Ask in 2017’ and an infographic, ‘Millennial Travelers: Mobile Shopping and Booking Behavior’. That’s pretty specifically useful.
Think With Google offers these insights across a number of subjects, from advertising to retail to travel.
SurveyMonkey
4 options from free to $85/month
SurveyMonkey lets you create surveys from simple polls to in-depth market research, all with your logo and branding. These surveys can be integrated into your newsletters, website, emails, and a whole host of other options. You can also pay for a target audience, meaning you don’t need to already have a consumer base to which to send out your survey. SurveyMonkey already has 30+ million people who answer surveys every month, and you can tap into that.
SurveyMonkey’s free basic option allows you to ask up to 10 questions and receive up to 100 answers.
Typeform
3 options from free to £25/month
Typeform is another way to get surveys out to people, though the possibilities go well beyond just surveys to polls, sign up forms, lead generation, order forms, etc. Typeform boasts beautiful, friendly, and engaging surveys that work seamlessly on any device. These attractive surveys are simple and even pleasing to complete, which will of course result in increased responses.
You can also play a ‘Form Invaders’ game on their website. So there’s that.
Userlytics
3 options from $49 per participant to $89 per participant
Userlytics provides a platform for remote usability testing. You may be heading towards the launch of an app, a new website, an advert, etc., but need a better idea of whether it will work for your target market as intended. Userlytics will provide users as per the demographic options you choose, and they will record a video of themselves (and their computer screen) as they use your website or app, and will give their genuine, unbiased thoughts and opinions about every part of the process. This will allow you to address any issues before your launch.
Social Mention
Free
For quick, small scale market research, Social Mention is a useful tool. Perhaps you are writing an article and want an idea of how it will perform. Typing a keyword into Social Mention will bring up the Twitter mentions that include this keyword. At the side you will also be given some stats such as reach, the sentiment regarding it, retweets of posts including it, and top keywords that go along with it.
Brand24
3 options from $49/month to $399/month + free 14-day trial
Brand24 is powerful market research and monitoring software. Monitor your brand’s reputation and that of your competitors; pick up on social media mentions and discussions regarding you, your industry, or just desired keywords, and engage with the community directly from the software; get insights and analytics for your brand or, again, any other brand or keyword you want.
Brand24 can be integrated with the ever-popular Slack, and is already being used by some big brands.
Temper
4 options from $12/month to $199/month
Temper is another one that balances less in-depth market research with simplicity of use for the consumer. Embedded on a specific web page, floating in the corner of every page on your site, or emailed directly to customers, Temper is a simple interface in which the user clicks one of 5 smiley faces to represent how they feel about a specific question, such as how simple to use they find your website.
Colourful smiley faces might seem like something more suited to children, but the fact is there is something enticing about clicking on them, and the simplicity of doing so means a higher probability of getting responses from users. The option of giving a text box for a more in-depth answer should they feel like it makes it an even more valuable tool, and further offsets the simplicity.
The Community
As a startup, there are a number of avenues for you to explore outside of specialised tools and apps. Startup groups on Facebook or LinkedIn will often give you help if you ask, as they are in the same boat. They may not always be as specialised as you would like, but if you have market research questions you’d like answered, they will often do their best to help.
And don’t neglect the social media followers and newsletter subscribers you have already built up. They follow you for a reason, so asking their opinion of things, or their suggestions, will make them feel valued, and has the added benefit that they are, naturally, your target market.
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Published on: 19th December 2016
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