Do you ever feel like there’s just too much noise when it comes to marketing research? How can you tell which studies are worth your attention, and how do you go about incorporating that research into your own business decisions? We’ll explore some tips for collecting and interpreting consumer research in this post. By the end of this post, you’ll better understand how to utilize market research in your business strategy.
Tips to Help Your Business When Conducting Consumer Research
There are many different approaches to consumer research, each with its benefits and pitfalls. Below are tips to help guide your research process.
Know Your Objectives
It pays to think about your research objectives before you start looking at specific studies. By knowing what you’re trying to accomplish with your research, you can better target the suitable studies, which will take some of the work out of finding relevant information.
Target Specific Needs
Don’t try to identify a solution that will solve all of the problems in your business with one study. Instead, take a focused approach and target specific needs when conducting research. Suppose you’re trying to decide what new product to design or package; for example, look at studies from similar businesses. This is especially important with younger companies who may not have many past studies to look at.
Don’t Overlook Secondary Research
You can easily get bogged down in looking for individual primary research studies, so don’t miss out on the value of secondary research. Things like industry reports, surveys published by trade associations, and special journal issues are excellent sources for secondary analysis.
Take Stock of What You Already Know
If you have a lot of past research, don’t forget to reevaluate what you already know. There is often value in looking back at older studies to help shape your approach to new research. This is especially true if you work for a larger company with an established research history.
What Should Brands Avoid When Collecting and Interpreting Consumer Research
Marketers should avoid a few common mistakes when collecting and interpreting consumer research.
Don’t Just Rely on Sales Data
While sales data can be a beneficial source of information, you have to remember that all sales numbers will reflect the biases of your particular company. It’s also important to consider the difference between market share (percentage of total sales) and market size (total number of sales).
Don’t Limit Yourself to a Specific Period
Without a doubt, some trends will play out over more extended periods. However, unless you have very compelling reasons for using older research or waiting until something is brand new, you may not see the best results.
Don’t Limit Your Research to One Medium
Today, the Internet is one of the most popular sources for research, but you cannot ignore traditional methods of collecting information. For example, if you want to learn more about what consumers are thinking about your brand’s social media campaign, don’t just look at online posts—talk to people in person or over the phone.
Don’t Make Assumptions
In many cases, marketers want to take a shortcut and assume that past findings will be relevant in the future. While this is easy to do, it can cause problems if you’re not careful. You have to remember that whatever trends you’ve seen playing out in the past may not continue.
Consumers are constantly evolving and changing, so it’s essential to continually monitor and reevaluate what they’re looking for and how they want brands to interact with them. NetBaseQuid is a company that provides consumer intelligence and consumer insights via social media monitoring. We provide actionable data and insights into what people think about your brand. Even with a little bit of sense, you’ll be able to make more effective marketing decisions in the future.
