Market Research
What do you think of when you hear someone say market research?
Do you think of a survey? Maybe a focus group. Well you’re somewhat correct, but that is most definitely not everything to it. To get begin let us look at what market research is and why you should be involved in it. Market research is the operation that links you to your clients through specific information. In its most simplistic form, market research is simply a technique for compiling market information. But market research can and to be efficient it must be be much greater than that.
Your real mission in this process is not to just gather information, but to extract insights. Insights are the difference between gathering facts about your clients and really knowing your clients. An insight is occasionally called an epiphany. When a solution to an issue appears suddenly, insights come when you go further than the basic information, going further than just what the client is saying and looking for.
Do you remember when Coke made its first appearance? It was considered the biggest product dud in history.In 1985 sales had decreased by 26% as their core demographic got older. So they decided to reformulate it to be sweeter, so as to compete with Pepsi. Significant market research was then taken up and the results showed that in blind taste testing the new product outperformed both Pepsi and the original product.
Two hundred thousand taste tests confirmed this preference. And yet, the introduction of new Coke was nothing short of a disaster. It wasn’t just that consumers didn’t purchase it, the company actually received over four hundred thousand letters from furious customers. Why? Because they had the facts, but missed this insight. Support for the brand will always trump negative reviews of the of the tastes of the product. People had an emotional attachment to the iconic brand and didn’t want it to be replaced.
Even if it tasted more delightful. Unfortunately for the company, the insight moment came after the product was launched. There’s no lack of examples of product developers who did not do market research before the launch of the product. Because the company knew their product was the greatest thing since sliced bread. But it was not… In today’s market, customers are constantly bombarded with new products and trend changes almost everyday. Never assume that you know what your customers are interested in, the risks are just to high.
So why should you invest your time in providing market research? It centers your business on your customers. It keeps you on task. It allows you to go after the right opportunities and abandon those that are not. It keeps you relevant and future oriented and it improves your decision making capabilities and reduces your risk. The fundamental keys to success is to gather a deeper understanding of your customers. Market research is how you can achieve this deeper understanding of your customers. If you could sit down with any of your customers, what would you want to learn about them? Think about what you would want to know and keep it on hand at all times, you never know when you will have the opportunity.
What questions could you ask them that would give you a deeper understanding of your market and how you could market in the future? Maybe you would like to know why they buy your product verse another product? How do they use your product? Do they buy it for themselves or for others? What about how they perceive your company versus your competition? What could you be doing better to win more of their business? Chances are there is at least one insight waiting to be discovered everyday. And the more insights that you discover, the more information you have about your clients and the market that your in the more sound business decisions that you will make.
Recent Comments