present the findings in marketing research meaning

A Comprehensive Guide on How to Perform Market Research

Navigating the intricate world of business often hinges on understanding markets, consumers, and competitors. This understanding is directly rooted in effective market research. While many acknowledge its significance, the detailed process of conducting comprehensive market research can be a challenge for some.

This guide aims to clarify the steps and strategies involved, ensuring businesses can gather insights that are both meaningful and actionable. Dive in to discover the nuances and best practices on how to perform market research, setting the foundation for informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Understanding How to Do Market Research

Embarking on the journey of market research can be both exciting and rewarding, as it equips enterprises with market data needed to make strategic decisions. Follow these seven essential market research steps that will steer towards valuable insights.

1. Define Objectives

Before diving into market research, it's crucial to define the research objective. This foundational step forms the groundwork for an effective market research process.

• Start Broad, then Narrow Down : Begin by identifying the overarching goal, such as understanding customer preferences. From there, refine the objective to be more specific, like identifying preferences among a particular demographic or region.
• Align with Business Goals : Ensure that the research objectives are in sync with the company's broader goals. If the aim is market expansion, the research might focus on potential markets or competitor landscapes in new regions.
• Collaborate : Engage multiple departments or stakeholders in the objective-setting process. Different perspectives can offer a more holistic view of what the research should achieve.
• Stay Flexible : While it's essential to have clear objectives, it's equally important to remain adaptable. As the research progresses, new questions or areas of interest might emerge. Being open to refining objectives can lead to unexpected and valuable insights.

2. Choose the Right Market Research Method

Once objectives are crystal clear, the next pivotal step is selecting the appropriate research method. This choice can significantly influence the quality and relevance of the insights gathered. 

Different methods offer varying levels of detail. While some provide a broad overview of the market, others delve deep into specific aspects or demographics. The chosen method also often dictates the time, money, and manpower required. Making an informed choice ensures optimal resource utilization without compromising on the quality of insights.

Exploring common research methods:

• Surveys : Ideal for gathering quantitative data, surveys can reach a wide audience and provide insights on general market trends, preferences, or behaviors.
• Interviews : Offering a qualitative perspective, one-on-one interviews can uncover deeper motivations, challenges, or sentiments of the target audience.
• Focus Groups : These are discussions with a small group of participants, providing a mix of qualitative insights and allowing for dynamic interactions and feedback on specific topics or products.
• Observational Research : By studying consumers in their natural environment, businesses can gain unfiltered insights into behaviors, usage patterns, and more.
• Experimental Research : This method tests hypotheses in controlled settings, allowing businesses to understand cause-and-effect relationships, such as the impact of a price change on sales.

3. Determine Target Market Research Audience

Identifying the specific target market research audience allows tailoring research efforts, ensuring relevant and representative data. This step ensures that the data collected is not just accurate but also relevant to the business's goals.

Steps to identify the right audience:

• Segmentation : Divide the broader market into smaller segments based on criteria like demographics, buying behavior, geographic location, or psychographics.
• Prioritization : Not all segments might be equally relevant. Assess which segments align most closely with the business objectives and prioritize them for research.
• Sampling : Instead of surveying an entire segment, a representative sample can be chosen. This sample should be large enough to be statistically significant but manageable in terms of research resources.
• Validation : Ensure that the chosen audience truly represents the desired market segment. This might involve preliminary surveys or checks to confirm their relevance.

Tips for determining the right audience:

• Stay Updated : Market dynamics change, and so do audience behaviors and preferences. Regularly update audience definitions to stay relevant.
• Avoid Biases : Ensure that the selection process is unbiased. Over-relying on certain criteria or overlooking others can skew results.
• Engage Stakeholders : Collaborate with sales, customer service, or other departments that interact directly with customers. Their insights can be invaluable in defining the right audience.

4. Collect Market Research Data

The data collection phase is where the groundwork laid in the previous steps comes to fruition. It's the process of gathering information from the defined audience using the chosen research method. The quality and accuracy of the data collected during this phase will directly influence the insights and conclusions drawn.

Best practices for data collection:

• Ensure Consistency : Whether it's the wording of survey questions or the setting of focus groups, maintaining consistency ensures data reliability across the board.
• Prioritize Data Quality : It's better to have smaller, high-quality data than vast amounts of unreliable information. Implement checks and balances to maintain data integrity.
• Stay Ethical : Always seek consent from participants, maintain their privacy, and be transparent about how the data will be used.
• Test and Refine : Before rolling out on a larger scale, test the data collection methods on a smaller group to identify and rectify potential issues.

5. Analyze the Market Research Data

After the meticulous process of data collection, the next step is analysis. This phase transforms raw data into meaningful insights, providing a clearer understanding of the market landscape, consumer behaviors, and potential opportunities or challenges.

Key data analysis techniques:

• Statistical Analysis : Using tools and software, data can be subjected to various statistical tests to identify significant patterns or trends.
• Qualitative Analysis : For data from interviews or focus groups, thematic analysis can be employed to identify recurring themes or sentiments.
• Comparative Analysis : By comparing current data with past data sets or benchmarking against industry standards, businesses can gauge their performance and position in the market.
• Predictive Analysis : Leveraging historical data and statistical algorithms, businesses can forecast future trends or behaviors.
• Visual Data Analysis : Tools that create graphs, charts, and heat maps can help in visualizing complex data sets, making patterns more discernible.

6. Interpret the Results

With data analysis complete, the next crucial step of market research is interpretation. This phase involves making sense of the analyzed data, drawing conclusions, and understanding the implications for the business. It's where the numbers and patterns are translated into strategic insights that can guide decision-making.

Steps for effective interpretation:

• Relate to Objectives : Revisit the initial research objectives and assess how the results address them. This ensures the interpretation remains aligned with the research's purpose.
• Consider External Factors : Understand external market dynamics, economic factors, or industry trends that might influence the results. This provides a holistic view of the findings.
• Draw Conclusions : Based on the data and its analysis, draw clear conclusions. These should be concise, actionable, and directly related to the research objectives.
• Recommend Actions : Based on the conclusions, suggest actionable steps the business can take. This turns the research into a strategic tool for growth.

7. Present the Findings

After the rigorous processes of data collection, analysis, and interpretation, it's time to communicate the insights. Presenting the findings is about packaging the market research results in a manner that's clear, compelling, and actionable for stakeholders, ensuring that the research's value is fully realized.

Key elements of an effective presentation:

• Executive Summary : Start with a concise overview of the research objectives, methods, and key findings. This provides a snapshot for those who might not delve into the details.
• Visual Aids : Utilize charts, graphs, and infographics to represent data visually . This makes complex data sets more digestible and highlights key patterns or trends.
• Detailed Findings : Delve into the specifics of the results, ensuring that stakeholders have access to both the broad strokes and the finer details.
• Recommendations : Based on the interpreted results, outline actionable recommendations for the business. This turns insights into clear next steps.
• Q&A Session : Allow stakeholders to ask questions or seek clarifications. This ensures a thorough understanding and can also provide additional perspectives.

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Example of Market Research

Imagine launching a new product and wanting to understand the market's response. Market research becomes the guiding compass, gauging customer interest through methods like surveys and focus groups.

Gauging Customer Interest

Market research becomes your trusted ally in deciphering the minds and hearts of your target customers. Through surveys, focus groups, and feedback mechanisms , you gain valuable insights into what sparks their interest and captures their attention. Unveiling the features, benefits, and packaging that resonate most with consumers allows you to tailor your product offerings to meet their desires precisely.

Identifying Competitors

Market research identifies competitors, their market size, and what sets the product apart. In the fiercely competitive business landscape, knowing who your competitors are and what sets you apart is essential. Armed with this knowledge, your enterprise can carve out a distinct niche and craft a unique value proposition that resonates with your audience.

Determining Optimal Pricing Strategies

Pricing is crucial. Market research guides towards the optimal balance between profitability and customer perception. By assessing consumer willingness to pay and comparing prices of similar products in the market, you can strategically position your offering to attract and retain loyal customers.

Analyzing Consumer Behavior Market Research Data

Data becomes the goldmine of knowledge, and market research is the expert prospector that digs deep to unearth valuable insights. By analyzing consumer behavior data, your enterprise gains a deep understanding of customer preferences, shopping habits, and pain points. This treasure trove of information empowers you to refine your marketing approach, create compelling messaging, and deliver personalized experiences that resonate with your audience on a profound level.

Allocating Resources Effectively

Launching a new product demands efficient resource allocation. Market research guides to invest where they yield the highest returns. By identifying the most promising market segments and channels, you can optimize your marketing efforts, ensuring your message reaches the right audience at the right time.

Aligning Business Strategies With Actual Market Desires

The journey of conducting market research is like navigating through uncharted waters. By defining clear objectives, choosing the right methods, determining the target audience, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting the results, and presenting the findings in a clear and concise manner, an enterprise positions itself to unlock valuable insights. These insights empower strategic decisions, driving growth and success in the fiercely competitive market landscape. It's all about understanding market demand research, competitor landscape, customer preferences, and more, and using this knowledge to steer the enterprise in the right direction.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the essential steps for effective market research.

To succeed in market research, follow these steps. First, define clear goals and insightful research questions. Then, choose suitable research methods aligned with objectives. Identify the specific audience for relevant data. Collect reliable data systematically using tools like surveys. Analyze the data to uncover meaningful trends. Interpret results for strategic decisions. Finally, present findings in a concise report.

How can market research benefit new product launches?

Market research helps new product launches by understanding customer interest. It identifies competitors and pricing strategies. Analyzing consumer behavior data guides better decision-making. Market research optimizes marketing efforts for higher returns.

How does market research refine business marketing approaches?

Market research refines marketing by providing insights, identifying effective strategies, and keeping up with trends. It assesses marketing success, leading to improvements.

What are the primary benefits of using market research in decision-making?

Market research reduces uncertainty, identifies opportunities, minimizes risks, boosts competitiveness, and enhances customer satisfaction.

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How to Do Market Research: The Complete Guide

Learn how to do market research with this step-by-step guide, complete with templates, tools and real-world examples.

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What are your customers’ needs? How does your product compare to the competition? What are the emerging trends and opportunities in your industry? If these questions keep you up at night, it’s time to conduct market research.

Market research plays a pivotal role in your ability to stay competitive and relevant, helping you anticipate shifts in consumer behavior and industry dynamics. It involves gathering these insights using a wide range of techniques, from surveys and interviews to data analysis and observational studies.

In this guide, we’ll explore why market research is crucial, the various types of market research, the methods used in data collection, and how to effectively conduct market research to drive informed decision-making and success.

What is market research?

Market research is the systematic process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a specific market or industry. The purpose of market research is to offer valuable insight into the preferences and behaviors of your target audience, and anticipate shifts in market trends and the competitive landscape. This information helps you make data-driven decisions, develop effective strategies for your business, and maximize your chances of long-term growth.

Why is market research important? 

By understanding the significance of market research, you can make sure you’re asking the right questions and using the process to your advantage. Some of the benefits of market research include:

• Informed decision-making: Market research provides you with the data and insights you need to make smart decisions for your business. It helps you identify opportunities, assess risks and tailor your strategies to meet the demands of the market. Without market research, decisions are often based on assumptions or guesswork, leading to costly mistakes.
• Customer-centric approach: A cornerstone of market research involves developing a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences. This gives you valuable insights into your target audience, helping you develop products, services and marketing campaigns that resonate with your customers.
• Competitive advantage: By conducting market research, you’ll gain a competitive edge. You’ll be able to identify gaps in the market, analyze competitor strengths and weaknesses, and position your business strategically. This enables you to create unique value propositions, differentiate yourself from competitors, and seize opportunities that others may overlook.
• Risk mitigation: Market research helps you anticipate market shifts and potential challenges. By identifying threats early, you can proactively adjust their strategies to mitigate risks and respond effectively to changing circumstances. This proactive approach is particularly valuable in volatile industries.
• Resource optimization: Conducting market research allows organizations to allocate their time, money and resources more efficiently. It ensures that investments are made in areas with the highest potential return on investment, reducing wasted resources and improving overall business performance.
• Adaptation to market trends: Markets evolve rapidly, driven by technological advancements, cultural shifts and changing consumer attitudes. Market research ensures that you stay ahead of these trends and adapt your offerings accordingly so you can avoid becoming obsolete. 

As you can see, market research empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions, cater to customer needs, outperform competitors, mitigate risks, optimize resources and stay agile in a dynamic marketplace. These benefits make it a huge industry; the global market research services market is expected to grow from $76.37 billion in 2021 to $108.57 billion in 2026 . Now, let’s dig into the different types of market research that can help you achieve these benefits.

Types of market research 

• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Exploratory research
• Descriptive research
• Causal research
• Cross-sectional research
• Longitudinal research

Despite its advantages, 23% of organizations don’t have a clear market research strategy. Part of developing a strategy involves choosing the right type of market research for your business goals. The most commonly used approaches include:

1. Qualitative research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding the underlying motivations, attitudes and perceptions of individuals or groups. It is typically conducted through techniques like in-depth interviews, focus groups and content analysis — methods we’ll discuss further in the sections below. Qualitative research provides rich, nuanced insights that can inform product development, marketing strategies and brand positioning.

2. Quantitative research

Quantitative research, in contrast to qualitative research, involves the collection and analysis of numerical data, often through surveys, experiments and structured questionnaires. This approach allows for statistical analysis and the measurement of trends, making it suitable for large-scale market studies and hypothesis testing. While it’s worthwhile using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, most businesses prioritize the latter because it is scientific, measurable and easily replicated across different experiments.

3. Exploratory research

Whether you’re conducting qualitative or quantitative research or a mix of both, exploratory research is often the first step. Its primary goal is to help you understand a market or problem so you can gain insights and identify potential issues or opportunities. This type of market research is less structured and is typically conducted through open-ended interviews, focus groups or secondary data analysis. Exploratory research is valuable when entering new markets or exploring new product ideas.

4. Descriptive research

As its name implies, descriptive research seeks to describe a market, population or phenomenon in detail. It involves collecting and summarizing data to answer questions about audience demographics and behaviors, market size, and current trends. Surveys, observational studies and content analysis are common methods used in descriptive research. 

5. Causal research

Causal research aims to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables. It investigates whether changes in one variable result in changes in another. Experimental designs, A/B testing and regression analysis are common causal research methods. This sheds light on how specific marketing strategies or product changes impact consumer behavior.

6. Cross-sectional research

Cross-sectional market research involves collecting data from a sample of the population at a single point in time. It is used to analyze differences, relationships or trends among various groups within a population. Cross-sectional studies are helpful for market segmentation, identifying target audiences and assessing market trends at a specific moment.

7. Longitudinal research

Longitudinal research, in contrast to cross-sectional research, collects data from the same subjects over an extended period. This allows for the analysis of trends, changes and developments over time. Longitudinal studies are useful for tracking long-term developments in consumer preferences, brand loyalty and market dynamics.

Each type of market research has its strengths and weaknesses, and the method you choose depends on your specific research goals and the depth of understanding you’re aiming to achieve. In the following sections, we’ll delve into primary and secondary research approaches and specific research methods.

Primary vs. secondary market research

Market research of all types can be broadly categorized into two main approaches: primary research and secondary research. By understanding the differences between these approaches, you can better determine the most appropriate research method for your specific goals.

Primary market research 

Primary research involves the collection of original data straight from the source. Typically, this involves communicating directly with your target audience — through surveys, interviews, focus groups and more — to gather information. Here are some key attributes of primary market research:

• Customized data: Primary research provides data that is tailored to your research needs. You design a custom research study and gather information specific to your goals.
• Up-to-date insights: Because primary research involves communicating with customers, the data you collect reflects the most current market conditions and consumer behaviors.
• Time-consuming and resource-intensive: Despite its advantages, primary research can be labor-intensive and costly, especially when dealing with large sample sizes or complex study designs. Whether you hire a market research consultant, agency or use an in-house team, primary research studies consume a large amount of resources and time.

Secondary market research 

Secondary research, on the other hand, involves analyzing data that has already been compiled by third-party sources, such as online research tools, databases, news sites, industry reports and academic studies.

Here are the main characteristics of secondary market research:

• Cost-effective: Secondary research is generally more cost-effective than primary research since it doesn’t require building a research plan from scratch. You and your team can look at databases, websites and publications on an ongoing basis, without needing to design a custom experiment or hire a consultant. 
• Leverages multiple sources: Data tools and software extract data from multiple places across the web, and then consolidate that information within a single platform. This means you’ll get a greater amount of data and a wider scope from secondary research.
• Quick to access: You can access a wide range of information rapidly — often in seconds — if you’re using online research tools and databases. Because of this, you can act on insights sooner, rather than taking the time to develop an experiment. 

So, when should you use primary vs. secondary research? In practice, many market research projects incorporate both primary and secondary research to take advantage of the strengths of each approach.

One rule of thumb is to focus on secondary research to obtain background information, market trends or industry benchmarks. It is especially valuable for conducting preliminary research, competitor analysis, or when time and budget constraints are tight. Then, if you still have knowledge gaps or need to answer specific questions unique to your business model, use primary research to create a custom experiment. 

Market research methods

• Surveys and questionnaires
• Focus groups
• Observational research
• Online research tools
• Experiments
• Content analysis
• Ethnographic research

How do primary and secondary research approaches translate into specific research methods? Let’s take a look at the different ways you can gather data: 

1. Surveys and questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are popular methods for collecting structured data from a large number of respondents. They involve a set of predetermined questions that participants answer. Surveys can be conducted through various channels, including online tools, telephone interviews and in-person or online questionnaires. They are useful for gathering quantitative data and assessing customer demographics, opinions, preferences and needs. On average, customer surveys have a 33% response rate , so keep that in mind as you consider your sample size.

2. Interviews

Interviews are in-depth conversations with individuals or groups to gather qualitative insights. They can be structured (with predefined questions) or unstructured (with open-ended discussions). Interviews are valuable for exploring complex topics, uncovering motivations and obtaining detailed feedback. 

3. Focus groups

The most common primary research methods are in-depth webcam interviews and focus groups. Focus groups are a small gathering of participants who discuss a specific topic or product under the guidance of a moderator. These discussions are valuable for primary market research because they reveal insights into consumer attitudes, perceptions and emotions. Focus groups are especially useful for idea generation, concept testing and understanding group dynamics within your target audience.

4. Observational research

Observational research involves observing and recording participant behavior in a natural setting. This method is particularly valuable when studying consumer behavior in physical spaces, such as retail stores or public places. In some types of observational research, participants are aware you’re watching them; in other cases, you discreetly watch consumers without their knowledge, as they use your product. Either way, observational research provides firsthand insights into how people interact with products or environments.

5. Online research tools

You and your team can do your own secondary market research using online tools. These tools include data prospecting platforms and databases, as well as online surveys, social media listening, web analytics and sentiment analysis platforms. They help you gather data from online sources, monitor industry trends, track competitors, understand consumer preferences and keep tabs on online behavior. We’ll talk more about choosing the right market research tools in the sections that follow.

6. Experiments

Market research experiments are controlled tests of variables to determine causal relationships. While experiments are often associated with scientific research, they are also used in market research to assess the impact of specific marketing strategies, product features, or pricing and packaging changes.

7. Content analysis

Content analysis involves the systematic examination of textual, visual or audio content to identify patterns, themes and trends. It’s commonly applied to customer reviews, social media posts and other forms of online content to analyze consumer opinions and sentiments.

8. Ethnographic research

Ethnographic research immerses researchers into the daily lives of consumers to understand their behavior and culture. This method is particularly valuable when studying niche markets or exploring the cultural context of consumer choices.

How to do market research

• Set clear objectives
• Identify your target audience
• Choose your research methods
• Use the right market research tools
• Collect data
• Analyze data 
• Interpret your findings
• Identify opportunities and challenges
• Make informed business decisions
• Monitor and adapt

Now that you have gained insights into the various market research methods at your disposal, let’s delve into the practical aspects of how to conduct market research effectively. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview, from defining objectives to monitoring market shifts.

1. Set clear objectives

When you set clear and specific goals, you’re essentially creating a compass to guide your research questions and methodology. Start by precisely defining what you want to achieve. Are you launching a new product and want to understand its viability in the market? Are you evaluating customer satisfaction with a product redesign? 

Start by creating SMART goals — objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Not only will this clarify your research focus from the outset, but it will also help you track progress and benchmark your success throughout the process. 

You should also consult with key stakeholders and team members to ensure alignment on your research objectives before diving into data collecting. This will help you gain diverse perspectives and insights that will shape your research approach.

2. Identify your target audience

Next, you’ll need to pinpoint your target audience to determine who should be included in your research. Begin by creating detailed buyer personas or stakeholder profiles. Consider demographic factors like age, gender, income and location, but also delve into psychographics, such as interests, values and pain points.

The more specific your target audience, the more accurate and actionable your research will be. Additionally, segment your audience if your research objectives involve studying different groups, such as current customers and potential leads.

If you already have existing customers, you can also hold conversations with them to better understand your target market. From there, you can refine your buyer personas and tailor your research methods accordingly.

3. Choose your research methods

Selecting the right research methods is crucial for gathering high-quality data. Start by considering the nature of your research objectives. If you’re exploring consumer preferences, surveys and interviews can provide valuable insights. For in-depth understanding, focus groups or observational research might be suitable. Consider using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to gain a well-rounded perspective. 

You’ll also need to consider your budget. Think about what you can realistically achieve using the time and resources available to you. If you have a fairly generous budget, you may want to try a mix of primary and secondary research approaches. If you’re doing market research for a startup , on the other hand, chances are your budget is somewhat limited. If that’s the case, try addressing your goals with secondary research tools before investing time and effort in a primary research study. 

4. Use the right market research tools

Whether you’re conducting primary or secondary research, you’ll need to choose the right tools. These can help you do anything from sending surveys to customers to monitoring trends and analyzing data. Here are some examples of popular market research tools:

• Market research software: Crunchbase is a platform that provides best-in-class company data, making it valuable for market research on growing companies and industries. You can use Crunchbase to access trusted, first-party funding data, revenue data, news and firmographics, enabling you to monitor industry trends and understand customer needs.

• Survey and questionnaire tools: SurveyMonkey is a widely used online survey platform that allows you to create, distribute and analyze surveys. Google Forms is a free tool that lets you create surveys and collect responses through Google Drive.
• Data analysis software: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are useful for conducting statistical analyses. SPSS is a powerful statistical analysis software used for data processing, analysis and reporting.
• Social listening tools: Brandwatch is a social listening and analytics platform that helps you monitor social media conversations, track sentiment and analyze trends. Mention is a media monitoring tool that allows you to track mentions of your brand, competitors and keywords across various online sources.
• Data visualization platforms: Tableau is a data visualization tool that helps you create interactive and shareable dashboards and reports. Power BI by Microsoft is a business analytics tool for creating interactive visualizations and reports.

5. Collect data

There’s an infinite amount of data you could be collecting using these tools, so you’ll need to be intentional about going after the data that aligns with your research goals. Implement your chosen research methods, whether it’s distributing surveys, conducting interviews or pulling from secondary research platforms. Pay close attention to data quality and accuracy, and stick to a standardized process to streamline data capture and reduce errors. 

6. Analyze data

Once data is collected, you’ll need to analyze it systematically. Use statistical software or analysis tools to identify patterns, trends and correlations. For qualitative data, employ thematic analysis to extract common themes and insights. Visualize your findings with charts, graphs and tables to make complex data more understandable.

If you’re not proficient in data analysis, consider outsourcing or collaborating with a data analyst who can assist in processing and interpreting your data accurately.

7. Interpret your findings

Interpreting your market research findings involves understanding what the data means in the context of your objectives. Are there significant trends that uncover the answers to your initial research questions? Consider the implications of your findings on your business strategy. It’s essential to move beyond raw data and extract actionable insights that inform decision-making.

Hold a cross-functional meeting or workshop with relevant team members to collectively interpret the findings. Different perspectives can lead to more comprehensive insights and innovative solutions.

8. Identify opportunities and challenges

Use your research findings to identify potential growth opportunities and challenges within your market. What segments of your audience are underserved or overlooked? Are there emerging trends you can capitalize on? Conversely, what obstacles or competitors could hinder your progress?

Lay out this information in a clear and organized way by conducting a SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Jot down notes for each of these areas to provide a structured overview of gaps and hurdles in the market.

9. Make informed business decisions

Market research is only valuable if it leads to informed decisions for your company. Based on your insights, devise actionable strategies and initiatives that align with your research objectives. Whether it’s refining your product, targeting new customer segments or adjusting pricing, ensure your decisions are rooted in the data.

At this point, it’s also crucial to keep your team aligned and accountable. Create an action plan that outlines specific steps, responsibilities and timelines for implementing the recommendations derived from your research. 

10. Monitor and adapt

Market research isn’t a one-time activity; it’s an ongoing process. Continuously monitor market conditions, customer behaviors and industry trends. Set up mechanisms to collect real-time data and feedback. As you gather new information, be prepared to adapt your strategies and tactics accordingly. Regularly revisiting your research ensures your business remains agile and reflects changing market dynamics and consumer preferences.

Online market research sources

As you go through the steps above, you’ll want to turn to trusted, reputable sources to gather your data. Here’s a list to get you started:

• Crunchbase: As mentioned above, Crunchbase is an online platform with an extensive dataset, allowing you to access in-depth insights on market trends, consumer behavior and competitive analysis. You can also customize your search options to tailor your research to specific industries, geographic regions or customer personas.

• Academic databases: Academic databases, such as ProQuest and JSTOR , are treasure troves of scholarly research papers, studies and academic journals. They offer in-depth analyses of various subjects, including market trends, consumer preferences and industry-specific insights. Researchers can access a wealth of peer-reviewed publications to gain a deeper understanding of their research topics.
• Government and NGO databases: Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions frequently maintain databases containing valuable economic, demographic and industry-related data. These sources offer credible statistics and reports on a wide range of topics, making them essential for market researchers. Examples include the U.S. Census Bureau , the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Pew Research Center .
• Industry reports: Industry reports and market studies are comprehensive documents prepared by research firms, industry associations and consulting companies. They provide in-depth insights into specific markets, including market size, trends, competitive analysis and consumer behavior. You can find this information by looking at relevant industry association databases; examples include the American Marketing Association and the National Retail Federation .
• Social media and online communities: Social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter (X) , forums such as Reddit and Quora , and review platforms such as G2 can provide real-time insights into consumer sentiment, opinions and trends. 

Market research examples

At this point, you have market research tools and data sources — but how do you act on the data you gather? Let’s go over some real-world examples that illustrate the practical application of market research across various industries. These examples showcase how market research can lead to smart decision-making and successful business decisions.

Example 1: Apple’s iPhone launch

Apple ’s iconic iPhone launch in 2007 serves as a prime example of market research driving product innovation in tech. Before the iPhone’s release, Apple conducted extensive market research to understand consumer preferences, pain points and unmet needs in the mobile phone industry. This research led to the development of a touchscreen smartphone with a user-friendly interface, addressing consumer demands for a more intuitive and versatile device. The result was a revolutionary product that disrupted the market and redefined the smartphone industry.

Example 2: McDonald’s global expansion

McDonald’s successful global expansion strategy demonstrates the importance of market research when expanding into new territories. Before entering a new market, McDonald’s conducts thorough research to understand local tastes, preferences and cultural nuances. This research informs menu customization, marketing strategies and store design. For instance, in India, McDonald’s offers a menu tailored to local preferences, including vegetarian options. This market-specific approach has enabled McDonald’s to adapt and thrive in diverse global markets.

Example 3: Organic and sustainable farming

The shift toward organic and sustainable farming practices in the food industry is driven by market research that indicates increased consumer demand for healthier and environmentally friendly food options. As a result, food producers and retailers invest in sustainable sourcing and organic product lines — such as with these sustainable seafood startups — to align with this shift in consumer values. 

The bottom line? Market research has multiple use cases and is a critical practice for any industry. Whether it’s launching groundbreaking products, entering new markets or responding to changing consumer preferences, you can use market research to shape successful strategies and outcomes.

Market research templates

You finally have a strong understanding of how to do market research and apply it in the real world. Before we wrap up, here are some market research templates that you can use as a starting point for your projects:

• Smartsheet competitive analysis templates : These spreadsheets can serve as a framework for gathering information about the competitive landscape and obtaining valuable lessons to apply to your business strategy.
• SurveyMonkey product survey template : Customize the questions on this survey based on what you want to learn from your target customers.
• HubSpot templates : HubSpot offers a wide range of free templates you can use for market research, business planning and more.
• SCORE templates : SCORE is a nonprofit organization that provides templates for business plans, market analysis and financial projections.
• SBA.gov : The U.S. Small Business Administration offers templates for every aspect of your business, including market research, and is particularly valuable for new startups. 

Strengthen your business with market research

When conducted effectively, market research is like a guiding star. Equipped with the right tools and techniques, you can uncover valuable insights, stay competitive, foster innovation and navigate the complexities of your industry.

Throughout this guide, we’ve discussed the definition of market research, different research methods, and how to conduct it effectively. We’ve also explored various types of market research and shared practical insights and templates for getting started. 

Now, it’s time to start the research process. Trust in data, listen to the market and make informed decisions that guide your company toward lasting success.

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9 Key stages in your marketing research process

You can conduct your own marketing research. Follow these steps, add your own flair, knowledge and creativity, and you’ll have bespoke research to be proud of.

Marketing research is the term used to cover the concept, development, placement and evolution of your product or service, its growing customer base and its branding – starting with brand awareness , and progressing to (everyone hopes) brand equity . Like any research, it needs a robust process to be credible and useful.

Marketing research uses four essential key factors known as the ‘marketing mix’ , or the Four Ps of Marketing :

• Product (goods or service)
• Price ( how much the customer pays )
• Place (where the product is marketed)
• Promotion (such as advertising and PR)

These four factors need to work in harmony for a product or service to be successful in its marketplace.

The marketing research process – an overview

A typical marketing research process is as follows:

• Identify an issue, discuss alternatives and set out research objectives
• Develop a research program
• Choose a sample
• Gather information
• Gather data
• Organize and analyze information and data
• Present findings
• Make research-based decisions
• Take action based on insights

Step 1: Defining the marketing research problem

Defining a problem is the first step in the research process. In many ways, research starts with a problem facing management. This problem needs to be understood, the cause diagnosed, and solutions developed.

However, most management problems are not always easy to research, so they must first be translated into research problems. Once you approach the problem from a research angle, you can find a solution. For example, “sales are not growing” is a management problem, but translated into a research problem, it becomes “ why are sales not growing?” We can look at the expectations and experiences of several groups : potential customers, first-time buyers, and repeat purchasers. We can question whether the lack of sales is due to:

• Poor expectations that lead to a general lack of desire to buy, or
• Poor performance experience and a lack of desire to repurchase.

This, then, is the difference between a management problem and a research problem. Solving management problems focuses on actions: Do we advertise more? Do we change our advertising message? Do we change an under-performing product configuration? And if so, how?

Defining research problems, on the other hand, focus on the whys and hows, providing the insights you need to solve your management problem.

Step 2: Developing a research program: method of inquiry

The scientific method is the standard for investigation. It provides an opportunity for you to use existing knowledge as a starting point, and proceed impartially.

The scientific method includes the following steps:

• Define a problem
• Develop a hypothesis
• Make predictions based on the hypothesis
• Devise a test of the hypothesis
• Conduct the test
• Analyze the results

This terminology is similar to the stages in the research process. However, there are subtle differences in the way the steps are performed:

• the scientific research method is objective and fact-based, using quantitative research and impartial analysis
• the marketing research process can be subjective, using opinion and qualitative research, as well as personal judgment as you collect and analyze data

Step 3: Developing a research program: research method

As well as selecting a method of inquiry (objective or subjective), you must select a research method . There are two primary methodologies that can be used to answer any research question:

• Experimental research : gives you the advantage of controlling extraneous variables and manipulating one or more variables that influence the process being implemented.
• Non-experimental research : allows observation but not intervention – all you do is observe and report on your findings.

Step 4: Developing a research program: research design

Research design is a plan or framework for conducting marketing research and collecting data. It is defined as the specific methods and procedures you use to get the information you need.

There are three core types of marketing research designs: exploratory, descriptive, and causal . A thorough marketing research process incorporates elements of all of them.

Exploratory marketing research

This is a starting point for research. It’s used to reveal facts and opinions about a particular topic, and gain insight into the main points of an issue. Exploratory research is too much of a blunt instrument to base conclusive business decisions on, but it gives the foundation for more targeted study. You can use secondary research materials such as trade publications, books, journals and magazines and primary research using qualitative metrics, that can include open text surveys, interviews and focus groups.

Descriptive marketing research

This helps define the business problem or issue so that companies can make decisions, take action and monitor progress. Descriptive research is naturally quantitative – it needs to be measured and analyzed statistically , using more targeted surveys and questionnaires. You can use it to capture demographic information , evaluate a product or service for market, and monitor a target audience’s opinion and behaviors. Insights from descriptive research can inform conclusions about the market landscape and the product’s place in it.

Causal marketing research

This is useful to explore the cause and effect relationship between two or more variables. Like descriptive research , it uses quantitative methods, but it doesn’t merely report findings; it uses experiments to predict and test theories about a product or market. For example, researchers may change product packaging design or material, and measure what happens to sales as a result.

Step 5: Choose your sample

Your marketing research project will rarely examine an entire population. It’s more practical to use a sample - a smaller but accurate representation of the greater population. To design your sample, you’ll need to answer these questions:

• Which base population is the sample to be selected from? Once you’ve established who your relevant population is (your research design process will have revealed this), you have a base for your sample. This will allow you to make inferences about a larger population.
• What is the method (process) for sample selection? There are two methods of selecting a sample from a population:

1. Probability sampling : This relies on a random sampling of everyone within the larger population.

2. Non-probability sampling : This is based in part on the investigator’s judgment, and often uses convenience samples, or by other sampling methods that do not rely on probability.

• What is your sample size? This important step involves cost and accuracy decisions. Larger samples generally reduce sampling error and increase accuracy, but also increase costs. Find out your perfect sample size with our calculator .

Step 6: Gather data

Your research design will develop as you select techniques to use. There are many channels for collecting data, and it’s helpful to differentiate it into O-data (Operational) and X-data (Experience):

• O-data is your business’s hard numbers like costs, accounting, and sales. It tells you what has happened, but not why.
• X-data gives you insights into the thoughts and emotions of the people involved: employees, customers, brand advocates.

When you combine O-data with X-data, you’ll be able to build a more complete picture about success and failure - you’ll know why. Maybe you’ve seen a drop in sales (O-data) for a particular product. Maybe customer service was lacking, the product was out of stock, or advertisements weren’t impactful or different enough: X-data will reveal the reason why those sales dropped. So, while differentiating these two data sets is important, when they are combined, and work with each other, the insights become powerful.

With mobile technology, it has become easier than ever to collect data. Survey research has come a long way since market researchers conducted face-to-face, postal, or telephone surveys. You can run research through:

• Social media ( polls and listening )

Another way to collect data is by observation. Observing a customer’s or company’s past or present behavior can predict future purchasing decisions. Data collection techniques for predicting past behavior can include market segmentation , customer journey mapping and brand tracking .

Regardless of how you collect data, the process introduces another essential element to your research project: the importance of clear and constant communication .

And of course, to analyze information from survey or observation techniques, you must record your results . Gone are the days of spreadsheets. Feedback from surveys and listening channels can automatically feed into AI-powered analytics engines and produce results, in real-time, on dashboards.

Step 7: Analysis and interpretation

The words ‘ statistical analysis methods ’ aren’t usually guaranteed to set a room alight with excitement, but when you understand what they can do, the problems they can solve and the insights they can uncover, they seem a whole lot more compelling.

Statistical tests and data processing tools can reveal:

• Whether data trends you see are meaningful or are just chance results
• Your results in the context of other information you have
• Whether one thing affecting your business is more significant than others
• What your next research area should be
• Insights that lead to meaningful changes

There are several types of statistical analysis tools used for surveys. You should make sure that the ones you choose:

• Work on any platform - mobile, desktop, tablet etc.
• Integrate with your existing systems
• Are easy to use with user-friendly interfaces, straightforward menus, and automated data analysis
• Incorporate statistical analysis so you don’t just process and present your data, but refine it, and generate insights and predictions.

Here are some of the most common tools:

• Benchmarking : a way of taking outside factors into account so that you can adjust the parameters of your research. It ‘levels the playing field’ – so that your data and results are more meaningful in context. And gives you a more precise understanding of what’s happening.
• Regression analysis : this is used for working out the relationship between two (or more) variables. It is useful for identifying the precise impact of a change in an independent variable.
• T-test is used for comparing two data groups which have different mean values. For example, do women and men have different mean heights?
• Analysis of variance (ANOVA) Similar to the T-test, ANOVA is a way of testing the differences between three or more independent groups to see if they’re statistically significant.
• Cluster analysis : This organizes items into groups, or clusters, based on how closely associated they are.
• Factor analysis: This is a way of condensing many variables into just a few, so that your research data is less unwieldy to work with.
• Conjoint analysis : this will help you understand and predict why people make the choices they do. It asks people to make trade-offs when making decisions, just as they do in the real world, then analyzes the results to give the most popular outcome.
• Crosstab analysis : this is a quantitative market research tool used to analyze ‘categorical data’ - variables that are different and mutually exclusive, such as: ‘men’ and ‘women’, or ‘under 30’ and ‘over 30’.
• Text analysis and sentiment analysis : Analyzing human language and emotions is a rapidly-developing form of data processing, assigning positive, negative or neutral sentiment to customer messages and feedback.

Stats IQ can perform the most complicated statistical tests at the touch of a button using our online survey software , or data from other sources. Learn more about Stats iQ now .

Step 8: The marketing research results

Your marketing research process culminates in the research results. These should provide all the information the stakeholders and decision-makers need to understand the project.

The results will include:

• all your information
• a description of your research process
• the results
• conclusions
• recommended courses of action

They should also be presented in a form, language and graphics that are easy to understand, with a balance between completeness and conciseness, neither leaving important information out or allowing it to get so technical that it overwhelms the readers.

Traditionally, you would prepare two written reports:

• a technical report , discussing the methods, underlying assumptions and the detailed findings of the research project
• a summary report , that summarizes the research process and presents the findings and conclusions simply.

There are now more engaging ways to present your findings than the traditional PowerPoint presentations, graphs, and face-to-face reports:

• Live, interactive dashboards for sharing the most important information, as well as tracking a project in real time.
• Results-reports visualizations – tables or graphs with data visuals on a shareable slide deck
• Online presentation technology, such as Prezi
• Visual storytelling with infographics
• A single-page executive summary with key insights
• A single-page stat sheet with the top-line stats

You can also make these results shareable so that decision-makers have all the information at their fingertips.

Step 9 Turn your insights into action

Insights are one thing, but they’re worth very little unless they inform immediate, positive action. Here are a few examples of how you can do this:

• Stop customers leaving – negative sentiment among VIP customers gets picked up; the customer service team contacts the customers, resolves their issues, and avoids churn .
• Act on important employee concerns – you can set certain topics, such as safety, or diversity and inclusion to trigger an automated notification or Slack message to HR. They can rapidly act to rectify the issue.
• Address product issues – maybe deliveries are late, maybe too many products are faulty. When product feedback gets picked up through Smart Conversations, messages can be triggered to the delivery or product teams to jump on the problems immediately.
• Improve your marketing effectiveness - Understand how your marketing is being received by potential customers, so you can find ways to better meet their needs
• Grow your brand - Understand exactly what consumers are looking for, so you can make sure that you’re meeting their expectations

Download now: 8 Innovations to Modernize Market Research

Scott Smith

Scott Smith, Ph.D. is a contributor to the Qualtrics blog.

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How to Conduct Marketing Research and Analysis

A key component of running any successful business is regularly conducting market analysis—a process that provides insight into where the company is and where it's heading. This analysis contains qualitative and quantitative marketing research, primary and secondary research, and additional data points regarding positioning, industry and market statistics, insights into consumer attitudes and buying habits, customer satisfaction, and more.

According to the global data and business intelligence platform Statista, the worldwide market research industry surpassed $81 billion in 2022. 1 The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that employment in the industry is due to grow 13% over the next ten years. 2 In light of that strength and likely rapid expansion, facility with marketing research and analysis is an increasingly valuable skill. Keep reading to explore some of the key elements of this essential process.

Market Research, Marketing Research, and Other Key Terms

It’s important to understand the differences between market research/analysis and marketing research/analysis. The terms are similar but the meanings are distinct: 3

• Market research: A study done to collect statistics on a given market within a specific industry
• Market analysis: Interpretation of market information to determine a market’s size, growth potential, audience, and competitive landscape 4
• Marketing research: The process of collecting data to understand consumer behaviors, preferences, and market dynamics
• Marketing analysis: Evaluating and interpreting collected data to draw conclusions, derive actionable insights, and make informed, data-driven marketing decisions

In addition, as you get further into marketing research and analysis, you’ll need to be familiar with these terms:

• Quantitative marketing research involves gathering numerical data to quantify and analyze patterns and relationships in consumer behavior
• Qualitative marketing research involves gathering information that isn't expressed in numbers to gain insights into consumer behaviors, attitudes, and motivations
• Ethnographic research is the process of studying a target audience's environment to gain a clearer understanding of potential customers’ behaviors and preferences
• Market segmentation is the process of dividing a target market into distinct groups of consumers; each group of people shares similar characteristics or needs
• Data mining is the process of analyzing large datasets to identify patterns, relevant trends, and valuable marketing insights; data mining for marketing insights is used to influence strategizing and decision-making
• Competitive analysis: By analyzing competitors to understand their strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning, businesses become able to identify opportunities and threats
• Market trend analysis is the examination of historic and current market data to identify patterns and emerging trends

Primary and Secondary Research in Marketing: What’s the Difference?

To conduct thorough, effective marketing research and analysis, you need both primary and secondary data.

Primary research involves original data collected directly from targeted sources. This is typically done through in-person or online surveys, focus group studies, observations, or experiments.

Primary research offers several distinct advantages. It’s highly relevant due to its freshness and the researchers’ ability to customize the surveys or studies they administer. It also allows analysts to hone in on the specific market they're trying to understand, which leads to sharper data precision and accuracy.

Secondary research, on the other hand, uses existing information that others have previously collected in the form of published reports, articles, academic papers, market research reports, government publications, industry databases, or historical data.

Secondary research is more cost-effective and saves time because it doesn’t require data collection. It also provides a broader perspective by offering a comprehensive view of trends and historical information.

How to Conduct Quantitative and Qualitative Marketing Research

Quantitative marketing research is a structured process that involves gathering, processing, and interpreting numerical data.

• The process begins with defining specific research objectives and selecting an appropriate quantitative research method, such as experiments or customer surveys
• Researchers then develop a structured instrument, like a questionnaire, to collect numerical data from a representative sample
• After data collection, meticulous data entry is essential for ensuring accuracy
• Analysts then employ statistical analysis methods, such as descriptive and inferential statistics, to interpret the data

Qualitative research delves more into the motivations behind consumer behavior by analyzing non-numerical information. By its nature, qualitative data can be ephemeral—hard to quantify. The research process can involve listening to recordings from focus group studies, reading social media comments and reviews, and understanding subtext from customers based on visual and other non-verbal cues.

• Similar to quantitative marketing research, qualitative research begins by selecting a research method, such as individual interviews or focus groups, and defining research objectives
• Researchers then carefully recruit a diverse set of participants that represent a target audience
• During data collection, the use of open-ended discussions and follow-up questions can uncover meaningful insights that might not be readily apparent at the outset
• Afterward, transcribing the data and looking for recurring themes and patterns can allow researchers to interpret the findings within the context of the research objectives

How To Present Market Research and Analysis

Once you’ve completed marketing research and analysis, you’ll likely be called upon to present your findings. If market research techniques come easily to you but presenting before other people seems daunting, a few simple strategies can streamline the process:

Focus on Key Insights

Highlight the most important findings to avoid overwhelming your audience with too much data. They don’t need or want to know every fact that your research turned up, so stick to the information that addresses their priorities. Be ready to answer questions with contextual, detailed information if people ask for it, but keep the structure of your presentation focused on the big-ticket items.

Use Data Visualization

Data visualization involves using software to display substantial amounts of information in a graphic format: as dashboards, pie charts, graphs, and so on. By presenting your findings visually, you can share them with diverse audiences—company leadership, clients, and other stakeholders—in engaging, relatable ways.

Tell a Story

Frame your presentation as a narrative—that is, tell a story—to engage your audience even more and make your findings memorable. Encourage your audience to ask questions. This turns your presentation into a collaborative dialogue, keeps them involved, and helps you shine as you present direct answers to address their needs.

Add Marketing Research and Analysis to Your Expertise

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Built to accommodate the schedules of working professionals and led by a faculty of industry experts , the program provides networking opportunities that will help you gain insights into industry trends and best practices.

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1. Retrieved on September 21, 2023, from statista.com/topics/1293/market-research/#topicOverview 2. Retrieved on September 21, 2023, from bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/market-research-analysts.htm 3. Retrieved on September 21, 2023, from keydifferences.com/difference-between-market-research-and-marketing-research.html 4. Retrieved on September 21, 2023, from coursera.org/articles/market-analysis

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How to Share Market Research Findings With Research Presentations

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The market research process consists of six discrete stages or steps, as outlined below:

• Articulate the research problem and objectives
• Develop the overall research plan
• Collect the data or information
• Analyze the data or information
• Present or disseminate the findings
• Use the findings to make the decision

Sharing the research findings, which is the next-to-last step in the process, is the one that everyone waits for when conducting market research.

Present or Disseminate the Findings

There are a number of questions that a market researcher should ask before writing a report or creating a presentation to share research findings. These questions should be asked and answered every time there are outcomes to report or disseminate . Many of these questions are the same considerations that speakers automatically apply to their oral communications when they are in a face-to-face situation. The main difference is that instead of being able to actually see the recipients of the research findings communication, the market researcher has to imagine the recipient.

Know Your Audience

When the research findings will be presented in written form, the concept of audience is a bit sketchier than it will be if the research outcomes will be presented to a live audience. If the audience is live, then the market researcher will want to know in advance who will be in attendance at the presentation.

A sign of customization is relating the research findings to the purposes people would have for accessing the findings. In other words, typically the market researcher must obliquely tell the audience why they are going to find the research findings relevant to their work and interests.

The other parts of customization are a bit softer . For instance, the vocabulary should be easy on the listener's ears and brain. Unless the audience is only going to contain technological experts, the market researcher should eschew highly technical jargon. Most audience members will only remember three things that you reported.

Make Salient That Which Is Significant

Place the main reasons for the research at the top. If there is a policy problem or a practice context that the research is addressing, put this at the very top. Don't make the listener wait for the end of the presentation or cause the reader to skip to the bottom of the report to find out what is significant. This does not mean that the methodology and theoretical grounding not important. It only means that these are typically of lesser interest to most consumers of market research. Rest assured, if someone is a methods hound or a theory debater, they will find what they are looking for in the report or the presentation and ask you about it.

Ensure That Recommendations Are Actionable

Clearly highlight any policy recommendations or practice recommendations. Report readers and presentation attendees do not want to do this work. They rely on the market researcher to know what the findings indicate and how these outcomes can be transformed into actionable insights . The bottom line for most external and internal consumers of market research is a demonstration that the findings are evidence-based or sufficiently robust to support business decision-making . When recommendations include the expenditure of additional resources, explicitly point to the way those resources would be used.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

This old carpenter's adage applies to broadcast time as well as board feet. It is important to practice the presentation of the research findings, whether the presentation will be a formally structured affair or whether it will be an informal discussion during a meeting. Know what you have to say, and know how long it will take to say it. Then speed it up and slow it down. Account for the impacts of different audiences and identify ahead of time what you will cut (should the need arise) and how you will fill enhance the presentation if people are interested in hearing more than they are interested in ending the meeting and getting back to their real work.

Optimize Visual Data Display

Think like an advertiser. When a market researcher makes data available to internal and external clients, the goal is to make the presentation as clear and attractive as possible. Data can be beautiful. A list of links to resources and examples is provided below. Try your hand at infographics. Ensure data tables are readable from 10 feet away from the screen, not just 10 feet away from the podium. Use Google Docs to share your data tables so that those who want a closer look can hone in on the data.

Pull Back on the Reins When It Comes to Creating Powerpoint Slides

Much of the appeal of PowerPoint is to the slide creator. There is something decidedly appealing about seeing your own thinking detailed in lovely fonts, headed by attractive bullets, and tied together with an edgy slide deck theme. It's like having your drawings from first grade on the classroom bulletin board. Everyone can see your brilliance, and if they like one slide, you have many others to show them. However, keep in mind that less is more. PowerPoint slides should be like movie slug lines. They make you want to know more, but you still have to watch the movie. Use the PowerPoint notes section to write the details, then create the slides from those notes. Try to be stunningly cogent and entirely brief on the actual slides. If you must make slides, share them privately on SlideShare .

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Market Research: What It Is and How to Do It

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In other words, it’s the process of understanding who your business is targeting so you can better position your marketing strategy.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• The role of market research in a marketing strategy
• When to conduct market research

Types of market research

• Market research methods and their benefits
• How to conduct market research (example included)
• Market research tools and resources

What is the role of market research in a marketing strategy?

A marketing strategy is a business’s overall game plan for reaching consumers and turning them into customers.

The key word in the above definition is “game plan”. Entering a market with a product is like starting a new game. Since you’re new to the game, you don’t know the rules, and you don’t know who you’re playing against.

This is exactly where market research comes in . Market research allows you to discover the rules of the marketing game by understanding your target audience. Moreover, it allows you to understand who your opponent is by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your competition.

Research is what marketing pros do to plan their moves, and outperform their competition.  It’s also what marketing pros use to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their own marketing strategy .

But is market research the ultimate business oracle? Unfortunately no. Even companies that specialize in market research admit it - here’s a quote from one of them :

(…) it cannot be assumed that market research is an exact science, as it would be unrealistic and unreasonable to expect market researchers to predict the precise demand for a new concept, given that there are numerous variables that can impact demand outside of the market researchers’ remit.

That’s why market research with all of its significance is “only” a part of marketing, and it’s “only” an experiment.  It’s up to you whether you will conduct your experiment, and when you will end it.

For example, Crystal Pepsi seemed very promising in the market research phase, yet it failed when released onto the market (a similar thing happened to New Coke). Xerox’s idea for a commercial photocopier was a no-go in the eyes of research analysts; Xerox did it anyway, and the rest is history.

When should you conduct market research?

Paul N. Hauge and Peter Jackson in their book “Do Your Own Market Research” point to three specific situations when market research is really useful:

• Setting goals . Knowing things like the size of the market, or defining your potential customers can help you set your sales goals.
• Problem-solving . Low sales? Low profitability? Market research will help you understand whether your problems are internal, like a low-quality product, or external, like aggressive competition.
• Supporting company growth.  Understanding how and why consumers decide on products will help you decide what products to introduce to the market.

Another answer to the “when” is the importance of the decision that you need to make. The more important the marketing issue you’re tackling, the more market research comes in handy.

For example, launching a new car on the market is quite a big event, right? So maybe Ford could have avoided losing 350 million dollars with the Ford Edsel if they had done their research properly. I mean, with the right methods in place it shouldn’t be that hard to predict that consumers will deem the car overpriced and ugly.

That said, market research doesn’t always have to be a large, complex project. The relatively new trend of agile market research  allows you to research the market regularly and in a cost-effective way. This is where you employ bite-size, iterative, and evolutionary methods to react to fast-changing circumstances and adapt to unknown market territories.

Furthermore, if you’re working in startup conditions, especially if you’re developing an innovative product, you may be interested in customer development . In this methodology market research is at its “agilest” and it’s tightly woven into the product development process.

Take Ahrefs for example. We stick to agile market research hacks anyone can use. As you will see later in the article, we use simple (but effective!) stuff like social media polls, crowdsourcing, in-house competitive analysis, or just tracking the pricing of our competitors.

Case in point, just recently we asked our fellow marketers on Twitter how they go about researching the market. It seems that market research comes in all shapes and sizes:

Have you ever performed “market research?“ What was it for? — Tim Soulo (@timsoulo) May 3, 2021

Just because somebody does market research in a certain way doesn’t mean that you need to copy that. You should know your options, and they start with the different types of market research.

Primary research

Whenever the research is done by you or on your behalf, and you need to create the data to solve a given problem, that is called primary market research.

Examples:  Focus groups, interviews, surveys (more on those later in the article).

Key benefits: It’s specific to your brand and products or services, and you can control the quality of the data.

Secondary research

Whenever you’re using already existing data, such as that put together by other businesses and organizations, you’re doing secondary market research.

Examples: Second-party and third-party sources like articles, whitepapers, reports, industry statistics, already collected internal data.

Key benefits: Get a macro perspective of your marketplace, as secondary research includes other players in the market, and most probably utilizes a bigger set of data than your primary sources.

Primary research vs. secondary research

Primary and secondary market research are different but by no means opposite. It’s actually recommended to use both.

While primary sources will give you a focused, micro perspective of your business, secondary research will tell you how other businesses are doing and how your research findings compare to bigger research sample sizes. 

Market research subtypes

A bit more theory for all you marketing geeks out there. Professional market researchers distinguish between the following primary and secondary market research subtypes:

• Qualitative research.  Think interviews, open-ended questions, results expressed in words rather than numbers and graphs. This type of research is used to understand underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations.
• Quantitative research. Think surveys, polls, usually closed-ended questions, results expressed in numbers and statistics. This type of research is used to test or confirm hypotheses or assumptions by quantifying defined variables (such as opinions or behaviours) and generalizing results from larger data samples.

Overview of market research methods

Let’s go over some popular market research methods you can use yourself and/or outsource.

Internal data analysis

The data you’ve already collected in your company is an invaluable secondary research data source. The more time you’re in the business, the more data you have on your hands.

The best thing about your internal data is that it’s been put into practice in real-life market conditions, so you just need to find the patterns and draw conclusions.

Here are some internal data sources you can leverage :

• Website data (like Google Analytics)
• Past campaigns performance data
• Internal interviews with employees

Interviews allow for face-to-face discussions and are great for exploratory qualitative research.

In unstructured interviews, you have an informal, free-flowing conversation on a given set of topics.

In structured interviews, you prepare a detailed, rigorous interview protocol where you list every question you want to ask and you can’t divert from them.

You can also choose the “middle way” with semi-structured interviews which revolve around predefined themes or questions, but allow for open-ended discussion.

A word of advice here would be to always remain neutral and unbiased, even during unstructured interviews. Also, it’s helpful to perform a pilot test of the interview to quickly spot some defects of your protocol.

Recording the interview may influence the answers, so use it wisely.

Focus groups

Focus groups are where 5 to 10 people with common characteristics take part in an interactive discussion with a moderator. They’re used to learn how a particular group thinks about a given issue or to provide feedback on a product.

Now, you might know that Steve Jobs famously hated focus groups. He’s on record saying:

It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.

If you’re trying to create a leapfrog product like the iPhone, there’s probably some validity to this statement. But most of us aren’t wrestling with that level of ambition. We just want to know if customers will like a proposed new feature or not. For this, focus groups are super useful.

Surveys involve polling your audience. They’re usually performed online for customer satisfaction and loyalty research, and are one of the most popular and cost-effective market research methods.

Some of the tried and tested use cases of online surveys  are:

• Product feature desirability
• User satisfaction feedback
• Quantitative analysis of certain issue occurrences
• Identifying friction points in your customer journey
• Discovering the reasons to convert to or cancel your service
• During product onboarding to create a customer profile (and for marketing automation)
• Opinion about a recently made change

An interesting example of surveying the market is crowdsourcing . That’s what Ahrefs does to understand what features to build, how important they are, and what customers expect from them.

What’s unique about crowdsourcing is that it allows the users to add their own ideas, and upvote or comment on existing ideas rather than answer predetermined questions, so this method leaves less room for marketing myopia. You improve your business, and the users get a better product—everybody wins.

How we crowdsource ideas at Ahrefs

Social media is another great place to survey the marketplace.

How many of you have disavowed links in GSC this year? — Tim Soulo (@timsoulo) October 8, 2020

Market segmentation

Market segmentation is the practice of categorizing a market into homogeneous groups based on specific criteria, also called segmentation variables (like age, sex, company size, country, etc.).

If you think you’re building a product for everyone, think again. Not everyone will want to buy from you.

Smart companies pick their target audience carefully. They pinpoint groups of people or organizations that could be valuable customers for the business. That way they also discover their non-ideal customers and develop a plan to attract customer segments gradually. 

Ever wondered why Procter and Gamble creates so many, often competing, brands? You guessed it: market segmentation. P&G simply divides and conquers. Different people have different needs, so they need different products (and possibly brands).

Competitive analysis

Another powerful, yet often overlooked, market research method is the process of understanding one’s market environment. Seriously, if there’s only one thing you could do to learn what works and what doesn’t in your market, you should do a competitive analysis.

“Whenever we discuss building a certain feature, we would definitely research our competitors and see how they do it.” Tim Soulo, CMO

You’d be surprised by how much you can learn about and from your competition and how much of it can be done online. There are certain tried and tested techniques, hacks, and tools for this type of research, and you can find them in this guide .

Analyze commercial data

Secondary market research data is relatively affordable, fast to acquire, and easy to use. Think market reports, industry insights, and a ton of research data someone has already gathered and analyzed so you don’t have to.

The most reputable sources are Gartner , Forrester , and Pew . Apart from those, make sure to check if there is a trustworthy commercial data source specific to your niche.

Sites like G2, Capterra and Trust Pilot also count. Not only do they give you an overview of your industry, but you can also find some real gems in your users’ reviews and your competitors’ reviews as well. Ahrefs uses that data source regularly internally and externally, like for this section of our Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Moz  landing page:

Benefits of market research - a comparison

Let’s quickly summarize the above 7 different methods of market research by their key benefits.

How to do market research process in 5 key steps

So now we know what market research is, why and when to do it, and we’ve learned about all of the important types and methods.

Let’s see how we can use that knowledge to conduct any type of market research in 5 steps.  As an example of market research, I’ll tell you about some of my past experiences with a 3D printing company.

• Identify the market research problem
• Choose the sample and research method
• Collect the data
• Analyze the data
• Interpret and present conclusions

1. Identify the market research problem

This is where every research project starts. You will also find that market research, in general, follows the pattern of the scientific method . First, you need to establish what exactly you are researching.

Do you have a question about your business you want to answer? Maybe you see an opportunity in the market. Or maybe you’ve observed something curious about your product use and you have a hypothesis that you want to validate? State that in the first step of the market research process.

Let me share an example.

In the past, I ran marketing for a few companies, and one of them was a 3D printer manufacturer. Early on I stumbled upon two problems with that company.

First: one of our market segments was saturated with similar products of similar quality at significantly lower price (classic, right?). Second: more and more 3D printing manufacturers seemed to be drifting away from the hobby segment to tackle the professional segments with more expensive products, yet we remained in the hobby/DIY niche. So we were too expensive for hobbyists but too hobbyist for customers who could afford us.

The hypothesis that I wanted to verify was that if the marketplace was showing a trend towards more professional use cases of 3D printing, our company should follow that trend. In other words, I wanted to check the viability of shifting the brand positioning into the professional/premium sector.

2. Choose the sample and research method

We’ve already covered the main types and methods of market research. You should already have a good idea of the differences between primary and secondary research, or whether qualitative or quantitative methods would best suit your needs.

As for the sample of your research, this refers to the portion of the entire data source in question that you will use. For example, if you want to run a survey among your customers, the sample will refer to the selection of customers you will include in your survey. There are a few options for choosing a sample:

• Use the entire data source . Obviously, it’s not a sample per se. Nevertheless, if sending a survey to all of your customers is doable (and reasonable), this is a perfectly good choice.
• Choose a random sample. Systematic sampling is the easiest way to choose a random sample. This is where you select every x/nth individual for the sample, where x is the population, n is the sample. For example, if you want a sample size of 100 from a population of 1000, select every 1000/100 = 10th member of the population.
• Convenience sampling: choose respondents available and willing to take part in the survey.
• Purposive sampling: choose respondents that in your judgement will be representative or possess some other feature that is important to the research.
• Quota sampling:  choose some arbitrary quota of respondents, e.g. 10 non-paying customers, 10 paying small companies and 10 paying large companies.

Back to our example. As a method for verifying my hypotheses, I chose a mix of:

• Surveys sent to all of our resellers.  We wanted to see if they also had seen a paradigm shift in the market and what segment of clients they had encountered the most. We also wanted to know their perspective on the longevity of that trend, and whether they potentially be interested in a more premium version of our product.
• In-depth interviews  on the phone with our resellers conducted by our sales team. We used purposive sampling here. Our sample comprised resellers with which we had the best relations (we knew they would be more eager to share).
• Competitive analysis.  We were mostly interested in market players who tried to penetrate the professional/industrial segment, so this was our sample ( purposive sampling ). We were interested in stuff like: what features were they building into their 3D printers, what was their brand positioning, what was their pricing, what language they used to communicate with their target audience, etc.
• Wohler’s industry report, anything 3D printing from Gartner and the like, reports by 3D printing services providers, and basically any scrape of serious data we could find ( convenience sampling ).
• Internal data:  customer satisfaction issues, and just general current customer profile based on Google Analytics and Facebook data.

3. Collect the data

Once you’ve got your problem, method, and sample nailed, all you need to do is to gather the data. This is the step where you send out your surveys, conduct your interviews, or reach out for industry insights.

A word of advice, choose your market research tool carefully; it will greatly influence the amount of work you will have with analyzing the data. For example, Google Forms  automatically makes graphs out of quantifiable data (plus it’s free).

Here’s the data we collected for the 3D printing company:

• Reseller survey data (both quantitative and qualitative data).
• Reseller interview data (qualitative data).
• Customer satisfaction issues (qualitative data gathered through all customer support channels, we analysed about 200 issues and requests).
• Competitive analysis data (from about 10 competitors).
• We managed to gather 3 comprehensive, independent industry reports, a few smaller reports made by other 3D printing companies, and dozens of scrapes of data, like statistics and noteworthy insights. We pulled out data like: 3D printer manufacturer market share, market growth in time, market segmentation, key 3D printing applications, 3D printing adoption by region, key players’ sales numbers.
• Any demographic, sociographic and psychographic data on customers and website visitors we could find in our internal data.

4. Analyze the data

Now that you have your data collected, the next step is to look for patterns, trends, concepts, or often repeated words—all dependent on whether your method was qualitative or quantitative (or both).

Simple research performed on a small sample will be relatively easy to analyze, or even analyzed automatically, like with the aforementioned Google Forms. Sometimes you will have to use expensive and harder to master software like Tableau , NVivo , PowerBI , or SPSS . Or you can use Python or R for data analysis (if you have a data analyst or data scientist on board, you’re in luck).

Continuing the example: Google Forms made it easy for us to spot patterns in surveys since quantitative data was calculated automatically. The most time-consuming part was reading through all of the responses and manually looking for patterns (back then I wasn’t aware of any tool that could do the job). Both sales and marketing teams worked on analyzing some of the qualitative data to have more than one reference point.

When it comes to researching the competition, coming up with some kind of data structure makes the work more comprehensive (and saner). We put our competitors’ data in specific categories, like products & services (prices included), target market, benefits, values, and brand message. We also used something called a brand positioning map which looks like this:

Analyzing secondary data was probably the easiest part, as the data we needed was already prepared in ready-to-use graphs, statistics and insights. We just had to sift through the contents to look for answers to our questions.

5. Interpret and present conclusions

Analyzing the data is not enough. You need to compile your data in a communicative, actionable way for the decision makers. A good practice is to include in your report: all your information, a description of your research process, the results, conclusions, and recommended actions.

Summing up my 3D printing example, I hypothesised that our market was experiencing a major shift and that the company should follow that trend. The research we did verified that hypothesis positively:

• Our resellers were getting more and more inquiries about professional/industrial use cases and machines. As you can imagine, the budget of this kind of client was significantly higher than hobbyists but so were the expectations.
• Our resellers indicated that this phenomenon is here to stay. Moreover, they declared interest in a new 3D printer tailored to the needs of their more demanding clientele.
• Our customers were outgrowing their early-adopter habits and wanted something easier to use, something plug-and-play that just worked reliably. Tinkering with the printer was something only hardcore makers were interested in.
• The companies we were interested in had already started adapting to the professional/premium market both with their offer and smart marketing communication.
• We also found a ton of other interesting data that we used later on. For example, we found that apart from engineers and designers, an equally interesting segment was educational institutions.

Our initial market research lasted for about two months. We also came back to it whenever we had the chance (or the necessity) and reiterated it to see if we were on the right track.

Was it worth it? Let me tell you this: it saved the company. Our research showed us that this was the last call to reposition the brand and the product. Our original target segment was being gradually dominated by companies we couldn’t compete with.

It took us some time to get buy-in from key stakeholders and implement the conclusions throughout the whole company (eventually, we got it right). As a result, we increased sales, increased customer satisfaction and put ourselves on a more profitable growth track—a win-win for everyone. We even went as far as merging with another manufacturer to shorten the time to get to that sweet market spot.

Looking back, no one from our close competitors survived. They didn’t adapt as we did, and we owed everything to market research.

Whatever you do, avoid these common market research mistakes :

• Poor sampling.
• Ambiguous questions.
• Leading or loaded questions (questions that show bias or contain controversial assumptions).
• Unclear or too many research objectives.
• Mixing correlation with causation.
• Ignoring competitive analysis.
• Allowing biases to influence your research ( confirmation bias  being arguably the most common and the most dangerous one).
• Not tracking data on a regular basis.

Online market research tools and resources

Market research reaches back to the 1930s and it’s probably rooted even “deeper” than the 20th century. Everything you could do then you can do now better, faster and cheaper thanks to these online tools and resources.

SEO tools - research the market with Ahrefs

I’ve put together 3 quick wins that can help with your market research—and that’s only a taste of what you can do with Ahrefs.

1. Brand awareness

In the early 20th century, you’d have to hire market researchers to spend days or even weeks asking people “have you heard about brand X”. Today, you can simply look up the search volume for that brand.

So let’s say you run a drone manufacturing brand, and you want to check out your competitors’ brand awareness in France. Go to Ahrefs Keywords Explorer , input the names of the brands, select “France” as your market, and in a flash you get:

The branded keyword volume indicates the brand awareness of that brand in a particular market. You can also keep track of that data by performing this search regularly to see if there are significant changes over time (for example, impacted by a recent campaign).

2. Feature demand

The next game-changing feature for electric cars will concern batteries, charging time, and charging cost (and not autopilot). How do I know?

Well, I opened Ahrefs Keywords Explorer , typed in “electric cars”, and went to the Questions report to find out what people search for. This gave me an idea of what problems electric car owners have (and potential owners worry about). You can easily perform similar research for your niche.

3. Understand the language of your market

Gerald Zaltman in his popular book “How Customers Think” proposes the idea that one of the major erroneous assumptions of marketing is that consumers think in words.

On the other hand, when consumers Google something they have to think in words. And when we market to those consumers we have to think in words as well. The question is: which words?

Let’s say that you want to enter a new and innovative market in the USA, for example the synthetic fermentation-derived dairy industry, also called animal-free dairy.

To you, this set of words “animal-free dairy” may be the very center of your business and marketing efforts. But let’s see what other people think. Let’s use Keywords Explorer  to see how many people search Google in the U.S. just for that phrase:

Whoops! Looks like your product category has disappointingly low awareness. Does this mean you’re doomed? Not necessarily. 

Let’s try other words. Words that mean something different, but still closely related to your new product.

Now we’re onto something. People search for “vegan dairy” and “lactose free dairy” more often. Not the same, but closely related. Yet, look at the difference in search volume.

Words make a huge difference.  And Google knows that.

The only reason you were able to put all of those three phrases in the same bucket was that you knew the connection between those words. The problem is that your target audience may not know that connection; they may not even know that this kind of product exists. This quick analysis of search volume shows that you may want to make that connection, for example with content marketing .

If you create content around related higher volume keywords, you can potentially get more organic traffic than simply focusing on the keyword designating your product category.  Look, even though you might believe the main benefit of your animal-free product is something unrelated to lactose, e.g., cruelty-free production, you might want to address the problem of lactose intolerance to appeal to people with this condition.

But that’s not all. You may have noticed “low lactose cheese” in the bottom right corner. This refers to the nifty feature of Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer called “Parent topic”. Parent topic indicates that Google sees a given keyword as part of a broader topic.

If we click on this Parent topic, we uncover even more search demand:

We can see that the search for the topic “low lactose cheese” exceeds the “vegan dairy” topic by almost 300% in the US. Also, uncovering that parent topic gave us 879 potential keyword ideas (some of them have even higher search volume, like “lactose free cheese”).

Want to discover even more topic associations? No problem. You can dive deeper into this research by using other features of Ahrefs’ Keyword explorer. For example,the  Also rank for  report allows you to see which other keywords (and topics) the top 100 ranking pages for your target keyword also rank for.

This market research quick-win ties into the broader topic of keyword research. If you want to uncover even more keyword ideas and learn how to analyze them, read  our keyword research guide .

Source: https://hubspot.com

Customer Relationship Management software is used to manage and track interactions between a company and its customers and prospects. Usually, it works in tandem with sales or marketing automation software (or has integrations for them). If used properly, it is a true cornucopia of market insight.

As I pointed out earlier, it’s one of those primary data sources that you can leverage to discover patterns in your customer behaviour or characteristics. Popular choices are Hubspot, Salesforce, Intercom, but there is a ton of CRM software out there, so check out a software comparison like G2  to see what best suits your needs.

User feedback tools

This type of tool allows you to carry out our aforementioned survey research method online.

Create targeted, user-specific surveys and analyze answers with tools like Google Forms , SurveyMonkey , Typeform , or Qualaroo .  

Sending out your typical email with a survey is not the only option, for example with Qualaroo you can display surveys:

• In your digital product
• In your SaaS product
• Inside your web app
• Inside your mobile app
• On your website
• On your mobile site
• On your prototypes.
• On most public URLs. Even competitor sites

Need more? No problem, check out SurveyMonkey’s Market Research solution . It taps into the agile market research models we’ve discussed. They’ve got 14 online solutions that help you stay on top of your game, including customer segmentation, monitoring market dynamics, brand, creative analysis, feature importance, finding the right price for your products, and more.

So you think you have a tough business challenge? This daring gentleman is trying to disrupt… eggs. Extremely hard, but doable with market research on his side.

Website/app analytics

Tracking your website or app traffic is absolute marketing basics. Just look at some data dimensions Google Analytics offers:

• Demographics

Sounds familiar? Yup, that sounds like good ol’ market segmentation. Here’s the best part: it’s free, quick to perform and it’s based on your primary data.

If you’ve never dug deeper into Google Analytics, or similar analytics software (e.g., Matomo , Woopra ) here are some questions that this marketing technology can answer for you: 

• What do people search for once they’re on my site?
• What differentiates customers who have made a purchase from the ones that haven’t?
• What are my top countries by revenue?
• What are my best selling products?

If you’re already using Google Analytics, see if you’re not making these Google Analytics tracking mistakes. 

User experience research tools

Commonly used by UX designers, but just listen to the value propositions of these tools:

• “See and hear real people using your website, online shop or app.” ( https://userpeek.com/ )
• “Real-time feedback. From real customers. Wherever you work. So you can create experiences that get real results.” ( https://www.usertesting.com/ )
• “Scalable & Customized User Research” ( https://www.userlytics.com/ )
• “Record video and audio of your users, so you see and hear their exact experience with your product.” ( https://www.loop11.com/ )

Again, sounds much like our market research methods, right? And it’s no joke, thousands of companies use these tools.

User experience research tools allow you to get user feedback and insights on your products, prototypes, websites, and apps.

Testing is based on tasks your test-takers perform. You can either use your own user base or define a custom base using their services. You’ll get written reports and even recorded videos that you can incorporate into your market research and make sure you’re properly taking advantage of that market opportunity.

Ad planning tools

That’s right—the Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter ad planner you already use for running ads can give you some insight into the numbers behind the market segments you’re interested in.

30+ males with higher education interested in technology gadgets? No problem. Female C-suite decision-makers from Europe? It’s all there.

Census data

The availability of this kind of data may vary based on your target market. For example, in the US the Census Bureau  offers a free resource for searching the country’s census data. You can filter the data by topics, years, geography, surveys, or industry codes. You can also access premade interactive tables (which you can also download) or simply explore certain regions of the country using their maps.

Business intelligence tools

With business intelligence tools like Tableau , Looker or Sisense , you can connect to any data source to perform data cleaning, statistical operations, and data visualization. They are designed to allow you to glean insights into your data, and communicate effectively with your stakeholders. It’s like SQL combined with R, but you don’t need coding skills and you get a user-friendly interface.

Because these tools are overflowing with functionality and because they are usually pricey, they are overkill for small companies with basic market research needs. Often you will find that the tool that you are already using for your research method comes with some data analysis and visualization functions. And if not, you can always import your data to Excel or Google Docs and use Google Data Studio for a shareable interactive presentation.

Other noteworthy tools and services

• Think with Google
• Living Facts

Final thoughts

Market research is no easy feat. If you feel intimidated by it, you’re not the only one. But don’t shy away from it. The benefits of conducting even sporadic market research can have benefits for your business you simply can’t ignore. You won’t turn into a market research pro overnight, but the good news is you don’t have to. You can go the agile way (like Ahrefs), use affordable self-service online tools and resources, or you can even outsource your research. As long as you base your marketing game plan on valid data, you dramatically improve your chances for success.

Got questions? Ping me on Twitter .

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28.12: The Marketing Research Process

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Learning Objectives

• Explain the process and goal of market research
• Explain how market research helps marketers validate their target markets

Marketing research is a useful and necessary tool for helping marketers and an organization’s executive leadership make wise decisions. Carrying out marketing research can involve highly specialized skills that go deeper than the information outlined in this module. However, it’s important for any marketer to be familiar with the basic procedures and techniques of marketing research.

It’s very likely that at some point a marketing professional will need to supervise an internal marketing research activity or to work with an outside marketing research firm to conduct a research project. Managers who understand the research function can do a better job of framing the problem and critically appraising the proposals made by research specialists. They are also in a better position to evaluate their findings and recommendations.

Periodically marketers themselves need to find solutions to marketing problems without the assistance of marketing research specialists inside or outside the company. If you are familiar with the basic procedures of marketing research, you can supervise and even conduct a reasonably satisfactory search for the information needed.

Step 1: Identify the Problem

The first step for any marketing research activity is to clearly identify and define the problem you are trying to solve. You start by stating the marketing or business problem you need to address and for which you need additional information to figure out a solution. Next, articulate the objectives for the research: What do you want to understand by the time the research project is completed? What specific information, guidance, or recommendations need to come out of the research in order to make it a worthwhile investment of the organization’s time and money?

It’s important to share the problem definition and research objectives with other team members to get their input and further refine your understanding of the problem and what is needed to solve it. At times, the problem you really need to solve is not the same problem that appears on the surface. Collaborating with other stakeholders helps refine your understanding of the problem, focus your thinking, and prioritize what you hope to learn from the research. Prioritizing your objectives is particularly helpful if you don’t have the time or resources to investigate everything you want.

To flesh out your understanding of the problem, it’s useful to begin brainstorming actual research questions you want to explore. What are the questions you need to answer in order to get to the research outcomes? What is the missing information that marketing research will help you find? The goal at this stage is to generate a set of preliminary, big-picture questions that will frame your research inquiry. You will revisit these research questions later in the process, but when you’re getting started, this exercise helps clarify the scope of the project, whom you need to talk to, what information may already be available, and where to look for the information you don’t yet have.

Marketing Research for Bookends

Your uncle Dan owns an independent bookstore called Bookends, and it’s not doing very well. (That’s you in the picture.) The store’s sales are down, and the rent is going up. Dan has turned to you for help, since you know a thing or two about marketing.

You need a lot of information if you’re going to help your uncle turn things around, so marketing research is a good idea. You begin by identifying the problem and then work to set down your research objectives and initial research questions:

Step 2: Develop a Research Plan

Once you have a problem definition, research objectives, and a preliminary set of research questions, the next step is to develop a research plan. Essential to this plan is identifying precisely what information you need to answer your questions and achieve your objectives. Do you need to understand customer opinions about something? Are you looking for a clearer picture of customer needs and related behaviors? Do you need sales, spending, or revenue data? Do you need information about competitors’ products, or insight about what will make prospective customers notice you? When do need the information, and what’s the time frame for getting it? What budget and resources are available?

Once you have clarified what kind of information you need and the timing and budget for your project, you can develop the research design. This details how you plan to collect and analyze the information you’re after. Some types of information are readily available through secondary research and secondary data sources. Secondary research analyzes information that has already been collected for another purpose by a third party, such as a government agency, an industry association, or another company. Other types of information need to from talking directly to customers about your research questions. This is known as primary research , which collects primary data captured expressly for your research inquiry. Marketing research projects may include secondary research, primary research, or both.

Depending on your objectives and budget, sometimes a small-scale project will be enough to get the insight and direction you need. At other times, in order to reach the level of certainty or detail required, you may need larger-scale research involving participation from hundreds or even thousands of individual consumers. The research plan lays out the information your project will capture—both primary and secondary data—and describes what you will do with it to get the answers you need. (Note: You’ll learn more about data collection methods and when to use them later in this module.)

Your data collection plan goes hand in hand with your analysis plan. Different types of analysis yield different types of results. The analysis plan should match the type of data you are collecting, as well as the outcomes your project is seeking and the resources at your disposal. Simpler research designs tend to require simpler analysis techniques. More complex research designs can yield powerful results, such as understanding causality and trade-offs in customer perceptions. However, these more sophisticated designs can require more time and money to execute effectively, both in terms of data collection and analytical expertise.

The research plan also specifies who will conduct the research activities, including data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting on results. At times a singlehanded marketing manager or research specialist runs the entire research project. At other times, a company may contract with a marketing research analyst or consulting firm to conduct the research. In this situation, the marketing manager provides supervisory oversight to ensure the research delivers on expectations.

Finally, the research plan indicates who will interpret the research findings and how the findings will be reported. This part of the research plan should consider the internal audience(s) for the research and what reporting format will be most helpful. Often, senior executives are primary stakeholders, and they’re anxious for marketing research to inform and validate their choices. When this is the case, getting their buy-in on the research plan is recommended to make sure that they are comfortable with the approach and receptive to the potential findings.

A Bookends Research Plan

You talk over the results of your problem identification work with Dan. He thinks you’re on the right track and wants to know what’s next. You explain that the next step is to put together a detailed plan for getting answers to the research questions.

Dan is enthusiastic, but he’s also short on money. You realize that such a financial constraint will limit what’s possible, but with Dan’s help you can do something worthwhile. Below is the research plan you sketch out:

Step 3: Conduct the Research

Conducting research can be a fun and exciting part of the marketing research process. After struggling with the gaps in your knowledge of market dynamics—which led you to embark on a marketing research project in the first place—now things are about to change. Conducting research begins to generate information that helps answer your urgent marketing questions.

Typically data collection begins by reviewing any existing research and data that provide some information or insight about the problem. As a rule, this is secondary research. Prior research projects, internal data analyses, industry reports, customer-satisfaction survey results, and other information sources may be worthwhile to review. Even though these resources may not answer your research questions fully, they may further illuminate the problem you are trying to solve. Secondary research and data sources are nearly always cheaper than capturing new information on your own. Your marketing research project should benefit from prior work wherever possible.

After getting everything you can from secondary research, it’s time to shift attention to primary research, if this is part of your research plan. Primary research involves asking questions and then listening to and/or observing the behavior of the target audience you are studying. In order to generate reliable, accurate results, it is important to use proper scientific methods for primary research data collection and analysis. This includes identifying the right individuals and number of people to talk to, using carefully worded surveys or interview scripts, and capturing data accurately.

Without proper techniques, you may inadvertently get bad data or discover bias in the responses that distorts the results and points you in the wrong direction. The module on Marketing Research Techniques discusses these issues in further detail, since the procedures for getting reliable data vary by research method.

Getting the Data on Bookends

Dan is on board with the research plan, and he’s excited to dig into the project. You start with secondary data, getting a dump of Dan’s sales data from the past two years, along with related information: customer name, zip code, frequency of purchase, gender, date of purchase, and discounts/promotions (if any).

You visit the U.S. Census Bureau Web site to download demographic data about your metro area. The data show all zip codes in the area, along with population size, gender breakdown, age ranges, income, and education levels.

The next part of the project is customer-survey data. You work with Dan to put together a short survey about customer attitudes toward Bookends, how often and why they come, where else they spend money on books and entertainment, and why they go other places besides Bookends. Dan comes up with the great idea of offering a 5 percent discount coupon to anyone who completes the survey. Although it eats into his profits, this scheme gets more people to complete the survey and buy books, so it’s worth it.

For a couple of days, you and Dan take turns doing “man on the street” interviews (you interview the guy in the red hat, for instance). You find people who say they’ve never been to Bookends and ask them a few questions about why they haven’t visited the store, where else they buy books and other entertainment, and what might get them interested in visiting Bookends sometime. This is all a lot of work, but for a zero-budget project, it’s coming together pretty well.

Step 4: Analyze and Report Findings

Analyzing the data obtained in a market survey involves transforming the primary and/or secondary data into useful information and insights that answer the research questions. This information is condensed into a format to be used by managers—usually a presentation or detailed report.

Analysis starts with formatting, cleaning, and editing the data to make sure that it’s suitable for whatever analytical techniques are being used. Next, data are tabulated to show what’s happening: What do customers actually think? What’s happening with purchasing or other behaviors? How do revenue figures actually add up? Whatever the research questions, the analysis takes source data and applies analytical techniques to provide a clearer picture of what’s going on. This process may involve simple or sophisticated techniques, depending on the research outcomes required. Common analytical techniques include regression analysis to determine correlations between factors; conjoint analysis to determine trade-offs and priorities; predictive modeling to anticipate patterns and causality; and analysis of unstructured data such as Internet search terms or social media posts to provide context and meaning around what people say and do.

Good analysis is important because the interpretation of research data—the “so what?” factor—depends on it. The analysis combs through data to paint a picture of what’s going on. The interpretation goes further to explain what the research data mean and make recommendations about what managers need to know and do based on the research results. For example, what is the short list of key findings and takeaways that managers should remember from the research? What are the market segments you’ve identified, and which ones should you target? What are the primary reasons your customers choose your competitor’s product over yours, and what does this mean for future improvements to your product?

Individuals with a good working knowledge of the business should be involved in interpreting the data because they are in the best position to identify significant insights and make recommendations from the research findings. Marketing research reports incorporate both analysis and interpretation of data to address the project objectives.

The final report for a marketing research project may be in written form or slide-presentation format, depending on organizational culture and management preferences. Often a slide presentation is the preferred format for initially sharing research results with internal stakeholders. Particularly for large, complex projects, a written report may be a better format for discussing detailed findings and nuances in the data, which managers can study and reference in the future.

Analysis and Insights for Bookends: Target market validation

Getting the data was a bit of a hassle, but now you’ve got it, and you’re excited to see what it reveals. Your statistician cousin, Marina, turns out to be a whiz with both the sales data and the census data. She identified several demographic profiles in the metro area that looked a lot like lifestyle segments. Then she mapped Bookends’ sales data into those segments to show who is and isn’t visiting Bookends. After matching customer-survey data to the sales data, she broke down the segments further based on their spending levels and reasons they visit Bookends.

Gradually a clearer picture of Bookends’ customers is beginning to emerge: who they are, why they come, why they don’t come, and what role Bookends plays in their lives. Right away, a couple of higher-priority segments—based on their spending levels, proximity, and loyalty to Bookends—stand out. The research has succeeded in segmenting the market into manageable targets. You and your uncle are definitely seeing some possibilities for making the bookstore a more prominent part of their lives. You capture these insights as “recommendations to be considered” while you evaluate the right marketing mix for each of the new segments you have now validated.

Step 5: Take Action

Once the report is complete, the presentation is delivered, and the recommendations are made, the marketing research project is over, right? Wrong.

What comes next is arguably the most important step of all: taking action based on your research results.

If your project has done a good job interpreting the findings and translating them into recommendations for the marketing team and other areas of the business, this step may seem relatively straightforward. When the research results validate a path the organization is already on, the “take action” step can galvanize the team to move further and faster in that same direction.

Things are not so simple when the research results indicate a new direction or a significant shift is advisable. In these cases, it’s worthwhile to spend time helping managers understand the research, explain why it is wise to shift course, and explain how the business will benefit from the new path. As with any important business decision, managers must think deeply about the new approach and carefully map strategies, tactics, and available resources to plan effectively. By making the results available and accessible to managers and their execution teams, the marketing research project can serve as an ongoing guide and touchstone to help the organization plan, execute, and adjust course as it works toward desired goals and outcomes.

It is worth mentioning that many marketing research projects are never translated into management action. Sometimes this is because the report is too technical and difficult to understand. In other cases, the research conclusions fail to provide useful insights or solutions to the problem, or the report writer fails to offer specific suggestions for translating the research findings into management strategy. These pitfalls can be avoided by paying due attention to the research objectives throughout the project and allocating sufficient time and resources to do a good job interpreting research results for those who will need to act on them.

Bookends’ New Customer Campaign

Your research findings and recommendations identified three segments for Bookends to focus on. Based on the demographics, lifestyle, and spending patterns found during your marketing research, you’re able to name them: 1) Bored Empty-Nesters, 2) Busy Families, and 3) Hipster Wannabes. Dan has a decent-sized clientele across all three groups, and they are pretty good spenders when they come in. But until now he hasn’t done much to purposely attract any of them.

With newly identified segments in focus, you and Dan begin brainstorming about a marketing mix to target each group. What types of books and other products would appeal to each one? What activities or events would bring them into the store? Are there promotions or particular messages that would induce them to buy at Bookends instead of Amazon or another bookseller? How will Dan reach and communicate with each group? And what can you do to bring more new customers into the store within these target groups?

Even though Bookends is a real-life project with serious consequences for your uncle Dan, it’s also a fun laboratory where you can test out some of the principles you’re learning in your marketing class. You’re figuring out quickly what it’s like to be a marketer.

Well done, rookie!

Practice Questions

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...essments/14483

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...essments/14484

Contributors and Attributions

• Revision and Adaptation. Authored by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Practice Questions. Authored by : Robert Danielson. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Chapter 3: Marketing Research: An Aid to Decision Making, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by : John Burnett. Provided by : Global Text. Located at : http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Urban life (Version 2.0). Authored by : Ian D. Keating. Located at : www.flickr.com/photos/ian-arlett/19313315520/. License : CC BY: Attribution

Make informed decisions with the marketing research process

Reading time: about 7 min

Who is your target consumer? What does their buying journey look like? How should you price your new product or service?  

Today’s business markets are complex and rapidly evolving. So when answering questions like these, you can’t afford to guess. You need data. 

That’s where the marketing research process comes in. 

The marketing research process encompasses a number of activities focused on gathering product and consumer data to understand your target customers, validate new product ideas, iterate on existing products, and improve marketing and business decisions.  

If you want to understand your customer and set your products and marketing strategies up for success, you need marketing research. But where should you begin? And how can you ensure your efforts lead to actionable insights?

Below we’ll walk you through the 5 main marketing research steps. 

What is the marketing research process?

The marketing research process is a series of steps used to plan and conduct research on your target market. This process starts before the research ever begins, and it covers everything needed to make research effective, from planning to conducting to analyzing—all the way to finally presenting the results.

As much as we might want to believe our instincts are always right, that’s simply not the case. Research may back up your gut feeling, but it often reveals new, unexpected facts as well. The marketing research process helps you get all the information you need to make and justify a choice–and even gain a competitive edge.

Types of marketing research

There are multiple ways to conduct marketing research, depending on the question you’re trying to answer or the problem you’re trying to solve. Some marketing research process examples include: 

• Customer interviews
• Focus groups
• Competitive analysis
• Surveys or questionnaires
• Observation

Which method you should choose will depend on your objectives.

Benefits of doing market research

In 2018, less than 40% of marketers used consumer research to drive decisions. By 2021, 60% of marketers said they use customer data the majority of the time when making decisions. 

Why the jump? Marketers have realized the significant value of the marketing research process and are using it to improve their decision making across the business. 

Market research is powerful because it can help solve real problems. The marketing research process helps leaders answer questions and gain insight into their business, such as:  

• Why do customers buy certain products or behave a certain way
• What problems do customers have and what pain points the business can address
• What’s trending in the industry and what the competitive landscape looks like
• The level of demand for a type of product or service
• Customer perceptions or opinions on pricing
• Untapped opportunities for product development or marketing  

Bottom line? The marketing research process helps your bottom line. 

When you understand customer behavior and needs, the market landscape, and your own product performance, you can make better, strategic decisions that drive the business forward.

5 marketing research process steps

There are five basic steps to the marketing research process. The specific execution of these steps will vary based on your company’s specific needs and capabilities, but the outline below provides a good starting point.

1. Define the problem

In this initial step, determine why you need to conduct research in the first place. Once you’ve defined why you need research, decide what kind of information you need and how your team will use that information. This will make it easy to design an appropriate research plan in the next step.

For example, let’s say the business is seeing a drop in sales on one product. Your research question could be “Why are sales for product A dropping?” There could be a few reasons, such as loss of customer interest based on product performance or industry competition. Your marketing research can then be designed around investigating those possibilities.

Pro tip: Consult with decision-makers in your company. You’ll want to be sure that your marketing research adequately addresses their concerns and gives them the information they need to make a decision. Work with them to determine any specific metrics they’ll use to make their decision so you can tailor your research process to include their needs.

2. Develop a research plan

Next, begin outlining your research approach. Develop a hypothesis, and then determine how you will conduct research. There are many ways to gather data, including surveys and focus groups, so it’s important to choose a method that will give you the information you need from the people you care about.

• Your target audience
• The research tools you will use
• Who will be involved in the research process (e.g., customers, internal staff, or both?)
• How you will select research participants
• Your research timeline
• Project resources

If you’re conducting a survey, interviews, or focus group, consider how you will incentivize participants, what kinds of questions you will ask, and how to collect the responses.

3. Collect data

With a research plan in place, you can begin conducting your research. As you do so, ensure that everyone involved in collecting data has received training to do so effectively. You’ll want to supervise and evaluate their efforts throughout the research process to ensure you get quality data.

Make sure to collect and record data in a secure place, preferably using a standardized format, to ensure you have accurate, usable data.

4. Analyze data

As your research concludes, begin data analysis . This step includes editing, coding, or transcribing data as needed to make it readable and manipulatable. Data analysis can take many forms, but it often includes making graphs and tables to spot trends. Remember, your analysis should reveal whether your hypothesis established in step two was correct.

5. Prepare a report

The marketing research process concludes with a presentation of your research. Generally, this takes the form of a written report that includes the initial problem, an outline of the research, and recommendations for how to proceed. This step can also take the form of oral reports or presentations—anything that communicates your research clearly.

However you present this information, make your report clear and understandable for any individuals who weren’t directly involved in the research process. Give them all the information necessary for decision-making. At this point, your company can take action based on your findings, thus concluding the marketing research process.

Lucidchart and the marketing research process

One size does not fit all when it comes to the marketing research process. While the basic steps are applicable to most organizations, they will often be executed very differently. Your organization needs to personalize your process, and Lucidchart makes it easy to do so.

For example, the formality of the marketing research process varies from company to company. Smaller businesses might conduct casual research with a Google survey. A large company, however, might require carefully selected focus groups and formal questionnaires. With Lucidchart, you can customize your marketing research process to fit your organization’s needs.

Marketing research can play a key role in making the right decisions for your company. Developing your own marketing research process will help you achieve even better results from your data collection and analysis, in turn helping you make more informed choices.

Define your marketing research process today with Lucidchart.

Lucidchart, a cloud-based intelligent diagramming application, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This intuitive, cloud-based solution empowers teams to collaborate in real-time to build flowcharts, mockups, UML diagrams, customer journey maps, and more. Lucidchart propels teams forward to build the future faster. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidchart.com.

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Market Research Definition, Types, Tools and Benefits

Published on Jul 01, 2022

More than doubling in size from 2008 to 2021, the market research sector brought in over $76.4 (Statista) billion worldwide in 2021.  

What is Market Research?

Market research is the process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information about a market, about the product or service to be offered for sale in that market. It is also about the previous, current, and potential customers for the product or service. 

Data collection, analysis, and interpretation are the three main steps in any successful market research project. The data could pertain to a certain demographic, general consumers, rival businesses, or the entire market. This is the cornerstone of any thriving business. The findings can be used for anything from discovering a fresh opportunity to entering the market to developing an entirely new product or service. 

Small business owners can benefit greatly from conducting market research. It can eliminate uncertainty in the creative process and direct energy and funding toward the most promising ideas and initiatives. Many types of market research are conducted by businesses at many different stages. 

Market Research for Businesses  

Accurate and comprehensive data gives a plethora of information on potential and existing customers, competitors, and the industry as a whole, making it the bedrock of any successful commercial endeavor. It helps entrepreneurs weigh the odds of success before sinking a lot of money into a new firm. 

An essential aspect of every successful business plan is conducting market research to gather data that can be used to address potential marketing obstacles. In reality, it is not viable to develop tactics like market segmentation (identifying distinct groups within a market) and product differentiation (establishing a unique selling proposition for a product or service that distinguishes it from the competition) without conducting market research. 

Types of Market Research  

1. quantitative research .

The results of quantitative studies are typically presented using numerical and graphic representations. It's the gold standard for verifying or disproving hypotheses. It is possible to establish broad, overarching truths about a subject by conducting this kind of study. Experiments, numerically recorded observations, and surveys with a limited number of predetermined answer choices are all examples of common quantitative approaches. 

2. Qualitative research 

Words are the currency of qualitative inquiry. It's a tool for making sense of things like ideas and experiences. Using this method, you can learn more about a topic from every angle, which is very useful for researching controversial or poorly understood subjects. Open-ended interviews, written descriptions of observations, and in-depth analyses of the existing literature are all examples of common qualitative techniques. 

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research 

Quantitative research focuses on numerical and statistical facts, while qualitative research examines concepts and interpretations. Both are necessary to learn various things. Comparatively, qualitative research draws its conclusions from interviews and documents rather than statistics and reasoning. Quantitative studies typically report their findings numerically or graphically, while qualitative studies report their findings verbally. 

3. Primary Research 

Primary data refers to a study that seeks to collect firsthand information from real-world participants. Primary research is data collected by the researcher themselves through various techniques of approaching the target audience directly. You have full legal and ethical rights to the data set you to create. Primary research can be challenging due to the time, money, resources, and familiarity with the topic that it demands. 

4. Secondary Research 

Secondary research is a study that is done after primary research has already been conducted, and it consists of analyzing, interpreting, and summarizing the results of the primary research. A more precise definition of secondary research would be any study that makes use of publicly available data. When conducting secondary research, scholars refer to information that has already been gathered, processed, and made public (and therefore, you do not own this data). Since the accessible data has already been evaluated and interpreted, the researcher just needs to determine the data he wants to use, i.e., the data that is necessary for his project. 

Primary Research vs. Secondary Research

Research that involves the collection of new information, or "primary" research, is distinguished from secondary research by the fact that it is conducted for the first time on a particular topic. Instead, secondary research makes use of information that has previously been gathered through primary research. The fundamental dividing line between primary and secondary research is whether the research has been done before. 

5. Market Research 

Market research on branding can help a business develop, launch, and sustain its brand. This may involve the firm's ethos, branding, visuals, ideals, or very name. Interviews, focus groups, and surveys are all viable options for conducting research. 

6. Customer Research 

Market research on customers is learning what factors most strongly affect your demographic of interest and what adjustments may be made to better attract and retain them as paying customers. The objective of this study is to acquire an intimate understanding of your consumer base and their habits and preferences as they relate to your business. 

7. Competitor Research 

Conducting market research on your competitors entails learning about their businesses and assessing how they stack up against your own. Your competitive product in the market or how to break into a new market could also be a topic of discussion. The study's overarching goal is to help your company prepare for the future by identifying methods to set itself apart from competitors and by learning from customers' opinions and suggestions. 

8. Product Research 

Conducting market research on your items is essential to ensuring they will sell successfully once they hit the shelves. Finding out how people feel about your product and if they feel it's valuable and functioning properly is the goal of this study. The ability to think creatively about enhancements and new features is another benefit. 

Benefits of Market Research 

According to a survey, the market research business is expected to increase at a rate of 12-14% (The Economic Times) per year through FY26, at which point it would have surpassed the $4 billion mark. 

The following is a list of the most important reasons and benefits of marketing research: 

It's a great tool for boosting companies' standing. The ability to think critically and act on that thinking is the key to success. You can keep your business one step ahead of the competition by conducting market research to expand your knowledge of your market or target audience. 

Reduces the potential for loss on an investment. This is a basic point to think about, but it is often crucial to the success of a firm. When starting a firm, it makes sense to spend what amounts to a negligible amount on research and testing the market, product, concept, or idea. 

Possible dangers and benefits are highlighted. Insurance against these two glaring pitfalls lies in both primary research (fieldwork) and secondary research (desk research). Opportunities or red flags may be uncovered through the combination of this with qualitative research for further investigation. 

You can learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of your own business and of your competitors. To achieve entirely objective reporting, it is generally recommended to collaborate with a market research agency. Take advantage of what you've learned from study to improve in areas where you're weak and to gain an edge over the competition. 

Strategic preparation is helped by this. Where do you stand with the core principles of your company plan? If it's supported by data, and you've put in the time and effort to do your own (hopefully continuous) research, you can rest assured that you're giving yourself the best chance of success in your commercial endeavors. 

This aids in the identification of developing tendencies. Being the first, the best, or coming up with the idea that nobody else has is typically what it takes to stay ahead in business. Taking the pulse of your industry on a regular basis is an important habit. You can learn more about the tools available to you to identify and capitalize on these trends by consulting with a research firm or expert. 

Helpful for firms in keeping up with the competition. Being the best calls for an insatiable need for knowledge and a propensity to experiment. The key to success, and the ability to maintain that success, is knowing how to effectively apply the information gleaned from market research, audience research, and data research. 

It includes forecasts for future income. One of the most important parts of any market study is a forecast, which looks into the future and predicts the size, makeup, and trends of the market you're interested in. This allows for the categorization of prospective clients. You should prioritize the market that is the best fit for your business rather than the largest or fastest-growing. 

It's geared toward meeting the wants and desires of its patrons. Many things in business, including research, benefit from keeping clients front and center. By reaching out to individuals through online panels, web forums, telephone surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus groups, market researchers can learn where their business's ideas, services, and products can be strengthened. 

Using this method, one can measure the progress of one's company against predetermined standards. Utilize data gathered from the market to study the competition, gauge employee enthusiasm, identify knowledge or skill shortages, and identify development opportunities. This will allow you to consider novel approaches, ideas, and resources for boosting your company's efficiency. 

Market Research Tools 

In order to better understand your market and target audience, you need to use market research techniques. It's fundamental to every company's success, and in today's more crowded marketplace, a thorough familiarity with your target market is more important than ever. Good news: you don't have to be an "insights genius" to get started collecting the data you need, owing to the proliferation of market research tools. Some of the best and most widely used methods of market research include: 

• Answer the Public 
• Attest 
• Google Trends 
• Social Mention 
• Remesh 
• Heartbeat Ai 
• Think With Google 
• Spyfu 
• Latana 
• BuzzSumo 
• Statista 
• Typeform 
• Otter.ai 
• Dimensions.ai 

How to Conduct Research for Your Business: Market Research Strategies 

Despite their different objectives, market research and marketing research should use the same framework for gathering and analyzing information about your company's target audiences. These help in primary research as well as secondary research.  

Clearly identify the problem at stake. Establish an initial research topic. Having a clear research question in mind will allow you to better organize your findings. 

Start by figuring out your financial and time constraints. How much money do you have to put into your study? When do you anticipate finishing data collection? Research, like any other tactic for expanding your company, should be carried out within your means. Nonetheless, it may be worthwhile to spend more money to receive the most comprehensive results available, especially if the questions you are answering are time-sensitive. 

Planning your approach and requirements. Find out what information needs to be gathered and figure out how to get it. Observation, surveys, phone calls, and focus groups are among the alternatives. Consult a professional research agency if you are unsure of how to organize your data collection. 

Pick a way to sample the data. I need to know how you plan on picking people to take part in your study. You may require a cross-section of the consumer population at large, a subset of the population who share a particular characteristic of their way of life, or just the opinions of those who are already familiar with your brand. Develop a plan for tracking down and contacting the persons who will take part in your research. 

Prepare a data analysis strategy. Think about the methods you'll use to examine the data. Do you require numbers for statistical analysis, or can you get a sense of things from qualitative, observable data? Spend some time learning about the many types of analysis so you can pick the one that will yield the most useful results for your study. 

Gathering information. The next step is data collection, which may begin once you have settled on a research question and developed a strategy for answering it within the bounds of your time and money. Research is often outsourced to professional firms or consultants by many corporations. 

Examining the information. It is important to apply certain methods of analysis to make sense of your data, no matter how simple it may appear at first. Which analytical techniques you employ are most suited to your data is a function of the information you've gathered. Also, this is the time to double-check for any mistakes that might have crept into your data gathering, analysis, or sampling. 

Make the report you need. Concluding your research with a written report is the next to last stage. From formulating a problem statement to discussing the findings of your data study, your report should include it all. 

Why is Market Research Important?

Over 44,000 businesses across the United States provide some form of market research. Their total annual income is around $23 billion (QuestionPro).  

The importance of Market Research is the following -  

1. Identifies new products or services

By conducting market research, a business can learn what consumers want and how to best meet their demands. Identifying the major challenges associated with creating a product or service can help you save money. It's useful for figuring out what customers value most and how to implement that into your product or service offering. 

2. Identifies potential customers

You may learn more about your clientele by analyzing demographic information like their gender, age, income, occupation, and interests. You'll have a better idea of who to target with your future advertising efforts if you have a clear picture of your current clientele. When a product is marketed to the wrong demographic, sales suffer. 

3. Establishes viability of a product or service

If your organization is considering introducing a novel product or service to consumers, you should find out if there is a need for it. Do people need this product? Do the people you plan to sell to actually want this product? Does it have any chance of succeeding, and does it even have a chance of being a viable trend? 

4. Anticipates and discovers future market trends 

If you are familiar with your market and the tendencies that are just beginning to emerge, you will be better prepared to build tactics to combat any negative tendencies that may threaten your company. As a result, you can use rising tendencies to your advantage and propel your company forward. 

5. Keeps your company ahead of competitors

Examining your company's performance in relation to that of its rivals is a prime use for comparative research. If they're much ahead of you, it's a fantastic chance to figure out what you're doing wrong. It is possible to devise business plans that will help you surpass the competition. 

6. Decide the best marketing strategy

Conducting research is helpful for pinpointing the optimal distribution platform for reaching your target audience. If you find out that a large portion of your audience prefers one form of communication over another, it makes sense to concentrate your efforts there. Because of the scarcity of these resources, it only makes sense to direct them toward endeavors with a high probability of success. 

7. Reduces risk and increases profitability

The ability to assess the value of potential risks in light of past performance and anticipated future market behavior is a crucial business skill. The success or failure of a business idea depends heavily on the results of market research. Understanding your consumers and their habits is another crucial step in risk reduction. Taking less risk leads to greater financial rewards. 

8. Identifies threats and opportunities

The SWOT analysis is likely familiar to many of you. The acronym SWOT refers to a company's "strengths," "weaknesses," and "All four of them can be figured out with the use of market research . While a lot of data can be collected through market research, not all of it needs to be used. Use only information that is directly related to your major objective (which you will have established in advance). 

9. Helps to understand existing customers

By conducting market research, you can learn more about your current clientele. Because of this complexity, you can't assume that you know what your clients require. If you want to be successful, you need to take the temperature of your clientele on a frequent basis. Satisfaction levels among customers can also be measured with the help of surveys. You can find out what is bothering them and make adjustments if necessary. If they are already rather high, you can examine the factors that led to this success and implement changes to maintain it. 

10. Assists in realistic goal setting

Goals that are more realistic can be established with the support of up-to-the-minute information on your market and customer base. Knowing what to expect and how to realistically expand growth over time is greatly aided by establishing a growth pattern throughout time. Setting objectives that are too lofty will cause you to waste time and energy trying to achieve something that is impossible. 

How Efficient is Market Research? 

You should only invest time, energy, and money into market research if you expect to see a favorable return on that investment. Because it is so worthwhile, market research continues to play a significant role in the success of any organization. Market research won't ensure your company's success on its own, but it will arm you with the data you need to make the moves that will. 

Many of the advantages of this type of study were examined, but the drawbacks were also taken into account. If you don't conduct market research, you run the danger of losing clients to the competition, missing out on growth prospects, being more susceptible to hazards, making bad business decisions, and more. Some companies succeed without first doing their homework, but those situations are unusual. To build your firm and avoid typical errors, conduct market research. 

Market Research Methods  

Although there are a variety of approaches to conducting market research, the majority of companies opt to utilize one of the following five fundamental approaches: surveys, focus groups, personal interviews, observation, and field trials. Which strategies you decide to implement for your company will depend on the kinds of data you require as well as the amount of money you are ready to pay. Some of the major methods of market research are following - 

1. Surveys 

Surveys ask participants questions. They can use numerous survey methods. Surveys are a cost-effective technique to collect data for the study. Written surveys may encourage truthful responses since participants feel like they're speaking privately. 

2. Discussions 

Focus groups are moderated discussions. Companies assemble consumers to conduct focus groups, pose questions, and record replies. Participants' replies may reveal what consumers want in a firm or a product because they represent a broad group. Focus groups offer longer participant interaction than surveys. 

3. Interviews 

An interview combines focus group and one-on-one survey aspects. It includes recording one participant's comments at a time. Open-ended questions elicit in-depth answers from the interviewee. Researchers can ask follow-up questions and let interviewees ask their own. 

4. Social media listening 

Social media users routinely discuss corporations and their products. Researchers can search for discussion topics and measure consumer sentiment through social media listening. 

5. Observations 

Observation in market research means studying how consumers shop. Filming shoppers in a store and studying their shopping habits is common. This strategy can reveal their natural selves if they are ignorant of the observation. 

6. Experiments 

In a field trial, a corporation lets participants use a product under typical conditions and collects data. Participants' feedback was used to improve the product. 

7. Competitive analysis 

Competitive analysis is a secondary market research process where companies acquire and analyze competition information. It entails identifying primary and secondary rivals and analyzing their offerings, revenues, and marketing methods. 

8. Statistics 

Public data entails seeking and evaluating public market data. This research is often free online or in libraries. Research centers, polls, or government databases may provide this information. Public data is often used to confirm or compare primary market research. 

9. Purchased data 

Companies without the time or resources to perform their own market research can buy it. Several market research companies sell database subscriptions. Small and medium-sized businesses that can't afford primary market research may benefit from this approach. 

10. Analysis of sales data 

Competition analysis is just one way that may be used in tandem with sales data analysis to show how different business tactics affect revenue. It can also reveal consumers' buying behavior and consumer trends. 

Functions of Marketing Research  

The following are the main functions of Marketing Research - 

Description: Marketing research details customers. Age, sex, education, income, etc., are listed. It describes the market and competitors. This description helps marketing decision-makers and problem-solvers. 

Evaluation: Marketing research evaluates firm performance. It evaluates production and marketing policies. It measures customer reactions to product quality, price, packaging, advertising, sales, and promotions. If consumers dislike the company's policies, they must alter them. It contrasts company and rival policies. 

Explanation: Marketing research answers all marketing questions. It explains why sales are declining, why retailers are unhappy, etc. It explains the problem's causes. It gives a solution. 

Prediction: Marketing research forecasts. Predictions are future forecasts. It predicts sales, market prospects, dangers, marketing environment, customer behavior, etc. All predictions may be wrong. Predictions help the organization create plans and policies. It helps seize possibilities. It prevents future hazards. 

Decision Making: Marketing research aids decision-makers. It gives decision-making data. Decision-making involves choosing between options. Decision-making requires accurate data. MR helps the marketer decide. It gives decision-making data. It offers alternatives. It compares each option's pros and cons. It helps marketing managers choose the right action. 

Conclusion 

The world's markets are changing at a dizzying rate, making it more important than ever for companies to adapt quickly enough to be competitive. One method is to conduct market research. The results of your market research and analysis will provide you with a thorough understanding of your target audience's wants and needs, as well as your competitors' strengths and weaknesses. 

The key to making your business successful in the face of intense competition is identifying and fixing your deficiencies. The right market research tools will aid you in doing just that! The time to begin expanding your company is now.  

With a presence in New York, San Francisco, Austin, Seattle, Toronto, London, Zurich, Pune, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, SG Analytics, a pioneer in Research and Analytics, offers tailor-made services to enterprises worldwide.    

A leader in  Market research services , SG Analytics enables organizations to achieve actionable insights into products, technology, customers, competition, and the marketplace to make insight-driven decisions.  Contact us  today if you are an enterprise looking to make critical data-driven decisions to prompt accelerated growth and breakthrough performance.

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Practical Marketing Research

10. how to present the findings.

(Textbook page 389)

This textbook unit discusses basic communications principles and approaches to report writing, presentations and workshops to ensure research findings are accessible, useable and shareable within the client organization.  

Deliverables can include: 

• the full set of research instruments (questionnaires, sampling and tab plans)
• field disposition reports (number of interviews completed and incidence and qualification rates)
• a topline report (an early and succinct view into the data focused only on key objectives)
• the final deliverable (could include raw data, data cross-tabulations, a written report and a personal presentation and/or workshop)

Structure of a Formal Research Report (P.391)

Deliverables should be in formats that can be used and circulated within the client organization with minimal changes – sometimes a delicate balance between the client’s style sheet and the supplier’s own branding.  Most reports should include:

• Title or Cover Page – provides the study name, names of the research house and client, and the date.  The “look” sets the tone and should carry through the whole report.
• Executive Summary – contains a brief summary of objectives, methodology and key findings in one or two slides with bullet points or more visual representations.  It is read first, intensely and by senior people who may not read the rest of the report.  
• Background – outlines why the client commissioned the study; the marketing problem. 
• Objectives – lists the key research objectives as written in the proposal the client had accepted.
• Methodology – describes the research process, target population, sampling and field methodology, data cleaning and analytics methods, all to confirm the validity of the project.  
• While results are traditionally presented with a headline, question asked, a table or graph of numerical frequencies and a sidebar with interpretation, more innovative and visual approaches are emerging.
• It is good practice to organize the report around the objectives so readers can easily find the answers to their business questions. 
• The guiding principle should be to keep the reader’s interest with succinct and direct writing and well-designed tables, charts, graphics and infographics
• Recommendations – are where the researcher becomes a trusted advisor, recommending a course of action for the business. 
• Appendix – contains additional methodological information and the questionnaire, results that have no bearing on the storyline and alternative views of the data 
• Contact information and project number – should be included to help find the right researcher later when questions arise or the study is to be replicated.

Basic Principles of Communication (P.397)

• Write with your audience in mind – including your clients’ internal clients
• Make your report readable and usable, remembering that in a presentation format (e.g. PowerPoint) each page is treated as a single and complete unit.  
• Use fewer words
• Don’t be afraid of white space
• Select a non-intrusive, light background and dark text
• Use clipart and images intelligently
• Use an easy-to-read font
• Use colours judiciously
• Don’t overdo emphasis
• Don’t overuse charts and graphs
• Simplify charts
• Make your headings tell a story
• Keep sidebars focused on insights

Reproducible Research (P.415)

•     R Markdown and Jupyter Notebooks are Graphical User Interfaces that let you produce full text-based or slide-base reports based on interim data, and then automatically read and update the report when final data is available. 

Live Presentations: Principles (P.417)

• Written reports are linear, explaining the content because no one is there to explain it.  Fonts are smaller, and ideas are developed regardless of the space they occupy. 
• In a presentation, the focus is on the presenter who explains the argument while the slides reinforce and illustrate, add proof and visual interest and are markers (what topic are we on?). 
• Create a storyboard to think through the best way to tell the story
• Keep your presentations short by communicating only the critical findings. Think carefully about how many slides you can show in the allotted time.
• Know your audience and what they expect
• Use fonts that make it easy to read from the back of the room or on smartphone screens
• Be economical with words
• Simplify graphs
• Make your charts as lean as possible
• Keep gimmicks to a minimum
• Be mentally prepared by knowing your material and rehearsing 
• Work on your physical presence and speaking style (see textbook tips)

How to Integrate the Findings: The Workshop (P.427)

To ensure the report doesn’t disappear into the archives, set up a workshop with exercises that help stakeholders apply the findings to the decisions they will have to make.  This section of the textbook unit offers tips to help a researcher organize and facilitate a workshop, an added step that elevates the research function and brings it into strategic discussions. 

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Home » Research Findings – Types Examples and Writing Guide

Research Findings – Types Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Research Findings

Definition:

Research findings refer to the results obtained from a study or investigation conducted through a systematic and scientific approach. These findings are the outcomes of the data analysis, interpretation, and evaluation carried out during the research process.

Types of Research Findings

There are two main types of research findings:

Qualitative Findings

Qualitative research is an exploratory research method used to understand the complexities of human behavior and experiences. Qualitative findings are non-numerical and descriptive data that describe the meaning and interpretation of the data collected. Examples of qualitative findings include quotes from participants, themes that emerge from the data, and descriptions of experiences and phenomena.

Quantitative Findings

Quantitative research is a research method that uses numerical data and statistical analysis to measure and quantify a phenomenon or behavior. Quantitative findings include numerical data such as mean, median, and mode, as well as statistical analyses such as t-tests, ANOVA, and regression analysis. These findings are often presented in tables, graphs, or charts.

Both qualitative and quantitative findings are important in research and can provide different insights into a research question or problem. Combining both types of findings can provide a more comprehensive understanding of a phenomenon and improve the validity and reliability of research results.

Parts of Research Findings

Research findings typically consist of several parts, including:

• Introduction: This section provides an overview of the research topic and the purpose of the study.
• Literature Review: This section summarizes previous research studies and findings that are relevant to the current study.
• Methodology : This section describes the research design, methods, and procedures used in the study, including details on the sample, data collection, and data analysis.
• Results : This section presents the findings of the study, including statistical analyses and data visualizations.
• Discussion : This section interprets the results and explains what they mean in relation to the research question(s) and hypotheses. It may also compare and contrast the current findings with previous research studies and explore any implications or limitations of the study.
• Conclusion : This section provides a summary of the key findings and the main conclusions of the study.
• Recommendations: This section suggests areas for further research and potential applications or implications of the study’s findings.

How to Write Research Findings

Writing research findings requires careful planning and attention to detail. Here are some general steps to follow when writing research findings:

• Organize your findings: Before you begin writing, it’s essential to organize your findings logically. Consider creating an outline or a flowchart that outlines the main points you want to make and how they relate to one another.
• Use clear and concise language : When presenting your findings, be sure to use clear and concise language that is easy to understand. Avoid using jargon or technical terms unless they are necessary to convey your meaning.
• Use visual aids : Visual aids such as tables, charts, and graphs can be helpful in presenting your findings. Be sure to label and title your visual aids clearly, and make sure they are easy to read.
• Use headings and subheadings: Using headings and subheadings can help organize your findings and make them easier to read. Make sure your headings and subheadings are clear and descriptive.
• Interpret your findings : When presenting your findings, it’s important to provide some interpretation of what the results mean. This can include discussing how your findings relate to the existing literature, identifying any limitations of your study, and suggesting areas for future research.
• Be precise and accurate : When presenting your findings, be sure to use precise and accurate language. Avoid making generalizations or overstatements and be careful not to misrepresent your data.
• Edit and revise: Once you have written your research findings, be sure to edit and revise them carefully. Check for grammar and spelling errors, make sure your formatting is consistent, and ensure that your writing is clear and concise.

Research Findings Example

Following is a Research Findings Example sample for students:

Title: The Effects of Exercise on Mental Health

Sample : 500 participants, both men and women, between the ages of 18-45.

Methodology : Participants were divided into two groups. The first group engaged in 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five times a week for eight weeks. The second group did not exercise during the study period. Participants in both groups completed a questionnaire that assessed their mental health before and after the study period.

Findings : The group that engaged in regular exercise reported a significant improvement in mental health compared to the control group. Specifically, they reported lower levels of anxiety and depression, improved mood, and increased self-esteem.

Conclusion : Regular exercise can have a positive impact on mental health and may be an effective intervention for individuals experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Applications of Research Findings

Research findings can be applied in various fields to improve processes, products, services, and outcomes. Here are some examples:

• Healthcare : Research findings in medicine and healthcare can be applied to improve patient outcomes, reduce morbidity and mortality rates, and develop new treatments for various diseases.
• Education : Research findings in education can be used to develop effective teaching methods, improve learning outcomes, and design new educational programs.
• Technology : Research findings in technology can be applied to develop new products, improve existing products, and enhance user experiences.
• Business : Research findings in business can be applied to develop new strategies, improve operations, and increase profitability.
• Public Policy: Research findings can be used to inform public policy decisions on issues such as environmental protection, social welfare, and economic development.
• Social Sciences: Research findings in social sciences can be used to improve understanding of human behavior and social phenomena, inform public policy decisions, and develop interventions to address social issues.
• Agriculture: Research findings in agriculture can be applied to improve crop yields, develop new farming techniques, and enhance food security.
• Sports : Research findings in sports can be applied to improve athlete performance, reduce injuries, and develop new training programs.

When to use Research Findings

Research findings can be used in a variety of situations, depending on the context and the purpose. Here are some examples of when research findings may be useful:

• Decision-making : Research findings can be used to inform decisions in various fields, such as business, education, healthcare, and public policy. For example, a business may use market research findings to make decisions about new product development or marketing strategies.
• Problem-solving : Research findings can be used to solve problems or challenges in various fields, such as healthcare, engineering, and social sciences. For example, medical researchers may use findings from clinical trials to develop new treatments for diseases.
• Policy development : Research findings can be used to inform the development of policies in various fields, such as environmental protection, social welfare, and economic development. For example, policymakers may use research findings to develop policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Program evaluation: Research findings can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of programs or interventions in various fields, such as education, healthcare, and social services. For example, educational researchers may use findings from evaluations of educational programs to improve teaching and learning outcomes.
• Innovation: Research findings can be used to inspire or guide innovation in various fields, such as technology and engineering. For example, engineers may use research findings on materials science to develop new and innovative products.

Purpose of Research Findings

The purpose of research findings is to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of a particular topic or issue. Research findings are the result of a systematic and rigorous investigation of a research question or hypothesis, using appropriate research methods and techniques.

The main purposes of research findings are:

• To generate new knowledge : Research findings contribute to the body of knowledge on a particular topic, by adding new information, insights, and understanding to the existing knowledge base.
• To test hypotheses or theories : Research findings can be used to test hypotheses or theories that have been proposed in a particular field or discipline. This helps to determine the validity and reliability of the hypotheses or theories, and to refine or develop new ones.
• To inform practice: Research findings can be used to inform practice in various fields, such as healthcare, education, and business. By identifying best practices and evidence-based interventions, research findings can help practitioners to make informed decisions and improve outcomes.
• To identify gaps in knowledge: Research findings can help to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding of a particular topic, which can then be addressed by further research.
• To contribute to policy development: Research findings can be used to inform policy development in various fields, such as environmental protection, social welfare, and economic development. By providing evidence-based recommendations, research findings can help policymakers to develop effective policies that address societal challenges.

Characteristics of Research Findings

Research findings have several key characteristics that distinguish them from other types of information or knowledge. Here are some of the main characteristics of research findings:

• Objective : Research findings are based on a systematic and rigorous investigation of a research question or hypothesis, using appropriate research methods and techniques. As such, they are generally considered to be more objective and reliable than other types of information.
• Empirical : Research findings are based on empirical evidence, which means that they are derived from observations or measurements of the real world. This gives them a high degree of credibility and validity.
• Generalizable : Research findings are often intended to be generalizable to a larger population or context beyond the specific study. This means that the findings can be applied to other situations or populations with similar characteristics.
• Transparent : Research findings are typically reported in a transparent manner, with a clear description of the research methods and data analysis techniques used. This allows others to assess the credibility and reliability of the findings.
• Peer-reviewed: Research findings are often subject to a rigorous peer-review process, in which experts in the field review the research methods, data analysis, and conclusions of the study. This helps to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.
• Reproducible : Research findings are often designed to be reproducible, meaning that other researchers can replicate the study using the same methods and obtain similar results. This helps to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.

Advantages of Research Findings

Research findings have many advantages, which make them valuable sources of knowledge and information. Here are some of the main advantages of research findings:

• Evidence-based: Research findings are based on empirical evidence, which means that they are grounded in data and observations from the real world. This makes them a reliable and credible source of information.
• Inform decision-making: Research findings can be used to inform decision-making in various fields, such as healthcare, education, and business. By identifying best practices and evidence-based interventions, research findings can help practitioners and policymakers to make informed decisions and improve outcomes.
• Identify gaps in knowledge: Research findings can help to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding of a particular topic, which can then be addressed by further research. This contributes to the ongoing development of knowledge in various fields.
• Improve outcomes : Research findings can be used to develop and implement evidence-based practices and interventions, which have been shown to improve outcomes in various fields, such as healthcare, education, and social services.
• Foster innovation: Research findings can inspire or guide innovation in various fields, such as technology and engineering. By providing new information and understanding of a particular topic, research findings can stimulate new ideas and approaches to problem-solving.
• Enhance credibility: Research findings are generally considered to be more credible and reliable than other types of information, as they are based on rigorous research methods and are subject to peer-review processes.

Limitations of Research Findings

While research findings have many advantages, they also have some limitations. Here are some of the main limitations of research findings:

• Limited scope: Research findings are typically based on a particular study or set of studies, which may have a limited scope or focus. This means that they may not be applicable to other contexts or populations.
• Potential for bias : Research findings can be influenced by various sources of bias, such as researcher bias, selection bias, or measurement bias. This can affect the validity and reliability of the findings.
• Ethical considerations: Research findings can raise ethical considerations, particularly in studies involving human subjects. Researchers must ensure that their studies are conducted in an ethical and responsible manner, with appropriate measures to protect the welfare and privacy of participants.
• Time and resource constraints : Research studies can be time-consuming and require significant resources, which can limit the number and scope of studies that are conducted. This can lead to gaps in knowledge or a lack of research on certain topics.
• Complexity: Some research findings can be complex and difficult to interpret, particularly in fields such as science or medicine. This can make it challenging for practitioners and policymakers to apply the findings to their work.
• Lack of generalizability : While research findings are intended to be generalizable to larger populations or contexts, there may be factors that limit their generalizability. For example, cultural or environmental factors may influence how a particular intervention or treatment works in different populations or contexts.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Marketing research process guide

The Kodak camera should tell you all you need to know about the critical importance of doing effective market research.

For decades, Kodak was synonymous with photography, dominating the market. Just about everyone had a Kodak camera or used Kodak film. Yet Kodak made an all-but-fatal mistake of not keeping up with market trends and fast-evolving consumer preferences. In doing so, Kodak completely missed the move to digital photography. Today, photography has evolved into the digital age—namely, transforming smartphones into high-quality cameras.

Doing market research but not sure where to start?

Get a better understanding of survey design, sampling, and analysis from survey experts.

Market research surveys help you identify, understand, and ultimately engage with your target customers. It also provides vital insight into the broader market landscape, your competitors, and trends affecting your industry and consumers.

Yet the process can be intimidating. Where do you start? What is the quickest and most effective path to success? How can you be sure that your research will be accurate and generate actionable insights?

Success can be found by gaining a greater understanding of marketing research and then following an effective marketing research process to achieve your goals.

What is marketing research?

Marketing research encompasses a range of activities aimed at gathering information and data to help your company better understand its target market. Once you capture market research data, you can then leverage it  to introduce or upgrade products, improve the customer experience, craft a sharper marketing position, or help guide business decisions.  

Need help identifying your target market ? We’re here to help. 

The marketing research process focuses on collecting insights from your target audience, such as their opinions and attitudes that would help you evaluate current products, services, or test concepts aimed at improving them. It can also gauge customer perceptions about your company. This is best known as brand tracking . 

Benefits of marketing research

Good marketing research has myriad benefits. At its core, marketing research replaces assumptions and go-with-your gut decision-making with data-driven insights to inform smarter strategy and tactics.

The overarching benefit of marketing research is to gain a deep understanding of your customers or prospects so you can take actions that will resonate with them to build greater customer loyalty, increase engagement and ultimately, grow your business. 

Data captured from surveys, interviews and other methods reveal customer behaviors that indicate why they buy particular products or take certain actions. Typically, most products are designed to solve a customer’s problem. The marketing research process gets to the root of those problems, paving the way to develop new products, services and support that connect with customers and help solve their challenges.

Try this additional resource: How to identify and reach your target market with surveys

A common focus of marketing research is concept testing: the process of determining if a new product will be a hit with customers. 

Based on analysis of the data and information captured, your company can develop and execute on a plan to more effectively launch a new product or service, or refine their branding and marketing position.

Examples of the marketing research process

Dove Soap early 2000s “Campaign for real beauty” offers a gorgeous example of effective marketing research delivering game-changing results. Relying on their internal research and insights from a global study "The real truth about beauty report," that found only 2% of respondents claimed to be beautiful.

The subsequent campaign aimed to redefine beauty, moving away from using professional models in their marketing to show women that they are naturally beautiful. The thinking was that if customers could see themselves in Dove's advertising, they would feel a deeper affinity for the company and its products.

The campaign was not only a huge win for Dove, but also a catalyst for marketing with “real people” for a wide range of consumer products and services.

Of course, there is a bottom line benefit to marketing research as well. Marketing research saves time and money on wasted efforts by quantifying what customers want, how much they like the product, and if they intend to use it. And, if done right, it can help drive increased sales and profitability.

  Learn how to test products, packaging, messaging, concepts, and more. Market Research Solutions makes it easy. 

The marketing research process

The marketing research process follows a series of sequential steps that allow you to focus your efforts on understanding and addressing customer challenges. 

Market research is only as good as the information it collects. That’s why it’s critical to follow a step-by-step process that all leads to gathering quality data that is accurate and actionable. The following six steps offer the roadmap to success:

1.   Define the problem. Focus on the core customer challenge to solve.

2.   Develop your research plan. Create a roadmap that includes i dentifying your target audience , as well as determining what research tools to use, and the timeline and resources for the project.

3.   Gather your information . Whether you use surveys, interviews or other methods, you will gather and organize your data. You can rely on qualitative and/or quantitative data to help you get started.

4.   Analyze your data. Review the data for meaningful insights and home in on key points that will help inform your marketing campaigns and strategies.

5.   Develop a strategy. Determine how your business can shape your future products and services with the marketing research you’ve just done.

6.   Take action. Plan those next steps, which may include new product development, further concept testing, a new product launch, or fresh marketing campaign.

Savvy shortcut: SurveyMonkey’s market research resources offer a one-stop shop for key information, tools, and resources to expedite your market research efforts.  

Step 1:  Define the problem

When it comes to executing an effective marketing research process it’s wise to begin with the end in mind. In short, what do you aim to accomplish through your research? Clearly understanding the outcome you're aiming for will help you identify and frame the specific customer problems you want to study and solve. Ultimately, you want to take a deep dive into the challenges and desires of your target customers so you can design products and position services that fully meet their needs and craft supporting messaging that resonates deeply with them.  

If you frame your problem too broadly, you will get vague answers. Too narrow and you may not understand enough. Determine the scope of what you want to study and what conclusions you hope to arrive at.

Think about what decisions will be made based on your research. Are you testing a concept that will affect the packaging of your product? Are you gathering information for a new product that will fill a market gap? Ask good questions and they will help to clarify your outcome.

Brainstorming is a valuable way to arrive at your research problem. Your team can create lots of potential research questions and narrow them down to which ones best address your study.

Deeper dive: SurveyMonkey’s market research survey templates offer a shortcut to developing effective surveys to get the information you need to make better decisions about your products and services

Step 2:  Develop your research plan

The next step is to develop a plan of action that will drive toward the outcomes you are seeking and provide a roadmap to keep you on track.

The initial phase of this planning focuses on choosing your data sources – where you will get the information and insights you are looking for. At the core of this effort is effectively identifying your target audience. This is essential because you want to be sure that the feedback and data you gather comes from the people who are most relevant to what you are researching. SurveyMonkey can make sure you survey who you want when you want to with powerful and easy-to-use audience targeting tools .

If you conduct primary research, you will gather quantitative and qualitative data about your target audience. This approach includes:

• Surveys that produce quick results directly from your target audience. SurveyMonkey offers a wide range of market research surveys that can be tailored to meet your specific needs.
• Interviews with customers and prospects will provide deep insights, but take longer to conduct. You may use one-on-one interviews or a focus group to collect direct feedback. You will need to design an appropriate questionnaire.

You may also want to conduct secondary research that collects data from existing sources. This research is valuable and keeps you from spending extra time and money on information that is readily available.

Next, select your marketing research methods . Depending on your research problem, you’ll need to conduct different research methods. Here are several to consider:

• Observation : Will you be collecting data by observing your target audience’s behavior? Will you conduct interviews to capture data or use focus groups?  Will it be in an uncontrolled environment like a store or a controlled environment like a lab or conference room?
• Survey : Does it make sense to conduct a survey, or series of surveys, to capture audience feedback?
• Time : Will you collect data at one point in time, or a longitudinal study that takes place over a longer time period?
• Behavior or experimental: Will you be observing actual consumer behaviors or setting up an experiment to see how they react to a new product or idea?
• Sampling : How large does your sample size need to be to be relevant to your study?
• Contact methods:  How will you contact research participants? In their homes, and office, or virtual interviews?

Going global? SurveyMonkey can help you quickly identify survey participants from your target audience in up to 130 countries around the globe .  

Step 3: Collect your information

Now it is time to execute your research plan. A logical place to start is often  with secondary research to find out what existing data is available from reputable sources that directly relate to your research question. The benefits of this are two-fold. Through the process of reviewing secondary research you gain a deeper understanding of what you are studying. Additionally, you help ensure that you are not duplicating research so you can focus your primary research on capturing fresh insights and data.

Unless your topic is brand new and there is no existing data, previous in-house or industry research, academic journals, and experts in your field may provide valuable information that contributes to your research.

Your primary research will then begin as you survey, interview, and observe your research participants. Depending on your research plan, you will have a combination of qualitative and quantitative data to analyze to substantiate your research question. 

It is important to be vigilant about any potential researcher biases that may exist. If you and your team have preconceived notions about how research participants will react to your questions, you will have to put them aside to ensure your data is collected according to your research plan.

Step 4: Analyze your data

After your primary and secondary data is collected, you're now ready to shift to the most meaningful phase of the process—analysis. Typically, researchers use several statistical methods to analyze their data, including advanced decision models and predictive analytics. Averages, statistical regression, spreadsheets and charts may all be part of your analysis.

Setting aside assumptions about what you think the data means allows for data-driven patterns and trends to emerge that should lead to actionable insights.  Depending on the research tools you use, analytics and reporting, like those included in online surveys, will supply ready-to-use information.

Your goal is to discover what your data says about your target audience’s behavior patterns, attitudes and preferences. You may find that your data proves or disproves your original research question. It’s important to remain open to both outcomes. Never fall victim to the temptation to alter the data to prove you are right. Not only is that unethical, it could lead to actions that actually run counter to your company’s goal, leading to disappointing, even disastrous, results.

Your data should be tabulated and ready for the next phase where you present your findings to your company or research sponsor for their review.

Step 5: Develop a strategy

Depending on who paid for or sponsored the study, you will have to create a formal research report that outlines your initial question, target audience, research methods, data collection methods, audience demographics, and finally your conclusion. You will want to clearly state if you proved or disproved your research question and outline your conclusions.

Your study conclusions may outline opportunities (or challenges) for your company or research sponsor. For instance, does your audience like the new packaging you tested and will they pay the proposed price you asked them in your survey? Can the company move to the next stage of product development, or did you research uncover different features that are more important to customers?

You may present your findings to company leadership, or small groups of relevant colleagues throughout your organization. Beyond reporting results, effective presentations often include actionable recommendations based on your findings. 

Step 6: Take action

Your research findings should serve as a guide to specific actions your company can take to improve business results or deepen customer relationships. If your concept testing was successful, it may be time to move to the product development phase. If your updated branding and logo received negative reviews, it’s time to go back to the drawing board or make some major tweaks. If your marketing messaging struck a powerful chord with your target audience, it likely makes sense to find ways to infuse that message into marketing materials and other content.

There are numerous other ways to use your research. Updating buyer personas, or developing new marketing strategies and advertising campaigns might be the next phase. Your research is a valuable first step in helping companies spend their resources on products and services that increase their revenue.

Types of marketing research

Your research plan will include one or more types of marketing research. The intention of each of these marketing research types is to identify, collect, analyze, and present specific solutions that your target audience perceives as a problem.

There are four types of marketing research that are designed to help you collect data that is appropriate for your audience.

Exploratory research

Have a fresh idea that no one has researched before? That’s the goal of exploratory research -- to collect information about a problem and insights about how to solve the problem. As a researcher, you will use secondary data that currently exists to provide insights about your goal.

You’ll need to remain open to what you discover. The data you collect may indicate new ways to restructure your research problem or look at it from a different perspective. As you clarify your concept, collect insights, structure potential problem statements, and discard impractical ideas, you’ll eventually arrive at a research problem that you can investigate. The goal is to collect more information about a topic, not pose or substantiate a solution.

Descriptive research

Descriptive research tests the research question to discover if it is accurate or inaccurate. This method measures how often and to what extent variables in the study are correlated.

This approach works if you are asking who would buy the product being tested, how the products are used, and who are the competitors. You can collect data through observations, surveys, or interviews. 

Because the researcher records the data, bias can occur.  As opposed to a survey that is directly filled out by the respondent, the data can be skewed if the researcher records a response that they personally prefer. 

Causal research

Causal research looks at the cause-and-effect relationship between variables. If one variable changes, the researcher can record the impact on another variable. Causal research can answer “what if” questions that include price changes, packaging changes, adding or removing product changes and more.

This approach is repeatable and can be replicated outside of a single research study. A potential downside to this approach is perceiving that  cause-and-effect occurred, when in reality it was mere coincidences. In addition, if the two variables are closely linked, it can be hard to determine which variables contribute to the cause or effect.

Predictive research

As the name implies, researchers are looking for what will happen in the future. They may study future sales growth, user adoption, and market size based on data collected about product preferences and customer demographics.

Predictive research taps into demographics, brand preferences and other marketing data, often combining it with Big Data. The outcome is information that can predict purchasing trends, product volume, competitor insights and other datasets that aid in business decisions for marketing, sales, and finance. Predictive research can help companies decide where to spend their resources most efficiently.

Marketing research examples

Take pulse on customer satisfaction.

As a marketing leader, you can be challenged to make sure customers are satisfied. But how do you continually collect data to prove, or disprove, that customers are happy?

Customer satisfaction doesn’t just apply to individual products, it can aldo be an indication of how the market feels about an entire company. Customer satisfaction surveys can help marketing departments make product improvements that retain customers or winback those who have churned.

Solid data for startups

Startups have great ideas that they want to capitalize on. But how do they know if there is a substantial market for their product or service?

Bridgecare wanted to find out if there was a market for their childcare financing idea. Was it just gut instinct or was there an untapped market for parents of children who were going into debt to pay for childcare?

This company conducted a survey that tapped into parents across the US to validate the business concept. Within 24 hours, the company concept was validated by a large audience, leading to a new business idea that investors supported.

Finding a market for product line expansion

You’re a small company with a successful product - mattresses. But how do customers feel about additional products, like pillows, that seem like a natural fit to the existing product line?  Is it just an assumption or is there market potential?

You’ll need the right target market to see if your idea will work . Using surveys helped this company refine their original product idea, creating a better pillow based on feedback from survey participants. The company owner found that they cut their product development time in half by using online surveys, saving time, money, and frustration.

Using surveys for marketing research

Surveys can be the cornerstone of effective marketing research as they offer a quick, cost-effective way to collect a large variety of data. Whether you use short questions, open or closed-ended questions, surveys often are the most efficient way to gather credible insights from your target population.

Survey reports typically include analytics and charts that are easily interpreted and incorporated into your report. Depending on the focus of your survey, a ready-made test bank can be used to reach your ideal customer audience within hours. Online surveys are a widely used, credible way to get feedback about important topics that help you perform concept testing, product or packaging testing.

Clearly, if you want to avoid a “Kodak moment,” you should include market research as an ongoing tool to guide more informed, data-driven decision-making. By following an established process, you can be assured that the actions your company is taking are in lockstep with the needs and desires of your customers. 

SurveyMonkey offers reliable, detailed survey test question banks for every market research need. From product and packaging testing to logo design, we give you immediate access to the survey respondents that match your target audience demographics. Get their insights immediately to save time, money, and lower the risk of an expensive mistake.

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What is Market Research Analysis? Definition, Steps, Benefits, and Best Practices

By Nick Jain

Published on: September 8, 2023

Table of Contents

What is Market Research Analysis?

Market research analysis steps, market research analysis benefits, 15 market research analysis best practices.

Market research analysis is defined as the systematic process of collecting, processing, interpreting, and evaluating data related to a specific market, industry, or business environment. Its primary purpose is to gain insights into various aspects of the market, including consumer behavior, market trends, competitive landscape, and other relevant factors. Market research analysis aims to provide businesses with actionable information that can inform their decision-making processes and strategies.

Here are the key components and objectives of market research analysis:

• Data Collection: The process begins with gathering data from a variety of sources. This data can be classified into two main categories:

Primary Data: Data collected directly from original sources, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups , observations, and experiments.

Secondary Data: Existing data collected by third parties, such as market reports, government publications, industry publications, and academic studies.

• Data Processing: Once collected, the data is processed to ensure its accuracy and reliability. This step involves cleaning the data to remove errors or inconsistencies and structuring it in a way that is suitable for analysis. Data processing may also involve data coding, categorization, and transformation.
• Data Analysis: The heart of market research analysis involves examining and interpreting the data to extract meaningful insights. Various analytical techniques and statistical tools are used to identify patterns, relationships, trends, and correlations within the data. This analysis supports businesses in making knowledgeable decisions.
• Competitive Analysis: Assessing the competitive landscape is an essential aspect of market research analysis. This includes studying competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, strategies, market share, and customer perceptions. Understanding the competitive environment is crucial for shaping a company’s strategy and positioning in the market.
• Consumer Behavior Analysis: Understanding how consumers think, feel, and act is a central objective of market research analysis. It involves identifying consumer preferences, purchasing habits, motivations, and pain points. This information helps businesses tailor their products, services, and marketing efforts to meet customer needs effectively.
• Market Trends Identification: Market research analysis helps businesses stay updated on the latest market trends, industry developments, and emerging technologies. Recognizing these trends allows companies to adapt, innovate, and remain competitive in their respective markets.
• Strategic Decision-Making: Ultimately, the goal of market research analysis is to provide actionable insights that inform strategic decision-making. These decisions can relate to product development, pricing strategies, marketing campaigns, market entry or expansion, and more.
• Risk Mitigation: By understanding market dynamics and potential challenges, businesses can proactively identify and mitigate risks. This reduces the likelihood of unexpected setbacks and allows for more effective crisis management.

Market research analysis is a vital tool that helps businesses gather and interpret data to make informed decisions, mitigate risks, identify opportunities for growth, and stay competitive in their respective markets. It plays a pivotal role in shaping business strategies and ensuring that resources are allocated effectively to achieve business objectives.

Market research analysis involves a series of systematic steps to gather, process, and interpret data to gain insights into a specific market or industry. These steps are crucial for making informed business decisions and developing effective strategies. Here are the key steps in the market research analysis process:

Step 1: Define Research Objectives

Precisely outline the goals and objectives of your market research . What specific insights or data are you aiming to acquire? What are your research questions? Understanding your objectives is essential for guiding the entire process.

Step 2: Data Collection

Collect relevant data from various sources. This can include primary data (directly collected from surveys, interviews, focus groups , observations, etc.) and secondary data (existing data from reports, publications, databases, etc.). Make certain that your data-gathering approaches are in harmony with your research objectives.

Step 3: Data Processing and Cleaning

Clean and preprocess the collected data to ensure its accuracy and reliability. This step may involve removing duplicate records, correcting errors, and organizing the data for analysis.

Step 4: Data Analysis

Perform data analysis using appropriate techniques and tools. Common analytical methods include statistical analysis, regression analysis, trend analysis, customer segmentation, and sentiment analysis. The objective is to derive significant insights from the data.

Step 5: Competitive Analysis

Assess the competitive landscape by studying your competitors. Analyze their strengths, weaknesses, market share, strategies, and customer perceptions. Recognize potential opportunities and vulnerabilities within the competitive landscape.

Step 6: Consumer Behavior Analysis

Examine consumer behavior by analyzing data related to preferences, purchasing habits, motivations, and demographics. Gain insights into what drives consumer decisions and how they interact with your products or services.

Step 7: Market Trends Identification

Identify and analyze current market trends, industry developments, and emerging technologies. Stay up-to-date with changes in the market that could impact your business.

Step 8: Data Interpretation

Interpret the outcomes of your data analysis within the framework of your research goals. What do the findings mean for your business? Are there actionable insights that can inform your decisions?

Step 9: Report and Presentation

Create a comprehensive report or presentation that summarizes your research findings. Use clear visuals, charts, and graphs to convey the information effectively. Include recommendations and insights that can guide decision-making.

Step 10: Strategic Decision-Making

Use the insights gained from your market research analysis to make informed strategic decisions. These decisions can relate to product development, pricing strategies, marketing campaigns, market entry or expansion, and more.

Step 11: Implementation

Put your strategic decisions into action. Implement the changes and strategies based on your market research analysis. Continuously track progress and adapt your approach as necessary.

Step 12: Continuous Monitoring

Market research analysis is an ongoing process. Continuously monitor market conditions, consumer behavior, and competitive developments to stay adaptable and responsive to changes in the market.

By following these steps, businesses can harness the power of market research analysis to make informed decisions, gain a competitive edge, and drive growth and innovation in their respective industries.

Learn more: What is Research Design?

Market research analysis offers numerous benefits to businesses and organizations across various industries. These benefits are instrumental in making informed decisions, shaping strategies, and ultimately achieving business objectives. Here are some of the key advantages of conducting market research analysis:

• Informed Decision-Making: Market research analysis provides valuable insights and data-driven information that support informed decision-making. By understanding market dynamics, consumer behavior, and trends, businesses can make strategic choices that are more likely to lead to success.
• Risk Mitigation: Through market research , organizations can identify potential risks and challenges in advance. This proactive approach allows them to develop strategies for risk mitigation and crisis management, reducing the impact of unforeseen events.
• Market Understanding: Market research analysis helps companies gain a deeper understanding of their target audience, including demographics, preferences, and purchasing behavior. This knowledge is critical for tailoring products, services, and marketing efforts to meet customer needs effectively.
• Competitive Advantage: By analyzing the competitive landscape, businesses can identify their competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. This information enables them to develop strategies that capitalize on their strengths and exploit competitors’ weaknesses, leading to a competitive advantage.
• Product Development: Market research analysis guides product development by uncovering consumer preferences, pain points, and unmet needs. This ensures that companies create products that resonate with their target market, increasing the likelihood of success in the market.
• Effective Marketing Strategies: Understanding consumer behavior and preferences helps in crafting more effective marketing campaigns. Market research analysis can identify the most suitable marketing channels, messaging, and timing to reach and engage the target audience.
• Optimized Pricing Strategies: Businesses can determine the optimal pricing strategies for their products or services through market research analysis. This includes assessing price sensitivity, competitive pricing, and value perception among customers.
• Market Expansion and Diversification: Market research analysis can reveal new market opportunities and potential areas for diversification. Companies can use this information to expand their reach into new markets or introduce new product lines.
• Improved Customer Satisfaction: By aligning products and services with customer preferences, companies can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Contented customers are increasingly inclined to become returning purchasers and enthusiastic brand supporters.
• Cost Efficiency: Market research analysis can help companies allocate resources more efficiently by focusing on strategies and initiatives that are most likely to yield positive results. This reduces wasteful spending on ineffective activities.
• Measurable Results: Market research provides a basis for measuring the success of strategies and initiatives. It allows companies to set benchmarks, track progress, and assess the return on investment (ROI) of various marketing and business efforts.
• Innovation and Adaptation: Market research analysis keeps businesses up-to-date with market trends and emerging technologies. This knowledge encourages innovation and the ability to adapt to changing market conditions.
• Enhanced Reputation: Companies that demonstrate a commitment to understanding their market and meeting customer needs often enjoy an enhanced reputation in the eyes of consumers, partners, and investors.

Market research analysis is a valuable tool that empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions, minimize risks, gain a competitive edge, and achieve sustainable growth. It is an investment that can yield substantial returns by helping organizations align their strategies and resources with market realities and customer expectations.

Learn more: What is Primary Market Research?

Effective market research analysis is crucial for businesses to make informed decisions and stay competitive in their respective industries. To ensure that your market research analysis yields valuable insights, consider these best practices:

1. Clearly Define Objectives

Begin by clearly defining the objectives of your market research analysis. What particular inquiries do you aim to address? What are your goals and desired outcomes? Having a well-defined purpose will guide your research efforts.

2. Use a Mix of Data Sources

Combine both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data is collected directly from your target audience, while secondary data comes from existing sources. Using a mix of data sources enhances the comprehensiveness of your analysis.

3. Ensure Data Quality

Data quality is paramount. Take steps to ensure the data you collect is accurate, relevant, and reliable. Verify the credibility of your sources and implement data-cleaning processes to remove errors and inconsistencies.

4. Segment Your Audience

Segment your target audience into distinct groups based on demographics, behaviors, or other relevant criteria. This allows for more tailored insights and strategies.

5. Use a Variety of Analysis Techniques

Employ a range of analysis techniques such as quantitative and qualitative methods . Quantitative analysis involves numerical data, while qualitative analysis explores insights from open-ended questions and interviews. This all-encompassing strategy offers a more complete perspective.

6. Stay Objective and Unbiased

Avoid bias in your research by maintaining objectivity. Be aware of any preconceived notions or assumptions that might influence your analysis. Use unbiased language and interpretation of results.

7. Thoroughly Understand Your Market

Before conducting research , gain a deep understanding of the market and industry you’re investigating. This background knowledge will help you ask the right questions and interpret findings effectively.

8. Invest in Technology and Tools

Utilize advanced tools and software for data analysis. These tools can streamline the process, handle large datasets, and provide more robust insights. Consider investing in data visualization tools to present findings effectively.

9. Continuous Learning and Adaptation

Keep yourself informed about the most current research methodologies and industry developments. Market conditions evolve, so it’s essential to adapt your research methods accordingly.

10. Ethical Considerations

Adhere to ethical standards in data collection and analysis. Respect privacy and confidentiality, obtain informed consent when necessary, and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.

11. Regularly Communicate Findings

Share research findings with relevant stakeholders within your organization. Effective communication ensures that insights are used to inform decision-making and strategy development.

12. Iterative Process

Market research analysis should be an iterative process. As you implement strategies based on your findings, continue to monitor and analyze the market to stay responsive to changes.

13. Benchmark and Measure Progress

Set benchmarks and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of your strategies. Regularly assess whether you are meeting your objectives and adjust your approach as needed.

14. Seek External Expertise

Consider consulting with external experts or hiring market research professionals when needed. Their expertise can enhance the quality and reliability of your analysis.

15. Document Your Process

Maintain thorough documentation of your research process , including data sources, methodologies, and assumptions. This documentation is valuable for transparency and future reference.

By following these best practices, businesses can conduct market research analysis that provides actionable insights, informs decision-making, and contributes to long-term success in a competitive market.

Learn more: What is Qualitative Market Research?

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Module 6: Marketing Information and Research

The marketing research process, learning objectives.

• Identify the steps of conducting a marketing research project

A Standard Approach to Research Inquiries

Marketing research is a useful and necessary tool for helping marketers and an organization’s executive leadership make wise decisions. Carrying out marketing research can involve highly specialized skills that go deeper than the information outlined in this module. However, it is important for any marketer to be familiar with the basic procedures and techniques of marketing research.

It is very likely that at some point a marketing professional will need to supervise an internal marketing research activity or to work with an outside marketing research firm to conduct a research project. Managers who understand the research function can do a better job of framing the problem and critically appraising the proposals made by research specialists. They are also in a better position to evaluate their findings and recommendations.

Periodically marketers themselves need to find solutions to marketing problems without the assistance of marketing research specialists inside or outside the company. If you are familiar with the basic procedures of marketing research, you can supervise and even conduct a reasonably satisfactory search for the information needed.

Step 1: Identify the Problem

The first step for any marketing research activity is to clearly identify and define the problem you are trying to solve. You start by stating the marketing or business problem you need to address and for which you need additional information to figure out a solution. Next, articulate the objectives for the research: What do you want to understand by the time the research project is completed? What specific information, guidance, or recommendations need to come out of the research in order to make it a worthwhile investment of the organization’s time and money?

It’s important to share the problem definition and research objectives with other team members to get their input and further refine your understanding of the problem and what is needed to solve it. At times, the problem you really need to solve is not the same problem that appears on the surface. Collaborating with other stakeholders helps refine your understanding of the problem, focus your thinking, and prioritize what you hope to learn from the research. Prioritizing your objectives is particularly helpful if you don’t have the time or resources to investigate everything you want.

To flesh out your understanding of the problem, it’s useful to begin brainstorming actual research questions you want to explore. What are the questions you need to answer in order to get to the research outcomes? What is the missing information that marketing research will help you find? The goal at this stage is to generate a set of preliminary, big-picture questions that will frame your research inquiry. You will revisit these research questions later in the process, but when you’re getting started, this exercise helps clarify the scope of the project, whom you need to talk to, what information may already be available, and where to look for the information you don’t yet have.

Applied Example: Marketing Research for Bookends

To illustrate the marketing research process, let’s return to Uncle Dan and his ailing bookstore, Bookends. You need a lot of information if you’re going to help Dan turn things around, so marketing research is a good idea. You begin by identifying the problem and then work to set down your research objectives and initial research questions:

Step 2: Develop a Research Plan

Once you have a problem definition, research objectives, and a preliminary set of research questions, the next step is to develop a research plan. Essential to this plan is identifying precisely what information you need to answer your questions and achieve your objectives. Do you need to understand customer opinions about something? Are you looking for a clearer picture of customer needs and related behaviors? Do you need sales, spending, or revenue data? Do you need information about competitors’ products, or insight about what will make prospective customers notice you? When do need the information, and what’s the time frame for getting it? What budget and resources are available?

Once you have clarified what kind of information you need and the timing and budget for your project, you can develop the research design. This details how you plan to collect and analyze the information you’re after. Some types of information are readily available through  secondary research and secondary data sources. Secondary research analyzes information that has already been collected for another purpose by a third party, such as a government agency, an industry association, or another company. Other types of information need to from talking directly to customers about your research questions. This is known as primary research , which collects primary data captured expressly for your research inquiry.   Marketing research projects may include secondary research, primary research, or both.

Depending on your objectives and budget, sometimes a small-scale project will be enough to get the insight and direction you need. At other times, in order to reach the level of certainty or detail required, you may need larger-scale research involving participation from hundreds or even thousands of individual consumers. The research plan lays out the information your project will capture—both primary and secondary data—and describes what you will do with it to get the answers you need. (Note: You’ll learn more about data collection methods and when to use them later in this module.)

Your data collection plan goes hand in hand with your analysis plan. Different types of analysis yield different types of results. The analysis plan should match the type of data you are collecting, as well as the outcomes your project is seeking and the resources at your disposal. Simpler research designs tend to require simpler analysis techniques. More complex research designs can yield powerful results, such as understanding causality and trade-offs in customer perceptions. However, these more sophisticated designs can require more time and money to execute effectively, both in terms of data collection and analytical expertise.

The research plan also specifies who will conduct the research activities, including data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting on results. At times a singlehanded marketing manager or research specialist runs the entire research project. At other times, a company may contract with a marketing research analyst or consulting firm to conduct the research. In this situation, the marketing manager provides supervisory oversight to ensure the research delivers on expectations.

Finally, the research plan indicates who will interpret the research findings and how the findings will be reported. This part of the research plan should consider the internal audience(s) for the research and what reporting format will be most helpful. Often, senior executives are primary stakeholders, and they’re anxious for marketing research to inform and validate their choices. When this is the case, getting their buy-in on the research plan is recommended to make sure that they are comfortable with the approach and receptive to the potential findings.

Applied Example: A Bookends Research Plan

You talk over the results of your problem identification work with Dan. He thinks you’re on the right track and wants to know what’s next. You explain that the next step is to put together a detailed plan for getting answers to the research questions.

Dan is enthusiastic, but he’s also short on money. You realize that such a financial constraint will limit what’s possible, but with Dan’s help you can do something worthwhile. Below is the research plan you sketch out:

Step 3: Conduct the Research

Conducting research can be a fun and exciting part of the marketing research process. After struggling with the gaps in your knowledge of market dynamics—which led you to embark on a marketing research project in the first place—now things are about to change. Conducting research begins to generate information that helps answer your urgent marketing questions.

Typically data collection begins by reviewing any existing research and data that provide some information or insight about the problem. As a rule, this is secondary research. Prior research projects, internal data analyses, industry reports, customer-satisfaction survey results, and other information sources may be worthwhile to review. Even though these resources may not answer your research questions fully, they may further illuminate the problem you are trying to solve. Secondary research and data sources are nearly always cheaper than capturing new information on your own. Your marketing research project should benefit from prior work wherever possible.

After getting everything you can from secondary research, it’s time to shift attention to primary research, if this is part of your research plan. Primary research involves asking questions and then listening to and/or observing the behavior of the target audience you are studying. In order to generate reliable, accurate results, it is important to use proper scientific methods for primary research data collection and analysis. This includes identifying the right individuals and number of people to talk to, using carefully worded surveys or interview scripts, and capturing data accurately.

Without proper techniques, you may inadvertently get bad data or discover bias in the responses that distorts the results and points you in the wrong direction. The module on Marketing Research Techniques discusses these issues in further detail, since the procedures for getting reliable data vary by research method.

Applied Example: Getting the Data on Bookends

Dan is on board with the research plan, and he’s excited to dig into the project. You start with secondary data, getting a dump of Dan’s sales data from the past two years, along with related information: customer name, zip code, frequency of purchase, gender, date of purchase, and discounts/promotions (if any).

You visit the U.S. Census Bureau Web site to download demographic data about your metro area. The data show all zip codes in the area, along with population size, gender breakdown, age ranges, income, and education levels.

The next part of the project is customer-survey data. You work with Dan to put together a short survey about customer attitudes toward Bookends, how often and why they come, where else they spend money on books and entertainment, and why they go other places besides Bookends. Dan comes up with the great idea of offering a 5 percent discount coupon to anyone who completes the survey. Although it eats into his profits, this scheme gets more people to complete the survey and buy books, so it’s worth it.

For a couple of days, you and Dan take turns doing “man on the street” interviews (you interview the guy in the red hat, for instance). You find people who say they’ve never been to Bookends and ask them a few questions about why they haven’t visited the store, where else they buy books and other entertainment, and what might get them interested in visiting Bookends sometime. This is all a lot of work, but for a zero-budget project, it’s coming together pretty well.

Step 4: Analyze and Report Findings

Analyzing the data obtained in a market survey involves transforming the primary and/or secondary data into useful information and insights that answer the research questions. This information is condensed into a format to be used by managers—usually a presentation or detailed report.

Analysis starts with formatting, cleaning, and editing the data to make sure that it’s suitable for whatever analytical techniques are being used. Next, data are tabulated to show what’s happening: What do customers actually think? What’s happening with purchasing or other behaviors? How do revenue figures actually add up? Whatever the research questions, the analysis takes source data and applies analytical techniques to provide a clearer picture of what’s going on. This process may involve simple or sophisticated techniques, depending on the research outcomes required. Common analytical techniques include regression analysis to determine correlations between factors; conjoint analysis to determine trade-offs and priorities; predictive modeling to anticipate patterns and causality; and analysis of unstructured data such as Internet search terms or social media posts to provide context and meaning around what people say and do.

Good analysis is important because the interpretation of research data—the “so what?” factor—depends on it. The analysis combs through data to paint a picture of what’s going on. The interpretation goes further to explain what the research data mean and make recommendations about what managers need to know and do based on the research results. For example, what is the short list of key findings and takeaways that managers should remember from the research? What are the market segments you’ve identified, and which ones should you target?  What are the primary reasons your customers choose your competitor’s product over yours, and what does this mean for future improvements to your product?

Individuals with a good working knowledge of the business should be involved in interpreting the data because they are in the best position to identify significant insights and make recommendations from the research findings. Marketing research reports incorporate both analysis and interpretation of data to address the project objectives.

The final report for a marketing research project may be in written form or slide-presentation format, depending on organizational culture and management preferences. Often a slide presentation is the preferred format for initially sharing research results with internal stakeholders. Particularly for large, complex projects, a written report may be a better format for discussing detailed findings and nuances in the data, which managers can study and reference in the future.

Applied Example: Analysis and Insights for Bookends

Getting the data was a bit of a hassle, but now you’ve got it, and you’re excited to see what it reveals. Your statistician cousin, Marina, turns out to be a whiz with both the sales data and the census data. She identified several demographic profiles in the metro area that looked a lot like lifestyle segments. Then she mapped Bookends’ sales data into those segments to show who is and isn’t visiting Bookends. After matching customer-survey data to the sales data, she broke down the segments further based on their spending levels and reasons they visit Bookends.

Gradually a clearer picture of Bookends’ customers is beginning to emerge: who they are, why they come, why they don’t come, and what role Bookends plays in their lives. Right away, a couple of higher-priority segments—based on their spending levels, proximity, and loyalty to Bookends—stand out. You and your uncle are definitely seeing some possibilities for making the bookstore a more prominent part of their lives. You capture these insights as “recommendations to be considered” while you evaluate the right marketing mix for each of the new segments you’d like to focus on.

Step 5: Take Action

Once the report is complete, the presentation is delivered, and the recommendations are made, the marketing research project is over, right? Wrong.

What comes next is arguably the most important step of all: taking action based on your research results.

If your project has done a good job interpreting the findings and translating them into recommendations for the marketing team and other areas of the business, this step may seem relatively straightforward. When the research results validate a path the organization is already on, the “take action” step can galvanize the team to move further and faster in that same direction.

Things are not so simple when the research results indicate a new direction or a significant shift is advisable. In these cases, it’s worthwhile to spend time helping managers understand the research, explain why it is wise to shift course, and explain how the business will benefit from the new path. As with any important business decision, managers must think deeply about the new approach and carefully map strategies, tactics, and available resources to plan effectively. By making the results available and accessible to managers and their execution teams, the marketing research project can serve as an ongoing guide and touchstone to help the organization plan, execute, and adjust course as it works toward desired goals and outcomes.

It is worth mentioning that many marketing research projects are never translated into management action. Sometimes this is because the report is too technical and difficult to understand. In other cases, the research conclusions fail to provide useful insights or solutions to the problem, or the report writer fails to offer specific suggestions for translating the research findings into management strategy. These pitfalls can be avoided by paying due attention to the research objectives throughout the project and allocating sufficient time and resources to do a good job interpreting research results for those who will need to act on them.

Applied Example: Bookends’ New Customer Campaign

Your research findings and recommendations identified three segments for Bookends to focus on. Based on the demographics, lifestyle, and spending patterns found during your marketing research, you’re able to name them: 1) Bored Empty-Nesters, 2) Busy Families, and 3) Hipster Wannabes. Dan has a decent-sized clientele across all three groups, and they are pretty good spenders when they come in. But until now he hasn’t done much to purposely attract any of them.

With newly identified segments in focus, you and Dan begin brainstorming about a marketing mix to target each group. What types of books and other products would appeal to each one? What activities or events would bring them into the store? Are there promotions or particular messages that would induce them to buy at Bookends instead of Amazon or another bookseller? How will Dan reach and communicate with each group? And what can you do to bring more new customers into the store within these target groups?

Even though Bookends is a real-life project with serious consequences for your uncle Dan, it’s also a fun laboratory where you can test out some of the principles you’re learning in your marketing class. You’re figuring out quickly what it’s like to be a marketer.

Well done, rookie!

Check Your Understanding

Answer the question(s) below to see how well you understand the topics covered in this outcome. This short quiz does  not  count toward your grade in the class, and you can retake it an unlimited number of times.

Use this quiz to check your understanding and decide whether to (1) study the previous section further or (2) move on to the next section.

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Marketing research: Definition, steps, uses & advantages

What is marketing research?

Marketing research is defined as any technique or a set of practices that companies use to collect information to understand their target market better. Organizations use this data to improve their products, enhance their UX, and offer a better product to their customers. Marketing research is used to determine what the customers want, and how they react to products or features of a product.

Gather research insights

Four standard marketing research methods

The four most common marketing research methods are surveys, interviews, customer observations, and focus groups. You can research various ways without limiting yourself to just one way. Let’s dive deeper into each of these marketing research techniques.

Researchers collect responses by deploying surveys and managing data via online questionnaires or on-screen surveys at the POS. These surveys contain closed-ended and open-ended questions. They are popular and are the most widely used research techniques.

Why are online surveys popular?

Surveys are inexpensive, simple to set-up, deploy, and gather responses. It gets easy to collect multiple answers from a tailored audience group using surveys. Researchers rely on quantitative data, and online surveys provide quick responses compared to the more traditional offline methods. You can collect large amounts of data within minutes from anywhere in the world.

2. Interviews

Face-to-face or personal interviews are a more traditional way of doing marketing research. It is a slow and more expensive way of collecting responses. Researchers doing large scale marketing research do not prefer this method to collect a large number of responses. Interviews are conducted both in-person and on the telephone (CATI). 

Why are interviews important?

Personal interviews may not be widely used but play a significant role in understanding precisely what the respondent feels. You can record more than just verbal responses and understand the customer better. Often, when two humans interact with each other, more information is shared because of the dialogue. Personal interviews are useful in small-scale studies, where the researcher wants to interview a specific group of local respondents. CATI’s are helpful when the respondent base is more expansive.

3. Focus groups

Focus groups or online focus groups involve several respondents who participate in discussions about a particular topic. A researcher conducts focus groups to obtain richer information. The main reason for a focus group is to hold a dialogue between various people on a particular topic of interest. Unlike interviews, focus group members are allowed to interact with each other and influence one another.

Why are focus groups impactful?

It is no secret that focus groups are hugely impactful in decision making. Researchers gain a lot of information by organizing focus groups. Often, focus groups bring up issues not foreseen by researchers. Online or video focus groups have a broad reach, and many organizations have now started creating and nurturing research communities for better respondent handling and data gathering. Direct interaction of business groups and customers positively impacts users because they feel that their voices are heard.

4. Observation

Observation, though not popular and widely used, gives intuitive feedback. Research companies organize customer observation sessions to gather information on how they engage with the product or service (or a similar competitor product or service). Feedback from people’s behavioral attitudes is a powerful tool for researchers looking to improve their products and services.

What makes observation so powerful?

Observational market research is an excellent alternative to focus groups. It’s not only an inexpensive research tool, but you will also witness people interacting with and using your product in a natural environment. The downside is that you will have to make inferences about their feelings and reactions.

LEARN ABOUT: market research trends

How to conduct marketing research

Follow these four marketing research steps to help you understand what your users think and feel about your product, service, or business.

LEARN ABOUT: Behavioral Research

1. Create simple user personas

A user persona is nothing more than a fictional character that represents a user or a customer. Understanding user personas will help you gauge how different persons react to other products and services to understand their needs. To create a persona, your questions must answer these types questions about the user or customer:

• Who are they?
• What’s their primary goal?
• What stops them from achieving that goal?

2. Conduct observational research

Use both overt and covert observation methods to observe and take notes while users use your products or a similar one.

Overt vs. covert observation

• Overt observation asks users if they will allow you to watch them use your product. 
• Covert observation studies users in a natural environment without them knowing. This type of observation generally works only if you sell a product that consumers buy and use regularly. It brings in the purest observational research data as people act naturally while using the products. 

3. Conduct personal interviews

One-on-one conversations with your target population allow you to explore and dig deep into their concerns, revealing answers to many questions. Here are a few tips for conducting personal interviews.

• Be a journalist and not a salesperson. Ask users about their frustrations, needs, and areas where they think they need an improvement in the product. 
• Pose the ‘why’ question to dig deeper. Dive into the details to know more about their past behavior.
• Recording the conversation helps you focus on it rather than take notes simultaneously.

4. Analyze the data

The idea of conducting lean marketing research is to receive quick, actionable insight data. Analyze the information you have collected using various techniques to draw patterns into what customers like and dislike, what they want, and what they do not need. Create a simple visual representation of how people will interact with each other and the product to assess their needs in a better way.

LEARN ABOUT: Marketing Insight

Why is research so valuable?

Without research, it is impossible to gauge and understand your customers. Of course, you will have an idea of what they need and who they are and, but you must dive deeper to win their loyalty. Here is why marketing research matters:

• Attract potential customers: The primary aim of marketing research is to find ways to attract potential customers. It also helps to keep current happy and coming back for more. Understanding your customers entirely is the only way to progress. You’ll lose potential customers if you stop caring about improving your user experience.
• Answer the why’s: Marketing research gives you the answer to the ‘why.’ Make use of user analytics, big data, and reporting dashboards in marketing research to tell you what your users are thinking and why they think and act that way. For example, only marketing research can explain why customers leave you.
• Data-backed decisions: Research beats trends, assumptions, and so-called best business practices. Bad decisions are often taken due to emotional reasoning and guesswork. Focusing on customer experience by listening to your customers directs you in the right direction.
• Better planning: Research keeps you from making absurd decisions by planning in a vacuum. You might not fully gauge what your customers experience and feel while using your product. Customers may use products in a way that surprises you, and they may get confused by features that seem obvious to you. Conducting too much planning but not testing your assumptions will waste your money, time, efforts, and resources. Research helps you save up on all these factors.

LEARN ABOUT: 12 Best Tools for Researchers

Advantages of MKT research

Marketing research and user experience (UX) design help you continuously improve your product by acting on your feedback. Here are the advantages of conducting marketing research:

• Improved efficiency: Efficiency draws you closer to your users. You can improve the efficiency of delivering the product to the market and also increase its usability.
• Cost-effective: Marketing research helps you make the right decisions based on consumer demand, thus saving you costs in creating something that customers do not like or want.

LEARN ABOUT:  Test Market Demand

• Competitive edge: Quicker, more robust insights can help you place your services and products strategically, gaining a competitive advantage over others.
• Build strategies: You can quickly build, alter, or design new approaches to attract your users and consumers.
• Improved communication: Bridge the communication gap by interacting with consumers and hearing them out. This helps consumers feel wanted and special.
• LEARN ABOUT: Market research vs marketing research

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BUS203: Principles of Marketing

Marketing Research and Market Intelligence

Read this chapter. The American Marketing Association defines marketing research this way: "Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information--information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the methods for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, and analyzes and communicates the findings and their implications".

Steps in the Marketing Research Process

Learning objective.

• Describe the basic steps in the marketing research process and the purpose of each step.

The basic steps used to conduct marketing research are shown in Figure 10.6 "Steps in the Marketing Research Process". Next, we discuss each step. Figure 10.6 Steps in the Marketing Research Process

Introduction to Market Research

• First Online: 20 July 2018

Cite this chapter

• Marko Sarstedt 3 &
• Erik Mooi 4  

Part of the book series: Springer Texts in Business and Economics ((STBE))

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Market research is key to understanding markets and requires the systematic gathering and interpreting of information about individuals and organizations. This will give you an essential understanding of your customers’ needs, a head start on your competitors, allow you to spot potential problems, and future growth. Drawing on real examples, we show the value of market research, describe its main purposes, and explain how market research differs from marketing research. We explain what makes, or breaks, a successful market research study and describe when market research is most needed. We also provide a description of the different types of market research providers.

• Marketing Research
• Full Service Provider
• Specialized Service Firms
• Nielsen Company
• Collective Turnover

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Roberts et al. ( 2014 ) and Hauser ( 2017 ) discuss the impact of marketing science tools on marketing practice.

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Further Reading

American Marketing Association at http://www.marketingpower.com

British Market Research Society at http://www.mrs.org.uk

ESOMAR at http://www.esomar.org

GreenBook Directory at http://www.greenbook.org

Insights Association at http://www.insightsassociation.org/

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Marko Sarstedt

Department of Management and Marketing, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

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Sarstedt, M., Mooi, E. (2019). Introduction to Market Research. In: A Concise Guide to Market Research. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56707-4_1

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What is Marketing Research? Definition, Features, Process, Areas, and Importance

Page Contents

What is Marketing Research?

Marketing research is a process of collecting and analyzing market information to better understand the customers and aid in problem-solving. It is a systematic and scientific way of analyzing the market and gathering relevant information about the problem.

The marketing research is objective in nature. It is the problem-focused approach. Companies conduct it to solve their specific marketing problems.

It helps marketing organizations get updated information about the happening of the market and helps them in decision-making, & problem-solving, and forecasting future trends.

Today, most marketing firms are adopting marketing research where some are using it for a specific problem to solve whereas others are using it as a regular function of the organization . It is an effective tool to get an insight into the market’s different factors.

Objectives of Marketing Research

The following are the main objectives of marketing research:

• Provide updated information about the market to the marketing firm.
• Solve marketing problems of the company.
• To make aware marketing organizations of environmental changes.
• Address the changing preferences of customers.
• Set the right marketing plans and strategies.

Characteristics of Marketing Research

The following are the notable features of good marketing research. They are:

Related : The 7Ps Marketing Mix

Marketing research is systematic and well-organized. It should follow a step-by-step process to gather, analyze, and distribute the information.

Problem-Based

Usually, market research is conducted to solve the marketing problems of the company. It is mainly done to solve problems. If there is no problem in the company, there is no need to conduct research.

It is objective in nature i.e. it is unbiased. It is based on facts, data, and scientifically proven methods. It strongly avoids the inclusion of personal interest in the research process.

Scientific Method

It is often said that marketing research is the application of the scientific method of marketing. It uses the hypothesis, testing, and careful observation while analyzing the information.

Informative

The findings of your market research should be understandable to the manager i.e. by the findings of the research managers must be able to make relevant decisions. If the research findings are uninformative, the research is effective.

Multiple Methods

There are multiple methods for conducting research. Marketers can use a number of research methods as per their knowledge, interests, and requirements of the objectives.

As making decisions is the primary objective of marketing research, it should be decisive in nature. On the basis of information collected, analyzed, and interpreted the manager must be able to make decisions.

How To Conduct Marketing Research?

Conducting marketing research requires an understanding of the problem the business is facing, setting research objectives, analyzing the data, and coming up with a solution. The following are its main steps.

Define the Problem

The first step in marketing research is defining the marketing problem a business is facing. The problem may be related to a low level of customer satisfaction, a decrease in market share, poor customer service, or any.

Establish Research Objective

Once the problem is identified, the research objective should be established. It is the outcome a company aims to achieve at the end of the research.

The research objective should be specific and achievable. The overall research is based on the established objective and the results will also be checked against it.

Develop A Research Plan

The following step is to create the most effective research plan to collect the most relevant data from multiple sources. Making judgments on the data sources, research methodologies, research tools, sample strategy, and contact strategies is necessary for developing the research plan.

Read Also : Process of Creating a Plan

Collect The Information

Here, the task is to collect the information related to the problem identified in Step 1 and from the sources outlined in the above step. The information can be collected from both primary and secondary sources.

The collected information should be relevant to the marketing problem and if analyzed should give meaning.

Analyze The Information

Information collected from the step above is in raw form. To make it useable, it is necessary to do an analysis.

Choose the data that is relevant to the goal and leave out the rest. If further information is required to evaluate the analysis, use mathematical or statistical methods or models.

The optimal tool(s) to use can be chosen based on the situation’s historical and current patterns.

Present The Findings

Once the information is analyzed, it is necessary to evaluate the results as to whether or not the result is appropriate to use. The findings then are submitted to the high authorities.

The finding is then evaluated by the marketing managers and if the finding meets the desired standards the decisions are made to solve the marketing problems.

Read Also: The 6 Marketing Philosophies

What Are The Areas of Marketing Research?

There are five areas of the market where marketing research can be used effectively. They are mentioned below:

Advertising Area

This research is aimed at improving the efficiency of advertising of the company. The systematic collection and analysis of data are essential for the creation and assessment of advertising strategies, advertisements, commercials, media campaigns, etc.

Business Economic and Corporate Research

This research is about the economic aspects of the business. It includes studies like long-range & short-range forecasting, studies of business trends, pricing, and plant and warehouse location studies.

CSR Research

CSR research is related to the study of improving the corporate social responsibility of the marketing firm. It may include consumer rights to know study, ecological impact studies, legal constraints, and social values and policies studies.

Sales and Market Research

The systematic collection and examination of data necessary for the creation of sales- and market-based strategies are known as sales and market research.

This includes the measurement of market potentials, sales analysis, distribution channels study, determination of market characteristics, etc.

Read Also: The Selling Concept of Marketing

Product Research

Product research includes the study of new product development and its potential, competitive product study, testing of existing products, and packaging research.

Why Marketing Research Is Important?

As a marketing manager, you may know who are the customers and what they want, but to know exactly what they want is impossible without research.

The following are some of the marketing research benefits it provides to businesses.

• It helps to understand the market and customers’ needs.
• Helps to design effective marketing plans and strategies.
• Provide ongoing information about the market.
• Provide information about probable opportunities and threats a marketing firm may encounter in the coming days.
• Helps in better planning and decision-making.
• Provide insight into competitors’ plans and strategies.
• Helps marketing firms to adapt to environmental changes.
• Helps to improve the company’s performance and productivity.

Read Next: The 4Cs of Marketing

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104 Reading: The Marketing Research Process

A standard approach to research inquiries.

Marketing research is a useful and necessary tool for helping marketers and an organization’s executive leadership make wise decisions. Carrying out marketing research can involve highly specialized skills that go deeper than the information outlined in this module. However, it is important for any marketer to be familiar with the basic procedures and techniques of marketing research.

It is very likely that at some point a marketing professional will need to supervise an internal marketing research activity or to work with an outside marketing research firm to conduct a research project. Managers who understand the research function can do a better job of framing the problem and critically appraising the proposals made by research specialists. They are also in a better position to evaluate their findings and recommendations.

Periodically marketers themselves need to find solutions to marketing problems without the assistance of marketing research specialists inside or outside the company. If you are familiar with the basic procedures of marketing research, you can supervise and even conduct a reasonably satisfactory search for the information needed.

Step 1: Identify the Problem

The first step for any marketing research activity is to clearly identify and define the problem you are trying to solve. You start by stating the marketing or business problem you need to address and for which you need additional information to figure out a solution. Next, articulate the objectives for the research: what do you want to understand by the time the research project is completed? What specific information, guidance, or recommendations need to come out of the research in order to make it a worthwhile investment of the organization’s time and money?

It’s important to share the problem definition and research objectives with other team members to get their input and further refine your understanding of the problem and what is needed to solve it. At times, the problem you really need to solve is not the same problem that appears on the surface. Collaborating with other stakeholders helps refine your understanding of the problem, focus your thinking, and prioritize what you hope to learn from the research. Prioritizing your objectives is particularly helpful if you don’t have the time or resources to investigate everything you want.

To flesh out your understanding of the problem, it’s useful to begin brainstorming actual research questions you want to explore. What are the questions you need to answer in order to get to the research outcomes? What is the missing information that marketing research will help you find? The goal at this stage is to generate a set of preliminary, big-picture questions that will frame your research inquiry. You will revisit these research questions later in the process, but when you’re getting started, this exercise helps clarify the scope of the project, whom you need to talk to, what information may already be available, and where to look for the information you don’t yet have.

Applied Example: Marketing Research for Bookends

To illustrate the marketing research process, let’s return to Uncle Dan and his ailing bookstore, Bookends. You need a lot of information if you’re going to help Dan turn things around, so marketing research is a good idea. You begin by identifying the problem and then work to set down your research objectives and initial research questions:

Identifying Problems, Objectives, and Questions

Core business problem Dan needs to solve

• How to get more people to spend more money at Bookends.

Research Objectives

• Identify promising target audiences for Bookends
• Identify strategies for rapidly increasing revenue from these target audiences

Initial research questions

• Who are Bookends’ current customers?
• How much money do they spend?
• Why do they come to Bookends?
• What do they wish Bookends offered?
• Who isn’t coming to Bookends, and why?

Step 2: Develop a Research Plan

Once you have a problem definition, research objectives, and a preliminary set of research questions, the next step is to develop a research plan. Essential to this plan is identifying precisely what information you need to answer your questions and achieve your objectives. Do you need to understand customer opinions about something? Are you looking for a clearer picture of customer needs and related behaviors? Do you need sales, spending, or revenue data? Do you need information about competitors’ products or insight about what will make prospective customers notice you? When do you need the information, and what’s the time frame for getting it? What budget and resources are available?

Once you have clarified what kind of information you need and the timing and budget for your project, you can develop the research design. This details how you plan to collect and analyze the information you’re after. Some types of information are readily available through  secondary research and secondary data sources. Secondary research analyzes information that has already been collected for another purpose by a third party, such as a government agency, an industry association, or another company. Other types of information need to from talking directly to customers about your research questions. This is known as primary research , which collects primary data captured expressly for your research inquiry.   Marketing research projects may include secondary research, primary research, or both.

Depending on your objectives and budget, sometimes a small-scale project will be enough to get the insight and direction you need. At other times, in order to reach the level of certainty or detail required, you may need larger-scale research involving participation from hundreds or even thousands of individual consumers. The research plan lays out the information your project will capture—both primary and secondary data—and describes what you will do with it to get the answers you need. (Note: You’ll learn more about data collection methods and when to use them later in this module.)

Your data collection plan goes hand in hand with your analysis plan. Different types of analysis yield different types of results. The analysis plan should match the type of data you are collecting, as well as the outcomes your project is seeking and the resources at your disposal. Simpler research designs tend to require simpler analysis techniques. More complex research designs can yield powerful results, such as understanding causality and trade-offs in customer perceptions. However, these more sophisticated designs can require more time and money to execute effectively, both in terms of data collection and analytical expertise.

The research plan also specifies who will conduct the research activities, including data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting on results. At times a singlehanded marketing manager or research specialist runs the entire research project. At other times, a company may contract with a marketing research analyst or consulting firm to conduct the research. In this situation, the marketing manager provides supervisory oversight to ensure the research delivers on expectations.

Finally, the research plan indicates who will interpret the research findings and how the findings will be reported. This part of the research plan should consider the internal audience(s) for the research and what reporting format will be most helpful. Often, senior executives are primary stakeholders, and they’re anxious for marketing research to inform and validate their choices. When this is the case, getting their buy-in on the research plan is recommended to make sure that they are comfortable with the approach and receptive to the potential findings.

Applied Example: A Bookends Research Plan

You talk over the results of your problem identification work with Dan. He thinks you’re on the right track and wants to know what’s next. You explain that the next step is to put together a detailed plan for getting answers to the research questions.

Dan is enthusiastic, but he’s also short on money. You realize that such a financial constraint will limit what’s possible, but with Dan’s help, you can do something worthwhile. Below is the research plan you sketch out:

Identifying Data Types, Timing, Budget, Data Collection Methods, Analysis, and Interpretation

Types of data needed

• Demographics and attitudes of current Bookends customers
• Current customers’ spending patterns
• Metro area demographics (to determine types of people who aren’t coming to the store)

Timing and budget

• Complete project within 1 month
• No out-of-pocket spending

Data collection methods

• Current customer survey using a free online survey tool
• Store sales data mapped to customer survey results
• Statistics Canada data on metro-area demographics
• 8 to 10 intercept (“man on the street”) interviews with non-customers

Analysis plan

• Use Excel or Google Sheets to tabulate data
• Marina (statistician cousin) to assist in identifying data patterns that could become market segments

Interpretation and Reporting

• You and Dan will work together to comb through the data and see what insights it produces. You’ll use PowerPoint to create a report that lays out significant results, key findings, and recommendations.

Step 3: Conduct the Research

Conducting research can be a fun and exciting part of the marketing research process. After struggling with the gaps in your knowledge of market dynamics—which led you to embark on a marketing research project in the first place—now things are about to change. Conducting research begins to generate information that helps answer your urgent marketing questions. As previously mentioned, there are two types of research: primary and secondary. Primary research is research that you conduct yourself (i.e., you go out into the field and find data and complete experiments). Secondary research is research conducted or synthesized by someone else (i.e., someone else has gone out into the field or someone else has compiled multiple sources of research). Though it may seem counterintuitive based on their names, typically data collection begins by reviewing any existing secondary research. After getting everything you can from secondary research, it’s time to shift attention to primary research. After all, it’s much easier (and smarter!) to review existing research before potentially redoing experiments or recapturing known information.

Secondary Research

With secondary research, it’s important to narrow your scope to existing research and data that provide some information or insight about the problem. Prior research projects, internal data analyses, industry reports, customer satisfaction survey results, and other information sources may be worthwhile to review. Even though these resources may not answer your research questions fully, they may further illuminate the problem you are trying to solve. Secondary research and data sources are nearly always cheaper than capturing new information on your own. Your marketing research project should benefit from prior work wherever possible.

Primary Research

You may not always complete primary research, but it is often part of research plans. Primary research involves asking questions and then listening to and/or observing the behavior of the target audience you are studying. In order to generate reliable, accurate results, it is important to use proper scientific methods for primary research data collection and analysis. This includes identifying the right individuals and number of people to talk to, using carefully worded surveys or interview scripts, and capturing data accurately. Without proper techniques, you may inadvertently get bad data or discover bias in the responses that distorts the results and points you in the wrong direction. The module on Marketing Research Techniques discusses these issues in further detail since the procedures for getting reliable data vary by research method.

Applied Example: Getting the Data on Bookends

Dan is on board with the research plan, and he’s excited to dig into the project. You start with secondary data, getting a dump of Dan’s sales data from the past two years, along with related information: customer name, postal code, frequency of purchase, gender, date of purchase, and discounts/promotions (if any).

You visit the U.S. Census Bureau website for Arkansas to download demographic data about a metro area. The data show all census subdivisions in the area, along with population size, gender breakdown, age ranges, income, and education levels.

The next part of the project is customer survey data. You work with Dan to put together a short survey about customer attitudes toward Bookends, how often and why they come, where else they spend money on books and entertainment, and why they go other places besides Bookends. Dan comes up with the great idea of offering a 5 percent discount coupon to anyone who completes the survey. Although it eats into his profits, this scheme gets more people to complete the survey and buy books, so it’s worth it.

For a couple of days, you and Dan take turns doing “man on the street” interviews (you interview the guy in the red hat, for instance). You find people who say they’ve never been to Bookends and ask them a few questions about why they haven’t visited the store, where else they buy books and other entertainment, and what might get them interested in visiting Bookends sometime. This is a lot of work, but for a zero-budget project, it’s coming together pretty well.

Step 4: Analyze and Report Findings

Analyzing the data obtained in a market survey involves transforming the primary and/or secondary data into useful information and insights that answer the research questions. This information is condensed into a format to be used by managers—usually a presentation or detailed report.

Analysis starts with formatting, cleaning, and editing the data to make sure that it’s suitable for whatever analytical techniques are being used. Next, data is tabulated to show what’s happening: what do customers actually think? What’s happening with purchasing or other behaviors? How do revenue figures actually add up? Whatever the research questions, the analysis takes source data and applies analytical techniques to provide a clearer picture of what’s going on. This process may involve simple or sophisticated techniques, depending on the research outcomes required. Common analytical techniques include regression analysis to determine correlations between factors; conjoint analysis to determine trade-offs and priorities; predictive modeling to anticipate patterns and causality, and analysis of unstructured data such as Internet search terms or social media posts to provide context and meaning around what people say and do.

Good analysis is important because the interpretation of research data—the “so what?” factor—depends on it. The analysis combs through data to paint a picture of what’s going on. The interpretation goes further to explain what the research data means and make recommendations about what managers need to know and do based on the research results. For example, what is the shortlist of key findings and takeaways that managers should remember from the research? What are the market segments you’ve identified, and which ones should you target?  What are the primary reasons your customers choose your competitor’s product over yours, and what does this mean for future improvements to your product?

Individuals with a good working knowledge of the business should be involved in interpreting the data because they are in the best position to identify significant insights and make recommendations from the research findings. Marketing research reports incorporate both analysis and interpretation of data to address the project objectives.

The final report for a marketing research project may be in written form or slide-presentation format, depending on organizational culture and management preferences. Often a slide presentation is the preferred format for initially sharing research results with internal stakeholders. Particularly for large, complex projects, a written report may be a better format for discussing detailed findings and nuances in the data, which managers can study and reference in the future.

Applied Example: Analysis and Insights for Bookends

Getting the data was a bit of a hassle, but now you’ve got it and you’re excited to see what it reveals. Your statistician cousin, Marina, turns out to be a whiz with both the sales data and the census data. She identified several demographic profiles in the metro area that looked a lot like lifestyle segments. Then she mapped Bookends’ sales data into those segments to show who is and isn’t visiting Bookends. After matching customer survey data to the sales data, she broke down the segments further based on their spending levels and reasons they visit Bookends.

Gradually a clearer picture of Bookends’ customers is beginning to emerge: who they are, why they come, why they don’t come, and what role Bookends plays in their lives. Right away, a couple of higher-priority segments—based on their spending levels, proximity, and loyalty to Bookends—stand out. You and your uncle are definitely seeing some possibilities for making the bookstore a more prominent part of their lives. You capture these insights as “recommendations to be considered” while you evaluate the right marketing mix for each of the new segments you’d like to focus on.

Step 5: Take Action

Once the report is complete, the presentation is delivered, and the recommendations are made, the marketing research project is over, right? Wrong.

What comes next is arguably the most important step of all: taking action based on your research results.

If your project has done a good job interpreting the findings and translating them into recommendations for the marketing team and other areas of the business, this step may seem relatively straightforward. When the research results validate a path the organization is already on, the “take action” step can galvanize the team to move further and faster in that same direction.

Things are not so simple when the research results indicate a new direction or a significant shift is advisable. In these cases, it’s worthwhile to spend time helping managers understand the research, explain why it is wise to shift course, and explain how the business will benefit from the new path. As with any important business decision, managers must think deeply about the new approach and carefully map strategies, tactics, and available resources to plan effectively. By making the results available and accessible to managers and their execution teams, the marketing research project can serve as an ongoing guide and touchstone to help the organization plan, execute, and adjust course as it works toward desired goals and outcomes.

It is worth mentioning that many marketing research projects are never translated into management action. Sometimes this is because the report is too technical and difficult to understand. In other cases, the research conclusions fail to provide useful insights or solutions to the problem, or the report writer fails to offer specific suggestions for translating the research findings into management strategy. These pitfalls can be avoided by paying due attention to the research objectives throughout the project and allocating sufficient time and resources to do a good job interpreting research results for those who will need to act on them.

Applied Example: Bookends’ New Customer Campaign

Your research findings and recommendations identified three segments for Bookends to focus on. Based on the demographics, lifestyle, and spending patterns found during your marketing research, you’re able to name them: 1) Bored Empty-Nesters, 2) Busy Families, and 3) Hipster Wannabes. Dan has a decent-sized clientele across all three groups, and they are pretty good spenders when they come in. But until now he hasn’t done much to purposely attract any of them.

With newly identified segments in focus, you and Dan begin brainstorming about a marketing mix to target each group. What types of books and other products would appeal to each one? What activities or events would bring them into the store? Are there promotions or particular messages that would induce them to buy at Bookends instead of Amazon or another bookseller? How will Dan reach and communicate with each group? And what can you do to bring more new customers into the store within these target groups?

Even though Bookends is a real-life project with serious consequences for your uncle Dan, it’s also a fun laboratory where you can test out some of the principles you’re learning in your marketing class. You’re figuring out quickly what it’s like to be a marketer.

Well done, rookie!

Introduction to Marketing - MKTG 3433 Copyright © 2022 by WCOB Marketing Faculty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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