There are so many reasons to invest in research. Whether it is helping you understand the habits of your customers to determining who your customers actually are, market research is a tool that a lot of businesses can benefit from but often overlook. However, when looking at larger brands, you can find plenty of examples where a lot of success can be traced back to companies investing in research.
Market research can be a very broad term to grasp. Marketing research is “the process or set of processes that links the producers, customers, and end users to the marketer through 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 method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.”[1]
Traditionally, we have seen market research in the form of surveys, intercepts and focus groups. These days, market research has expanded to much more with many more tools to assist in finding information. Data can be contrived from online surveys, polls, email feedback, social aggregated comments and messages, and more.
The first step a company, brand or organization needs to take is to determine what question(s) they want answered.
“What media outlets do my customers use?”
“Who is my ideal customer?”
“Who are my marketing efforts currently targeting?”
“Are my marketing efforts resonating with my customers?”
“Where should I be spending my marketing dollars?”
“What is my brand perception to the public?”
“What do my customers or potential customers think of me and what do they think about my competitors?”
“How can I change my marketing strategy to expect greater results?”
Once the questions are established, market research can really begin!
The process of market research should be tailored to the questions as well as the targeting methods.
The end result of market research should be for the organization to gain confidence in its marketing decision(s). Basing decisions on data mitigates risk and allows a foundation of confidence in campaigns and any other marketing decisions.
JP has seen market research help our clients in the following ways
- Provide conclusive evidence of trends
- Allow for better optimization of marketing dollars
- Can help determine existing client base
- Can help determine new areas of growth for businesses
- Look for new ways to market to target audience
- Track media habits
- Find patterns with customers and potential customers
- Determine the viability of new markets
To find out more about JP Marketing’s proprietary research tool, go to http://www.mmapsresearch.com/ or contact me at Kevin@jpmktg.com
References
- The Definition of Marketing, American Marketing Association. http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/DefinitionofMarketing.aspx. Retrieved 2011-12-02. Approved by the AMA Board of Directors in October 2007, the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) endorses this definition as part of its ongoing Common Language in Marketing Project.
- https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/why-is-marketing-research-important–cms-31593
- https://medium.com/@BizzBeeSolution/5-reasons-why-market-research-is-crucial-for-your-business-a27b77fa8264
- https://blog.marketresearch.com/why-market-research-is-important-for-strategic-decision-making
