Why Market Research Matters

Virtually all leading business experts agree that market research is important. The world is constantly changing, and as a society, we are constantly updating our thinking and discovering new experiences.

Perhaps this is most noticeable due to the overwhelming bombardment from the media and technological innovations that hit the market every day. New values and behaviours are constantly emerging (and old ones disappearing), and consequently, we see new consumer segments come and go.

Perhaps one of the key reasons why market research matters to your business is that all too often, businesses make expensive or even fatal mistakes – often simply because they take their finger off the pulse and fail to understand the changing world outside their own four office walls.

Market research is widely accepted as essential to any brand’s long-term success. Research is a science and an art, and is largely built on the scientifically proven notion of the ‘Wisdom of the Crowd’ and why ‘the many’ are smarter than the few. If you are looking for more detail, then the book ‘The Wisdom of Crowds‘ is worth a read.

Using specialist market research companies to provide independent (impartial) and accurate information & knowledge is critical to any organisation looking to grow or improve its business. Here are a couple of ways in which research can help you.

1. Customer-Centric – Market research helps to centre your business priorities on your customers

The larger the organisation, the more likely internal politics, agenda and bureaucracy will interfere with your organisation’s goals of understanding and delivering the best products and services. In most cases, it is sensible to assume that the people who know best what your customers want are your customers themselves (rather than the board members in your organisation). So simply ensuring regular engagement with your customers through market research and customer satisfaction surveys and Brand Love are vital to ensure your organisation is continuously monitoring changes and ensuring you are meeting (or exceeding) your customer needs.

2. Smarter decision-making for greater success

It can be tough for businesses to make money in this competitive global economy – but getting it right can pay huge dividends. When used properly, both qualitative (focus groups, depth interviews) and quantitative (online, telephone, face to face surveys) market research should tell you what’s most important to your target market and help you to prioritise your time and investment effectively. Market research helps the decision-making process in numerous ways –  informing both your short-term and long-term strategy, helping you develop new products and services and optimising your brand and communications.

Conducting regular research with your customers helps ensure you are constantly adapting, evolving and changing with the times… and if you aren’t keeping up with your customers or the latest product developments, someone else will!

Some of the best ways Market Research Companies can help you

The uses for customer and (B2B) business market research are almost endless. However, at Vision One, we have found that some of the most common research projects we encounter have the following business objectives.

1. Optimise brand strategy and positioning

All brands and marketers want to position their brands uniquely in the marketplace ahead of their competitors. Focus groups are ideal for understanding the nuances of what your brand means to customers and how they can be repositioned or improved. Quantitative brand tracking studies are ideal for measuring brand health, monitoring how your brand performs over time, and keeping an eye on your competition.

2. Better Understand your target market

Market research is the ideal way of discovering new insights and gleaning a better understanding of your market, who your buyers and potential buyers are, and understanding their needs and wants.  By focusing your attention on the right people and market segments, you should see faster improvements across all areas of your business, with greater efficiency and overall performance from your marketing activity.  In addition, if your target market is already well-defined, you can use customer and shopper research to uncover the critical drivers of behaviour and the factors influencing their purchase decisions.

3. Optimise your messaging and communication

Most market research experts agree that the execution and the creative idea around it are the biggest drivers of advertising and marketing success. Our messaging and brand communications need to resonate with our audiences, typically achieved through advertising research, design and packaging research, or website usability testing. Marketing research is the ideal way to test ideas and concepts and key messages to evaluate which ones have the most traction.

4. Innovation and New Product Development (NPD)

NPD and innovation are key parts of any growth strategy, and conducting market research helps you focus your innovation efforts on the highest-growth opportunities for your brand. Our research shows that many ideas fail to reach the market because they cannot find the right proposition and positioning (rather than simply being silly ideas). Qualitative research agencies and  focus group companies  will help you optimise the design of your product or service and ensure all the key  benefits and features are correctly communicated to meet your  consumers’ needs and interests

In today’s modern global market, market research is not just helpful; it is essential – so talk to the experts, and you’ll soon be reaping dividends. Just remember that it is no coincidence that there is not a single leading organisation in the world that doesn’t rate or use market research as a vital component of its success.