Without effective market research it is likely that a company will not survive for very long because it could waste money and time targeting the wrong customers or could actually damage the business by using an ineffective campaign. The first step to make when considering market research is being aware of what it is you want to promote, whether that is a product or a service.
Once you know what you want to promote, the next step is deciding what your objectives are. Market research should not be floundering around in the dark hoping that if you throw enough at a problem something will stick and become successful. It is about careful planning and defining what it is that you want to achieve and then planning the steps on how to get there.
A company needs to take stock of what strengths it has that can be exploited. This includes staff experience and skills, your budget and what access you have to competitor information. The current economic climate should be considered so you can assess how that impacts upon your company and upon your customer base.
Each member of your market research team should be given a clearly defined role and a deadline so that the whole project is kept tight. If necessary, and if budget allows, you should consider employing an outside consultant who will have the necessary expertise.
You can create surveys and use appropriate software to analyze the data as you receive it, and you can look at secondary sources of information such as industry association statistics. Make sure that your team feedback all the information that they have gathered so that it can be assessed. Once you have all of your information and it has been presented in a way that can be made sense of, the next step is to implement what you have learned.
Once you know what you want to promote, the next step is deciding what your objectives are. Market research should not be floundering around in the dark hoping that if you throw enough at a problem something will stick and become successful. It is about careful planning and defining what it is that you want to achieve and then planning the steps on how to get there.
A company needs to take stock of what strengths it has that can be exploited. This includes staff experience and skills, your budget and what access you have to competitor information. The current economic climate should be considered so you can assess how that impacts upon your company and upon your customer base.
Each member of your market research team should be given a clearly defined role and a deadline so that the whole project is kept tight. If necessary, and if budget allows, you should consider employing an outside consultant who will have the necessary expertise.
You can create surveys and use appropriate software to analyze the data as you receive it, and you can look at secondary sources of information such as industry association statistics. Make sure that your team feedback all the information that they have gathered so that it can be assessed. Once you have all of your information and it has been presented in a way that can be made sense of, the next step is to implement what you have learned.