Most marketing research addresses simple questions. When it comes to your product or service, what do people know? What do they not know? What do they like? Or not like? And are they motivated to act or purchase?
Primary research uses focus groups, surveys, phone interviews or digital tools to get insights on buyer challenges, opinions and brand awareness. It is the hunt for first-hand information from your customers or prospects.
Secondary research looks at public sources, records, industry trends, sales data and statistics to paint a picture of what is going on in your market. It also includes data you already have, such as historic sales revenue or customer history. Taken as a whole, it is useful for drawing valuable conclusions about your industry, customer and competition.
How do you know you’re in need of market research? Whether you are a young startup or a longtime business owner, market research can prove valuable when:
- Testing a new idea or product before investing substantial capital.
- Determining why your customers are behaving in a different manner.
- New competition has entered the market.
- Proving or disproving a concept to multiple stakeholders (board members, shareholders)
- Needing insights on your competitive advantage, or disadvantage.
Are you looking at to better understand numbers with quantitative research, or determining the emotions with qualitative research, or a hybrid of both? HS helps determine ‘Why’ something is trending before we move to ‘How’ to address it.
