marketing research

• Marketing research


  Systematically gathering data about people or companies and analysing it to better understand what that group of people needs
• The results of market research are usually summarised in a report
• Importance of market research

  • Helps business owners make more informed decisions about the company's strategies, operations, and potential customer base
  • Helps businesses run more efficiently and market more effectively
  • Helps understand industry shifts, changing consumer needs and preferences, and legislative trends to shape where a business chooses to focus its efforts and resources
• Types of market research

  • Primary research
  • Secondary research
• Primary research


  First-hand information gathered by the researcher or with the help of a market research firm
• Secondary research


  Using already existing data, summarizing and collating it to increase the overall effectiveness of research
• Primary research market tools

  • Survey
  • Focus group
  • Observation
  • Interview
• Survey


  Asking customers a series of questions to better understand how they feel about a product's features
• Focus group


  Bringing together groups of people with common characteristics to better understand their likes and dislikes (used to get feedbacks on new product,feature and ad campaigns)
• Observation


  Researcher gathers information by watching how a subject interacts with a product
• Interview


  One-on-one interview with an individual, during which probing questions are posed to better understand that person's product preferences
• Advantages of primary market research

  • Targeted issues are addressed (organization asking for research have complete control on the process)
  • Data interpretation is better (can be examined and interpreted marketers depending on their needs)
  • Recency of data (secondary data is not recent)
  • Proprietary issues (collector is the owner, can choose not to share, advantage over competitors who rely on secondary data)
• Disadvantages of primary market research

  • High cost
  • Inaccurate feedbacks
  • Time consuming
• Secondary market research


  Gathering information and data that already exists, rather than collecting new data directly from primary sources
• Examples of secondary market research

  • Books
• Market need analysis


  A process used by businesses to identify and understand the demands, preferences, and requirements of potential customers in a specific market
• Importance of market need analysis

  • Identifying opportunities
  • Minimising risk
  • Competitive advantage
  • Revenue projection
• Common tools for market need analysis

  • SWOT analysis
  • Competitive analysis
  • GAP analysis
• SWOT analysis


  A strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a business venture, project, or in a specific context
• Competitive analysis


  A field of strategic research that specializes in the collection and review of information about rival firms
• Importance of competitive analysis

  • Helps identify your product's unique value proposition
  • Enables you to identify what your competitor is doing right
  • Tells you where your competitors are falling short
  • Learn through customer reviews what's missing in a competitor's product
  • Provides you with a benchmark against competitor which you can measure your growth
• How to do a competitive analysis

  • Determine who your competitors are
  • Determine what products your competitors offer
  • Research your competitors' sales tactics and results
  • Take a look at your competitors' pricing, as well as any perks they offer
  • Ensure you're meeting competitive shipping costs
  • Analyze how your competitors market their products
  • Take note of your competition's content strategy
  • Learn what technology stack your competitors' use
  • Analyze the level of engagement on your competitors' content
  • Observe how they promote marketing content
  • Look at their social media presence, strategies, and go-to platforms
  • Perform a SWOT Analysis to learn their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
• Gap analysis


  A strategic tool used to compare the current state of a business or organization with its desired future state
• If a company or organization is not making the best use of its current resources or technology, then it may be producing or performing at a level below its potential
• identifying opportunities:

  • by understanding the needs, preferences and pain points of target market
  • business can identify gaps that represent new opportunities for new products/ services
• minimising risk:

  • conducting thorough market research help mitigate the risk of investing resources into developing products or services that may not have sufficient demands
• competitive advantage:

  • by understanding the market landscape and customer needs better that competitors, buisinesses can differentiate their offerings and gain a competitive edge.
• revenue projection:

  • a forecasting sales that gives you an idea of the profit you can expect, allowing you to adjust your business plan and budget accordingly.