Effective Modern-Day Market Research for Businesses

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a young entrepreneur seeking to start or expand his business will eventually be faced with the need for effective marketing research. While many companies rely heavily on market research reports which are available in abundance from various sources, there are some tips and tricks you can use to make sure your company gets all the information it needs without spending too much money. And the best part? These methods work just as well if you're a small startup as they do if you have an enterprise worth billions of dollars.

1. Conduct Focus Groups

Focus groups provide businesses with priceless insight into how their target customers think and feel about them. This means that focus groups allow you to find out what people really think, not merely what they say they think when asked face-to-face or by phone. Once you know this, you will be able to adjust your product line or services accordingly, leading to a better customer experience overall. The key here is to select participants carefully; you want people who fit into your target demographic, so you won't get as much useful data if you don't choose your focus group members carefully. It's also important to ask the right questions in order to extract the most valuable insights possible and to keep things informal and relaxed rather than formal and intimidating.

2. Start Online Surveys

Surveys may seem outdated and inefficient, but they work surprisingly well online, especially if you can avoid asking generic questions like "Do you like our new product?" Instead, create surveys with multiple-choice answers. You'll also want to make sure that your survey has a clear call to action at the end of it, encouraging people to take the next step.

3. Use Social Media Profiles

Using social media profiles in your marketing research is a great way to learn more about your target demographics. For example, you could look up the profile of a person who fits your target demographic and see what kinds of posts he likes and shares. Then, try posting content that is similar to what he likes, and see what kind of response you get. If you get a good response, then you can build upon that post by creating similar ones. In fact, you should be creating content specifically to target each one of your different target audiences.

4. Ask Your Competitors for Information

One of the worst things you can do is ignore your competition. There are many reasons why this is bad, but primarily because it prevents you from learning what works and what doesn't. So, instead of ignoring your competitors, you should reach out to them and ask for any information they're willing to share. This includes data on your own sales figures, information about how they market their products, as well as other information that is relevant to your business. Of course, if you share certain kinds of information about yourself with your competitor, then you need to make sure you're only sharing the most relevant pieces of data. Otherwise, your competitors might learn something about your business that you don't want them to know.

5. Try a Survey App

There are many ways you can conduct market research through apps. However, the most obvious and perhaps the most successful is using a survey app. These apps allow you to create surveys easily, and then distribute them to all the people you choose. They also let you track the responses to your survey, allowing you to understand how people respond to your questions. Some of these apps even offer pre-written questions that you can use or customize. This makes it easy for you to create a survey quickly, and gives you access to a huge library of templates that cover every topic imaginable.

6. Keep Your Polls Short

People tend to give short answers when filling out surveys, particularly if the questions are open-ended. But sometimes, asking a simple question in a very short format can yield surprising results. For instance, you could ask, "How likely would you be to recommend our company to others?" and then add an answer option of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. People will generally give a number between 1 (very unlikely) and 9 (extremely likely), but some will give a different number, such as 6 or 10. That tells you a lot about how satisfied they are with your company.

7. Analyze Your Website Visitors' Search Patterns

When you run a website, you'll inevitably acquire a large amount of data about your visitors. But did you know you can also use this information to help your marketing efforts? By analyzing the search patterns of your site's visitors, you can determine which keywords your audience uses to find you and then use them in your digital advertising campaigns. This is incredibly helpful because it allows you to target your ads based on real data instead of guessing where your ideal customers might be looking for you.

8. Get Feedback From Your Customers

Customers are the lifeblood of every business. And while word-of-mouth referrals are a wonderful source of new customers, they aren't always enough. You need to make sure your current customers are happy so that they'll continue to spread the word about your brand. One of the best ways to do that is to ask your existing customers for feedback. You can send out customer satisfaction surveys to your email list, or you can hold a live event where you can survey your customers face-to-face.

9. Offer Coupons and Discount Codes

Marketing research is much easier and faster when you offer coupons and discounts to your potential customers. The key here is to offer something that is specific to your industry, and to do so in a way that is unexpected. For instance, instead of offering 20% off your entire order, you could offer free shipping on orders over $50. Or, you could have a daily deal, giving away a coupon code worth a certain percentage off a single item. Most people will be excited just to receive a discount, and your promotion is going to stand out to anyone who sees it.