8 tips for conducting effective market research • Businesscoot

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When you need information and key figures on a market, you have several options. On the one hand, you can consult market research specialists (such as Businesscoot), who will quickly provide you with a complete study on your market. If you want to do your own market research, here are the 8 most important tips to keep in mind:

1. Define the scope of your market

It is important to define exactly the perimeter of your market in order to know which products (or services) are included in it, or conversely which products (or services) should not be taken into account in your research. This means defining your main market as well as the so-called adjacent markets: markets that are close to yours (in terms of products, players, characteristics, size...) but that you exclude from your core target. This will allow you to obtain more accurate and reliable figures, but also to better understand the dynamics of your market.

2. Check the seasonality of the market

In some markets, activity can vary greatly between different periods of the year: this is called seasonality. For example, the sunscreen market logically has a strong peak of activity during the summer, while in the middle of winter sales will be much lower. It is important to take an interest in seasonality because it allows you, for example, to identify potential sales peaks for the activity, or to refine your market figures.

3. Know your customers

Knowledge of demand, and therefore of consumers in the target market, is essential in a market study. You will therefore need to dig into the analysis of demand in detail: who are the customers? are there any typical profiles? If so, can they be segmented? What are their purchasing habits and preferences? All these questions will allow you to understand who the customers are and how they behave on the market.

4. Consider both qualitative and quantitative data

In order to do a proper market research, it is important to collect both quantitative and non-quantitative data: for example, you will need data about the size of the market, the number of units sold or the market shares of the different players, but you will also need to know more about the characteristics of the competing offers or the main forces at play. The combination of qualitative and quantitative data will make your market research more complete.

5. Analyze existing products or services and their positioning

To get a good overview of the market, you also need to look at the competition and answer the following questions: What is the current offer on this market? What are the characteristics of the different products (or services) that already exist? How are they positioned? This can help you understand if certain characteristics seem absolutely necessary to exist in this market. It can also help you to see possible "holes" in the offer, which could represent a new opportunity.

6. Consider the impact of regulation

The impact of regulation varies greatly in different markets, so you will need to tailor the time spent on this issue to your target market. The impact of regulations is most often a structural impact, a framework to be respected for any related activity: for example, regulations can impose specifications to be respected in the manufacturing of a product.

7. Check the reliability of sources

The reliability of sources is one of the main pitfalls for those who venture into market research. On the Internet, a great deal of data is easily accessible; however, not all of it is of equal value, as its reliability can vary. It is easy to realize this when preparing a market study: between two different sources, the figures given can vary from simple to double. It is therefore necessary to pay attention to the source you consult: is it a professional source (such as a federation or union)? is it an institutional or governmental source? is it a recognized and quality media? This does not necessarily mean that you should ignore the data it may contain, but you should keep a critical eye on the information provided (for example, put it into perspective with other elements of your study, or compare it with other sources).

8. Take into account the impact of current events

For any market research, it is necessary to take into account the news related to the sector. This type of information can sometimes be difficult to find: in many cases, you will be able to find press articles and specialized press. To give an example: you carry out a market study in August 2020 and you find a source stating that according to forecasts made in December 2019, the market should grow by +5% in 2020. Of course, these forecasts must be nuanced in light of the health context.

Finally, if you want to save time on this market research stage, you can also call on the services of market research specialists such as Businesscoot.