Posted by Market research for any product is a necessary process that gets you valuable insights into almost everything from production to selling. Often businesses make the mistake of overlooking important factors that later haunt them. Investing time in the process and viewing things from different perspectives is the key.
It is the first phase of research that helps businesses get insights from the market and customers. Such research can be qualitative or quantitative. Ideally, both types of research should support each other and generate dependable data. This data could be used to create user personas to make a product customers will love.
Exploratory Research
Exploratory research is a part of the primary research that uncovers. Such research may unveil the roadblocks faced by businesses and customers with the existing products. Compiling data in this phase may involve one-on-one interviews and surveys.
Specific Research
It is a type of research followed by exploratory research. Based on the data gathered and segmented, in this phase businesses take a deep dive and prioritize crucial segments of information. Those could be the problems that create an opportunity for your product to bridge the gaps.
Secondary Research
The secondary research phase takes a different approach from primary research. In this phase, the sources of information change to market figures, sales records, and reports of changing trends. In addition, this research also includes an analysis of your competitors. One of the best ways to see the feasibility of a product in the market is to look at how companies already in the business are doing.
Consider exploring the following sources to gain valuable information:
Public Resources
These are generally free to access and available to the public eye. Such resources may be shared and managed (updated) by the government. Issued statistics on federal sources and state-level publications may help provide valuable insights. If you are not targeting the local market, you can access the public resources of your target market.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is one of the prime examples of public resources that anyone can access. National-level surveys and historical trends from different resources provide ample data that companies could leverage.
Data from Internal Resources
Businesses often make the mistake of not utilizing the data they already have in their hands from market experience. This data is free to access and is likely to be already managed in an organized manner. For new businesses about to launch their first product, it is highly advisable to record data from the get-go.
Every step of market research is crucial for the success of a product. So, it is advisable to invest resources at this stage. Once that’s sorted, market your products by leveraging outbound sales services or whatever mediums are most suited for generating sales. Read on to know how to conduct market research in product development.
Consider an example of a SaaS business. The revenues, customer retention rates, and the health of relationships with existing customers can help significantly with the research.
Data from Commercial Resources
Industry leaders often publish reports and stats about their own research. While many of them are not as credible, others share concrete data that others could learn from. But when collecting data from commercial resources, be aware of biases, dates of publication, and holes in the findings. As a general rule, ignore the data from pre-pandemic studies.
However, some resources you can consider include Gartner and Pew.
Create Buyer Personas
With massive amounts of data collected in the early phase, your team can create multiple buyer personas. Buyer personas are fictional characters of ideal buyers to predict the behaviors of marketing groups. A simple example of a user persona could be Gen Z males residing in a specific target region. Creating multiple buyer personas allows you to gather data and test your strategy.
Engage Buyer Personas in Conducting Tests
The buyer personas you create earlier are your sample audiences to test the response. Create a sample size with no fewer than 10 people to view the response of different groups. The findings from this research may include the experience of individual groups with the product.
To make this data more meaningful, get their feedback with carefully created questions. Brainstorming relevant questions that get you responses with your final product and launch is highly advisable.
Identify Your Competition
Identifying your competitors is critical for success. Both your and their businesses could be targeting the same segment of the market. Researching their products, marketing strategy, and other factors may help you identify opportunities that your business can leverage. So, take the necessary steps and be aware of every more of your competitors.
With the above-mentioned strategies, your team can conduct 360-degree research and yield valuable data.