The data, the numbers, the confusing graphs, Venn diagrams, obscure and never ending parameters; market research could be a very tedious job, particularly for the small and medium scale business owners.
However, as an entrepreneur, your prerogative is not only to survive but to focus on the growth. For that, market research is your business holy grail.
Digital marketing is a tool which helps the people with questions; meet the people with the answers. For that, market research is an essential tool which helps you do the job efficiently.
What does marketing research include?
This is perhaps the first step of any digital marketing strategy. The success of your marketing strategy mostly depends on how well you understand your customers. Listed below is a set by step approach on how to conduct a thorough Marketing research for your Digital Marketing strategies.
Step 1 – Decide your goals
Effective market research is possible only when you identify what you want to know. Do not get carried away with the question. Prioritize your business objectives and try to find the answers to each of your objectives. If you are finding it difficult to set your priorities listed below are few common questions that every businessman have before conducting market research.
1. Most of the businessmen would like to understand if their business is a solution to the problem that people actually have.
2. Who are their target audience and what are their information sources?
3. What is the price the customers are willing to pay for their products or services?
4. What are the customer’s expectations? (Like add on’s, offers)
5. What do customers not like among the available options? (Including yours)
6. How is the market distributed among the competitors?
Step 2 – Identify your ideal customers
You cannot assume that everyone loves your business just because you think it is great. Understand what motivates the customers to do business with you. For that, you will have to understand who they are.
Imagine your ideal customer and give them a character. These characters are called buyer persona or marketing personas. Segment your audience personas and organize them and develop the strategies that appeal to them.
Step 3 – Compile the list of questions you would ask your ideal customers.
Ask the question you want to ask your ideal buyers. Fit into your customer’s shoes and think from their perspective. Develop a hypothesis on how they will answer your questions. While answering the questions, having analytical approach will help you think of potential follow-up questions. Leave no stone unturned and explore all the options for logical scrutiny.
Imagine you drafted a set of questions for which a segment of your customers may respond positively and another segment negatively. Yours follow up question should be to understand why a particular segment’s response is positive, negative or why they are indifferent.
Step 3- Decide Qualitative or Quantitative
Quantitative research is used to gather the information from the people by asking them for their opinions in a defined structure. The information you gather from the answers provide you the statistical and factual data which can help your strategics. The quantitative research, the survey is conducted among the large numbers of the people.
Qualitative research gives you the insight into the underlying reasons for the opinions, motives, and choices. It provides deeper and administrative analysis of the problem and reveals the relevant thoughts and opinions on that particular issue. The data is gathered by conducting a survey among the small sections of the focus groups and through observations.
Off late, the social media channels and the mobile devices have the subscriber data which allow you to observe the user’s emotions, consumer’s buying patterns and other market trends.
Step 4 – Time to ask real people some questions
Big market players have a huge database which they use to understand the market. The independent marketing agencies and the freelancers will have to initiate the process right from the start. This is a blessing in disguise because the consumer’s choices and the buying attitudes are always changing. The research will give you fresh into insights into the consumer data which is left unexplored.
You can reach out to your existing customers and ask them to reply to your questionnaire. Gather the list of the customers who inquired about your business showed interest but did not make a purchase. You can ask people to participate in a contest in social media and ask them the questions. The social media analytics will ensure you reach the right segment of the audience.
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