In running a business, not a few business people who only focus on capital and do promotions. In fact, in order for a business to survive and thrive, there are many things that need to be considered and analyzed. One of them is to ensure that the products sold are well received and positive by consumers.
This is important to do so that the business can continue to exist and develop in the long term. If the product being sold is not acceptable to society, how can a business be able to create sales and earn the expected profit?
Therefore, in running a business, business people must understand what is meant by market research or market research. In short, market research is an activity to collect and analyze any data or information related to the target market or target consumers.
Then, how to do market research? Also, what are the types of market research and tips on how to do it? Don’t worry, this question will be discussed in detail in the following discussion.
Definition of Market Research
Market research is an activity of collecting and analyzing data related to the target consumer or target market. The target market in question is a group of people who are the goal or target of selling the products of a business or company.
Ideally, all businesses should understand customer needs and try to fulfill them through the products or services they sell. In other words, when creating a product, business people are able to target the right target market or consumers.
Market Research Function
Market research requires a relatively long process. Businesses need to know who their customers are, the type of product the market wants, and the factors that influence product purchases. So, it can be said that market research is an investment in a business.
The costs, time, and energy spent will later produce results that can help improve business development. The reason is, the findings from market research will be the basis for innovating products or developing a business to make it even better.
Market research is also commonly carried out to find out the trends that are developing in the community and find out the situation that is being experienced by competitors. So, you also better understand sales opportunities in a business industry.
Types of Market Research
In-House or Primary Research
Direct information from consumers is the main focus of primary research. This type of market research is important to do so that businesses can get information about a product directly from its users. The information can be in the form of ideas, opinions, and also input from customers who have consumed/used a product.
Because it deals directly with consumers, this primary research requires careful preparation. For example, ascertaining prospective research subjects and ensuring that the questions given are able to reveal the research objectives. Ideally, this research is done face-to-face.
However, if that’s not possible, it never hurts to do some primary research online. Like, sharing forms, phone calls, sending e-mails, and so on.
Primary research can be regrouped into two types based on the type of information, namely qualitative and quantitative. For quantitative research, the data generated relates to the numbers and trends in the use of a product, both in terms of price, product type, design and so on. For example, you can do quantitative research by asking customers what color fashion products or food product tastes like best with the aim of producing more of these products.
As for qualitative research, the targeted data tends to be descriptive of consumers. Such as, opinions, reasons to buy, experience using the product, and others. An example of qualitative research is asking for the suitability of price with product quality and service quality. In order for this research to provide more accurate information, try to ask questions specifically, for example, age, lifestyle, income, occupation, and experience using competitors’ products.
Derivative or Secondary Research
Secondary research is a type of research conducted using data from other parties. Although the quality may not be in line with the main objective, this research can be more efficient. Derivative research is done by reading articles, market statistics, to trend research from various trusted sources. For example, well-known mass media, government institutions, educational institutions, or research conducted by business competitors.
Secondary research can also be done through social media platforms to get a closer look at consumer behavior. In fact, not infrequently customer interest in a product starts from engagement via social media. In addition, the increasing number of social media users makes the platform more effective in attracting more consumers, as well as understanding what types of products or services the market needs in detail.
Tips for Running Market Research More Optimally
There are several tips that you can do to ensure that market research runs more optimally. For more details, see the following tips for conducting market research.
Focus on Market Research Objectives
In order to get maximum results, you need to focus on your goals when doing market research. For example, when you want to know the consumer’s favorite platform when shopping online, you only need to collect the number of users or visitors from each platform and make a rating. Try not to find out other information that is not related to the original purpose unless it is absolutely necessary to support the research findings.
Do Research in a Creative Way
Asking customers for information in the usual way certainly gives your business a boring and less innovative impression. Therefore, keep doing creative tips in extracting information from consumers. If you use primary research, you can use a slightly different platform as a medium of communication with customers.
Or, if that’s not possible, you use secondary research by looking at information from various credible sources. Most importantly, always do a creative and efficient way when doing market research in order to be able to get the information needed and safe for the business budget.
Get the Best Information
Through market research, you will certainly get a variety of information about a business or product. However, not all of this information can be used to achieve research objectives. Therefore, you need to sort out which information is important to know, and save other information because it may be useful as data for further analysis or research processes.
Achieve Business Success by Doing Market Research
Market research is one of the crucial strategies that can help business people succeed. Through market research, you can find out information on consumer trends, competitor performance, sales opportunities, and many others. In essence, this market research is able to pave the way for success in the business that is currently being run.