There are a thousand ways to understand how the world around us works, but market research is undoubtedly the most complete and effective. Here’s why.
Every day we receive an unlimited amount of information. This fact has its downside: it is sometimes very difficult to gather the important data about a given market or audience. At the same time, market research provides brands and researchers with the ability to extract more information away from the noise.
We are in a world of constant change and movement, and like it, studies such as market research. Years ago, market research relied on more traditional methods such as surveys, but today there are new tools to extract information. The use and analysis of data from social media is one of them.
In this post we will explain what a market study consists of and the methodologies that exist to get the most out of it.
What is primary and secondary market research?
Market research can be of both types: primary and secondary. Although it is true that in some places we can find them under the denomination of field and cabinet, this terminology nowadays is outdated.
On the one hand, we have primary market research, which is what you can do yourself. This can include conducting surveys or organizing focus groups.
On the other hand, secondary market research is research that has been done by others and that you want to use. That’s right, these studies may have been conducted by researchers or companies.
What are the market research methodologies?
Let’s get into the subject and explain the different market research methods that exist. All the ones we are going to show include both primary and secondary, the choice of use will depend on the objectives to be achieved.
Focus group technique
During a period of time, a group of people are gathered in a room, where they are asked a series of questions while being recorded. Depending on the information we want to extract, they will be asked about a specific topic such as a new product that has just been launched on the market.
The person who organizes and mediates this session has to extract and analyze the ideas to get the opinion of society in general on the proposed topic. And how are the participants chosen? The choice will be based on certain criteria such as demographics or job position.
One of the great advantages of this methodology is the natural conversation and debate that is generated among those who participate. Compared to more traditional surveys, focus groups can digress into conversation without the organizer foreseeing it, and therefore unexpected topics can emerge that provide further information to the research.
The discussion nature of this market research technique can encourage participants to talk about things they might not otherwise have done, but they may be influenced by others in the focus group or by the organizer.
Traditional surveys
Without a doubt, this is one of the best known and most widely used market research methods in history.
It can be carried out by various means: in person, by telephone, by e-mail or by means of an online form. Depending on the objectives, open or closed questions will be asked. If we decide to ask closed-ended questions, there are several types: dichotomous, i.e. a choice between “yes” or “no”; multiple choice; a rating scale; a check box and so on.
This market research methodology is very versatile, as it offers a wide variety of possibilities when it comes to formulating the questions. Each of them requires a small strategy to lead the participants’ answers towards the objectives to be achieved.
The clearer and more concise the questions are, the better the respondents’ true opinions will be reflected.
Active listening to conversations in social media
Many people post their opinions, tastes and preferences on their social profiles every day. In social media, users express themselves freely and the exchange of this information occurs instantaneously. For this reason, these platforms are very beneficial for market research. It is a source of unlimited data that can be harnessed and analyzed.
There are social listening tools, such as Consumer Research, that are able to collect all the information shared by consumers about a brand, a product or any emerging socio-political issue. Being very useful for market research as participants do not feel the pressure of the presence of an interviewer, thus sharing a wealth of real information about what they think or feel without filters.
Interviews
This methodology creates a more personal atmosphere between the interviewer and the participant, since it is the interviewer who asks the questions directly to the participant without surveys. Leaving the door open to broader and more complete answers.
However, this method of market research requires a lot of time and money. Therefore, it is necessary to plan ahead in order to allocate resources and efforts in the most efficient way possible.
If you want to conduct an interview of this type, we advise you not to ask closed or poor questions, so as not to get results that are not very useful for the objectives you want to achieve.
Field tests and experiments: what is it all about?
This method of market research is carried out in the environment of the people who participate. The researcher controls the independent variable to test the impact it has on the dependent variable. In other words, the objective of this test is to examine whether causality exists.
One of the most illuminating examples is Hofling’s experiment on obedience. This was conducted in a hospital where it was tested whether nurses would follow authority figures, such as physicians, if it were the case that the rules set by these figures violated the rules. What were the dependent and independent variables here? Clearly, nurses were the dependent variable, while the physician figure was the independent variable.
Like all market research methodologies, the field experiment has advantages and disadvantages. First, we can highlight that the behavior here is more natural, as it is reproduced in a real-life setting. In addition, in cases where the studies are covert, the participants are unaware that they are being studied, so they do not feel pressured at any time and, therefore, it does not affect the results.
It is true that experiments of this type have less control over external variables that may affect the results, so it is more complicated for another researcher to replicate the study in the same way as one that has already been carried out.
Observational market research
This method of market research consists of the researcher observing people without their knowledge. In this way, human behavior is more natural, as long as they are not aware that they are being observed.
In the case of wanting to do a study of this type, it is important to keep in mind that it is time-consuming and researchers cannot have total control over the environments they are going to investigate.
Analyze your competitors
As its name suggests, this type of market research consists of the strategic analysis of those brands that form the competition of your company. It is possible to do research on various topics; you can start by defining the product, service and brand; their prices; the strategy they follow in their social networks, etc.
This method is where the analysis of strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats, opens the way.
Public domain information
When we refer to public domain information, we are referring to all the unlimited data provided by the Internet. It is an excellent resource bank for market research.
One advantage for researchers is that the vast majority of public data is free, can be found in government databases, survey data, fact tanks and much more.
Purchase reports
That’s right, there is also the possibility of buying research reports or reports on the sector in which our company is located. In fact, there are portals that offer a large amount of this type of information, such as Mintel or BCC Research.
The advantage of this modality is that it saves time and effort, since the data is obtained in a logical and ordered format that gives us the possibility of getting an idea of what we are extracting from the first moment.
Sales data
This market research methodology consists of analyzing the results, together with other data from the study we are doing. It also offers the possibility to better understand customers and their buying habits over time. Although it is a very valuable method, it is important to keep in mind that this analysis will be very limited to customers.
Find the market research method that best suits your objectives
Depending on where you want to go and what you want to achieve, you will have to use one market research method or another. Once we have explained in an orientative way what each of the ways of studying the market or a sector consists of, we recommend that you take the time to find the one that best suits the objectives you have set for yourself.
