Guide to Market Research and Analysis

Successful businesses have extensive knowledge about their customers and their competitors. Getting accurate and specific information about your customers and competitors is a critical first step in market investigation and development of a marketing plan. Accurate market assessment and development of an effective plan is critical to the success of both new and existing businesses. The market impacts and directs all aspects of the company's activities and ultimately will lead to success or failure of the business. In developing a market plan, your primary functions are to understand the needs and desires of your customer, select or develop a product or service that will meet customer needs, develop promotional material that will make the customer aware, and ensure product or service delivery.

How to Find New Markets

New markets can mean markets in a new location or country. However, on a more practical level, a new market is simply a set of customers who have not purchased from you before. This means that a new market could be customers in a different part of town, socio-economic group, country or industry.

Primary Market Research Techniques

This info-guide provides a summary of primary research techniques - primary, being research that is generated first-hand by you and your business.

                              

New Techniques for Market research

The purpose of market research is to validate and inform a company’s planning assumptions regarding their strategy, target customer, product, and marketing communications. Technology start-ups have unique research needs. They differ from more established companies in that their market, product category, technology and competition are difficult to define. This means that the relevant market research techniques for start-ups vary from those used by bigger companies.

Methods for Market research methods - an overview

There are several ways to categorize the various market research methods.  The vast majority of techniques fit into one of six categories: (1) secondary research, (2) surveys, (3) focus groups, (4) interviews, (5) observation, or (6) experiments/field trials.

Market Research Methods: An Overview