What is market research?
Market research is an important part of the marketing strategy development. This refers to collecting important information about the target market for a better understanding of the way consumers think, their behavior, the way they see the company and the products and services the company delivers, their buying habits, their lifestyle, their desires, needs and expectations from a product or service, or other information regarding the way consumers relate to the company’s products and services.
Moreover, market research regards an analysis of the market, the competition, the business field in which the company activates. Besides the information about the target market, information about the competition is useful, because can reveal functional and unfunctional practices in the context wanted by the company, the possibility of identifying new tendencies in the domain, or new directions in the industry field your company activates.
Where can market research be used?
The information revealed by market research can be used in the development of the market strategy, in the development of products and services, the qualities or features which these products or services should have, the adequate advertising channel, the optimum communication channel for the target market, the best possibility to storage and manage the clients feedback, the adequate place to sale the products, the best way to distribute the products etc.
What are the benefits of the market research?
The first benefit a company will have after market research is to identify and characterize the target market. The information gained regarding this aspect don’t refer to social-demographic features only, they provide a much deeper understanding of the target market, its preferences, habits, or expectations.
In addition to the possibility to rebuild the products and services development strategy, the marketing and business strategy, through market research a company can identify certain problems, alternatives to develop the business, or new markets to sell the company’s products.
Market research is therefore the base of the company’s marketing strategy, which increases considerably the chances of success, and of reaching the desired profit.
