Market research is the systematic gathering and analysis of data relating to marketing products and services. It is an important part of business strategy used to discover what people want or need in order to determine how to market a product. There are various instruments used for market research like questionnaires and focus groups. Market research also involves studying competitors and learning about new technologies. When starting a business, it is important to understand market information, how to segment the market, and identify market trends to estimate potential customers and learn about competitors, customers, and products. Techniques for market research include customer analysis, choice modeling, competitor analysis, risk analysis, product research, and advertising research.
2. Market Research Introduction
• Market research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of data about issues
relating to marketing products and services.
• It is a very important part of business strategy.
• The term is commonly interchanged with marketing research; however, expert practitioners
may wish to draw a distinction, in that marketing research is concerned specifically about
marketing processes, while market research is concerned specifically with markets.
• Market research, as defined by the ICC/ESOMAR International Code on Market and Social
Research, includes social and opinion research, and is the systematic gathering and
interpretation of information about individuals or organizations using statistical and analytical
methods and techniques of the applied social sciences to gain insight or support decision
making.
• The term is commonly interchanged with market research; however, expert practitioners may
wish to draw a distinction, in that market research is concerned specifically with markets.
3. Market Research for Business/Planning
• Market research is for discovering what people want, need, or believe.
• It can also involve discovering how they act. Once that research is completed, it can be used
to determine how to market your product.
• Questionnaires and focus group discussion surveys are some of the instruments for market
research.
• Market research is study of competitor product and learning of new technologies.
4. Few points for starting up a business
• Market information:-
Through Market information one can know the prices of the different commodities in the
market, as well as the supply and demand situation. Information about the markets can be
obtained from different sources, varieties and formats, as well as the sources and varieties
that have to be obtained to make the business work.
• Market segmentation:-
Market segmentation is the division of the market or population into subgroups with similar
motivations. It is widely used for segmenting on geographic differences, personality
differences, demographic differences, technographic differences, use of product
differences, psychographic differences and gender differences.
• Market trends:-
Market trends are the upward or downward movement of a market, during a period of time.
The market size is more difficult to estimate if one is starting with something completely new.
In this case, you will have to derive the figures from the number of potential customers, or
customer segments.
Besides information about the target market, one also needs information about one's
competitors, customers, products, etc. Lastly, you need to measure marketing effectiveness.
5. A few techniques for Market
research
• Customer analysis
• Choice Modelling
• Competitor analysis
• Risk analysis
• Product research
• Advertising the research
• Marketing mix modeling