Market Research: Types, Use Cases, and How To Do Market Research 

One way to get information that can help in decision-making for your business or organization is through market research. It gives you data that provides a perfect view of the market, customers, opportunities, and other vital aspects. You, however, have to understand market research and do it correctly if you want to tap its benefits.  

Market research can be categorized into various types. To carry out effective and appropriate research, you should understand the different types and how to do them. Read on to learn the various types and how to apply them correctly. 

Major Types of Market Research and How You Can Do for Your Business 

Arguably, various types of market research intend to help you solve different problems affecting your business. That means for every challenge you have in your business, there is a specific way you can get valuable information to help you solve it. With that said, here are the types of market research:

1. Customer Insights Research

As the name suggests, this type of research aims to help you understand your target consumers and what they do to help you target them appropriately. It gives you information on their behavior, preferences, and buying patterns. You can carry out this type of research when you want to understand consumer needs, personalize your marketing, or innovate new products or services that meet customer needs. 

You can deploy various methods when carrying out customer research. The most common ones include interviews, surveys, and ethnography, among others. Note, however, that if you are running a business that targets consumers in different parts of the world, gathering data can be a challenge. Some websites with useful information sometimes restrict traffic or access outside their regions. 

Thankfully, modern technologies can help you gather consumer data from any region. You only need to use a residential proxy IP, so you appear anywhere in the world. So, you can comfortably collect data and information about the target consumers in your research. 

2. Brand Research 

Brand refers to the image or what people out there associate your company with in comparison with others. So, brand research helps you gather data for managing your brand in your industry. When you undertake this type of market research, you strive to uncover truths related to the following:

• What people think about your business or their perception
• People loyal to your brand
• How deep your brand has penetrated the market 
• How consumers separate your brand from others 
• Your brand value or what people are willing to pay for experience with your brand 

To carry out brand research, you need to use methods that help you get a picture of your brand in the marketplace. You can use interviews and focus group discussions to learn how people associate with, value, or acknowledge your brand’s competitiveness in the market. 

3. Competitive Analysis Research 

Businesses compete for market shares, customers, and even resources. Your business has competitors you need to learn about if you want to gain a competitive edge over them. So, competitive analysis research aims to establish the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors in the market. 

Notably, every business, regardless of its growth stage, has competitors. With a thorough competitive analysis, you can gather information about them and devise ways to win the competition. The best strategy is to pick a few competitors and then analyze their strengths and weaknesses. 

Some of the best sources of information for competitive research include advertisements, articles, business journals, and others. The information you should gather from these sources about your competitors should be sales volumes, their marketing strategies, and their workforce. 

4. Product Development Research 

Product development research provides valuable information when developing or creating a new product or service for your customers. It is the type of research you need when carrying out innovation. Whether you are developing a completely new product or improving the existing ones, you need to conduct this research to develop a product that meets the needs of your target customers. 

Depending on what you want to achieve through product development research, you can use interviews, conduct tests, or get opinions from target product users. You can also utilize assessment methods that help you determine the usability of your new product. Most importantly, seek to understand how target users will receive your product. 

5. Customer Satisfaction Research 

You should understand how customers interact with your products or services and whether they meet their needs. By conducting customer satisfaction research, you get valuable information that helps you gauge whether or not customers are satisfied with your products or services. That way, you can establish if you are living up to their expectations or failing them with your products or services. 

Customer satisfaction is an indicator of many things, and it suggests measures of success such as the performance of your products and retention. Note, however, that satisfaction should imply customer satisfaction in various areas, including the following: 

• Market price
• Product design 
• Delivery time
• Performance 
• Interaction with staff or support team

If you can satisfy your customers in all these aspects, you are sure of growth and their loyalty over time. So, make it a habit to conduct customer satisfaction research as often as possible using surveys and other methods that can help you gather information. Remember also to do it at various points of customer interaction, from the initial engagement to the ultimate use of your product. 

Conclusion 

Conducting research is the best way to get valuable information for decision-making. You cannot compete with others in the market if you do not understand them. Similarly, it is hard to meet customer needs if you do not understand their behavior or preferences regarding your products or services. Thankfully, you can get information on all these through market research. 

This article has explained the major types of market research that you need to carry out for your business. It may not be necessary to carry out all of them at once, but at least you need to identify what is appropriate at any given time for your business. You can innovate, make forecasts and understand your customers with regular research. Success!