Market research in simple terms is a process of gathering, analyzing, interpreting information about a product or a service in a given market area. It is basically done to determine the viability of a new product or service through research conducted directly with potential customers.
Market research is an organised effort conducted by a company to gather information about target markets or customers. It is a very important aspect of business strategy and planning. It is a key decisive factor on the feasibility of any new product or service launch. Market research provides important information which helps to identify and analyse the needs of the market, the market size, product needs and acceptance and competition.
When any individual chooses to get into business, one of the foremost activities done by them is market research. It helps the business owners to decide if the product will have value in the market or not. If the product has a need and a customer base that will accept the product. If the pricing of the product is competitive or not. If the pricing will be profitable for the business. All these important aspects about a business is found only through a proper market research.
There are different ways in which market research can be performed. The five main methods used by most of the businesses are surveys, focus groups, interviews, observations and field trials. Different type of data information is got by these different techniques. The type of data needed by the company and the amount of money they can spend determines which technique they will use.
The details of each of these techniques are as follows :-
1. Surveys — this is the most commonly used method and the most important technique to gather data. Surveys can be very helpful if conducted in the right way. There are different surveys like paper survey, personal survey, online survey.
2. Focus groups — this technique focuses on a specific group of people. It involves gathering the specific group and asking them relevant questions. It is quite an expensive method.
3. Interviews — this method basically interviews people and ask them questions. It can be a group interview or a personal interview. It can be done face to face or through a telephone.
4. Observations — this is a very old technique which involves appointing a staff member to observe the market behavior. It also means observing their competitors in various situations.
5. Trials — This is not so commonly used but through this trial and error method you can test the product through a small scale. If the results obtained are desirable and favorable for the business the same can be implemented on a larger scale.
Thus as we can see that conducting market research is an essential part for any business. To help conduct the same companies got to employ professional market researchers. Their main role will be to ensure the smooth running of the feasible market research technique chosen. Also they must do a proper analysis once the results are obtained. Thus giving the feasibility study to business owners in all aspects. Hence market research has a major impact on any business.
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