Market Research Primer for Beginners

A well-defined Marketing Strategy is dictated by your Marketing Plan and influenced by your research. This can be complex, but some basics are worth noting. I cannot hope to encompass all aspects of Marketing Research elements in this article. My intent is to give you an idea where to start and get you thinking in the right direction.

A marketing strategy should boil down to identifying customer bases that your service or product can be perceived as an alternative over target competitors. Your approach and product offering should be tailored to meet the demand of market segments. It is key to understand the difference between what customers need and what they want. Customers recognize value in your offering. Value positioning is another topic of discussion and will not be discussed in this article.

You need to know what your Target Market is about and segment it. There are two basic methods used to segment a market: Geographic Segmentation and Customer Segmentation. Are you trying to serve the needs of customers in a geographical area? Alternatively, are you trying to identify people most likely to buy your product?

The Market Research Process Involves:

1. Define Marketing Problems and Opportunities.
2. Set Objectives, Budget and Timetables.
3. Select Research Types, Methods and Techniques.
4. Design Research Instruments, e.g. a questionnaire.
5. Collect Data - Organize and Analyze it.
6. Present and Implement from Research Findings.

Do some Competition Analysis:

1. Identify a few of your nearest "direct" and "indirect" competitors.
2. What is the status of their business? Growth - Static - Decline.
3. Learn from their advertising and operational deployment.
4. SWOT analyze competitors.
5. What are the major differences between you and them?

Market research and planning can get very involved. Many resources and books cover each element of this research. My intent is only to create an awareness of what is involved before you go to market with a product. I hope that you can use my overview to help you understand where to start.

Best Regards and Good Luck

© 2009 gmh