The Benefits of Market Research for Startups
By Steven Czyrny
Market research refers to everything a business or marketer does to understand the competition and the dynamics of the industry they belong in. Many established companies conduct market research to stay abreast of the trends and solidify their marketing strategies. Startups and new businesses can do it for a longer list of reasons, including creating a business plan, crafting buyer personas and getting to know their competitors or target market demographics.
It is probably safe to say that small businesses in their early stages need to do market research more than their older counterparts. Here are reasons to invest in both qualitative and quantitative research:
1. To define the target audience
Knowing your target audience is an important factor in the success of your business. It increases the ROI of your marketing strategy and saves you the hassle of trial and error. Thankfully, defining a target audience is no rocket science, especially if you have market research experts by your side. You just need to have a clear understanding of your product or service and a view of it from the eyes of a potential customer.
2. It introduces you to competitor strategies
It’s hard to beat a more established company if you don’t know how they got where they are in the first place. Market research lets you gather information on your competitors’ sales and marketing strategies, source of financing, administrative structure, and other things that you can emulate. It also introduces you to their weaknesses.
3. Market research helps with planning
You cannot plan for the future without a clue on what transpired in the past. Market analysis doesn’t just dwell on the present; it looks into past market trends and repetitive market events, such as highs and lows that come in specific months or precede certain events. This information can give you useful insights into market patterns and help you brace up for the future.
4. It helps streamline your digital marketing strategy
Digital marketing is not the added advantage it used to be anymore; it’s a necessity today. A good digital marketing strategy takes into account the target audience’s preferences—something you can only know through market research. By studying the market in advance, you will get hold of important data like the average ROI of various social networking platforms, and the most popular traffic sources for businesses in your niche. As a result, you will know which social media platforms to prioritize and which ones to ditch.
5. Market research reveals market gaps
Market gaps provide the easiest route to the top for ambitious startup owners focused on product development. A market gap helps identify a market problem that doesn’t have a solution yet. Sometimes consumers don’t realize they have a problem until a solution is found and a new product is created.
Endnote
Market research may seem time-consuming and costly at the moment, but it will prove incredibly beneficial in the long-run. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the industry, and base your decisions on statistics and data for a better chance of success.
*Author’s Note: Image used in this article from: https://pixabay.com/photos/startup-whiteboard-room-indoors-3267505/