Customers give a business reason to exist and operate in a particular market. There would be no entrepreneurs without customers and without businesses there would be no customers. The customer information has a key role to play in the success of a business.
The demographic data of customers enables companies to plan, distribute and create a specific value preposition for a particular market. You cannot create a product and sell it to people. People will only buy when you give them a reason that it will serve their needs and wants.
Market research provides you customer information. It is a systematic process where in you collect, use their information for serving them suitable goods and services.
Their wants aren’t enough. You also need their demographic information so that you identify whether they have the potential to buy your products. That is why, their age, gender and occupation needs to be known.
You can’t market your goods and services without knowing your customers. Their age and gender has influence on sales. Similarly, their occupation plays a key role in their buying decisions.
When you employ a market research process, you will begin by obtaining information about your customers. It is followed by value creation and which in turn is followed by value distribution.
Market research process
Market research is a process that needs to done systematically [step by step] by business owners. Here is the most practiced market research procedure by worldwide corporations.
Define problem
Business owners should start their market research with identifying a particular need of their customers. The problem or need of your customers you will be trying to solve or satisfy with a value preposition.
You will need to understand what exactly your customers look for? It is also important that you frame some solid reasons about why you want obtain by researching your customer’s needs.
Develop a research plan
Problem identification is followed by developing a research plan. A research plan allows you to think in advance available resources and ways to collection information – primary or secondary data sources.
Primary data is yet to be discovered by someone while your secondary data has already been recorded in newspapers, magazines, journals, etc. However, your priority should be using secondary data to see if it can help you solve customer’s problems. Secondary data is easily available in newspapers, magazines, journals, internet, etc.
When you fail to solve a problem with secondary data, switch to primary data sources. Primary data collection methods are somehow costlier than secondary methods. You can use observational methods, surveys, focus groups, etc. to gather your primary customer data.
Collect market information
Market information collection involves using most suitable techniques to gather information about your customers. You can use multiple ways – visit homes to conduct surveys, obtain leads from MR agencies, and also call customers. You should also use internet, and visit shopping malls, and other places of public gathering to survey your target customers.
Information analysis
No matter how you gather customer information whether using a primary or secondary source, you should analyse it in such a way to remove invaluable data. You should use statistical tools to help you arrange data systematically. It would help you to cull out the most important findings from your collected raw data.
Take action
All of your findings will again need to be shown to your marketing department where marketing managers will decide its fate. If they find your findings will benefit your company, it will be used. But, it be would be discarded when they find your findings invaluable to the company.
