Market research

Researching your market helps you target your ideal customer, identify new market opportunities and improve your sales performance.Successful businesses make regular market research the foundation of their marketing and sales planning. You can develop strong marketing strategies based on what you find out about your products and services, your customers, your competitors, your industry and the challenges in your marketplace.Market research can also help you identify areas of your business that could be updated or changed.It's important to clearly define your market research goals so that you can give yourself the best chance of finding accurate and useful results.This guide explains market research methods - including primary, secondary, quantitative and qualitative research - and shows you how to research your market.

Using market researchMarket research is an extremely valuable tool that can help you:·         make decisions about pricing, promotion, product and location
·         understand how your products or services fit your target market
·         deliver and expand your products and services
·         better understand how your competitors operate
·         understand the current environment of your industry
·         identify new opportunities
·         give context to your performance and reputation
·         test concepts, new products or marketing ideas
·         minimise risks to your business.
Market research is useful at all stages of the business life cycle. If you are starting a business, it can help you work out your competitive advantage. If your business is already established, you can use market research to develop new products and services and target customers more effectively.To make your market research worthwhile, you must draw conclusions and act on the findings from your research.Our market research kit will help you find key economic, demographic and statistical information about your industry. You may consider using a business adviser if you don't have the time, skills or ability to carry out market research. You may consider using a market research agency if you don't have the time, skills or ability to carry out your own market research.Acting on your market researchMarket research can help you identify areas of your business that require updating or change. Acting on these is a vital step in addressing customer and market needs, and growing your sales. For example, your research may show that you need to:·         review your business plan·         update your sales plan and improve marketing strategies·         improve your sales practices·         update your products or services·         rethink your retail design·         reconsider your branding.

The sooner you act on your market research conclusions, the more it will benefit your business. Over time, your marketplace, customers and competitors will all change. In this sense, market research is relevant at a certain point in time. Many successful businesses see market research as an ongoing process that helps them keep up with market trends.