With constant change being the norm in marketing and business, ane thing remains the same: the need for marketing research. Marketing research is a helpful tool for organizations to meliorate identify marketing strategies and evaluate business organization decisions using data. Only as you wouldn't continue vacation without making any plans, y'all shouldn't pattern marketing strategies without bankroll them with inquiry and data. In curt, the marketing research process is the courage of informed business and marketing decisions.

You might be surprised to hear that marketing research is one of the first things that organizations cut from their marketing budgets considering of the high time (and sometimes monetary) investment. This is non the all-time decision, especially when your company is planning to launch a new product or venturing into a new market. As some savvy startups have learned, marketing research doesn't have to be expensive if you do it correct and follow the right process.

Permit'due south review best practices when going through the five-step marketing enquiry process:

1. Define the Problem or Opportunity

The most important role of the marketing research process is defining the trouble. In lodge to do any research and collect data, you lot have to know what you are trying to acquire from the inquiry. In marketing enquiry, defining the problem you need to solve will determine what information you demand and how you lot can get that data. This will aid your organization clarify the overarching problem or opportunity, such equally how to all-time address the loss of market share or how to launch a new production to a specific demographic.

Develop questions that will allow you lot to define your problem (or opportunity), and examine all potential causes so that the research can be whittled downwards to the information yous actually need to solve that problem or determine what action to have regarding an opportunity. Often, these are questions most who your target market or ideal buyer persona is (for example: "What does our ideal customer expect like?"). These might include questions about demographics, what their occupation is, what they like to practise in their spare fourth dimension—anything to help yous get a clearer picture of who your ideal buyer persona is. Consider equally many variables and potential causes as possible.

Data-driven decisions start with good data. Here's a tactical guide to help teach you How to Do Market Research.

2. Develop Your Marketing Inquiry Plan

Subsequently you've examined all potential causes of the problem and have used those questions to boil downwardly exactly what you're trying to solve, it's time to build the research programme. Your research plan tin can be overwhelming to create because it tin include any method that will assistance you reply the research problem or explore an opportunity identified in step i.

To help you develop the research plan, permit'due south review a few techniques for conducting inquiry:

  • Interview prospects and customers . Oftentimes, you go the best feedback by using this tactic because you're going direct to the source. This might take the form of a focus grouping or one-on-one interviews. Use your defined inquiry problem to help select the right people to interview.
  • Acquit a survey using SurveyMonkey or some other tool.
  • Run user tests on your website or landing page(south). This is a toll-effective approach that tin provide a lot of insight and data on how your customers or potential customers behave or respond to something, whether it's new messaging or branding or a modified product or service you are thinking virtually offer. Simple A/B tests can go a long way in discovering user behavior. Employ heatmapping tools, such as Hotjar or Lucky Orange, and website analytics tools, such as Google Analytics or HubSpot analytics, to rails results depending on what data you demand to collect.

Oftentimes, we exercise all of this work and gather all of the data—but to realize that we didn't have to reinvent the wheel because someone had already run a similar, credible written report or solved the same trouble. That doesn't mean you don't need to practice any research, but learning about what other organizations have done to solve a problem or seize an opportunity can aid you tweak your research report and save yous fourth dimension when considering all of the research options. In marketing research, this is called secondary data considering it has been nerveless by someone else, versus the principal data that yous would collect through your own inquiry study.

3. Collect Relevant Data and Information

In marketing research, most of the data y'all collect will be quantitative (numbers or information) versus qualitative, which is descriptive and observational. Ideally, y'all will gather a mix of the two types of data. For example, you might run an A/B test on your website to see if a new pricing tier would bring in more business concern. In that research study, you might also interview several customers almost whether or non the new pricing tier would appeal to them. This way, you're receiving hard data and qualitative data that provide more color and insight.

When collecting data, make sure it'southward valid and unbiased. You should never ask a research interviewee, "You think that we should offer a college pricing tier with boosted services, correct?" This type of question is clearly designed to influence the mode the person responds. Try asking both open-ended and closed-ended questions (for case, a multiple-choice question asking what income range best describes you).

4. Analyze Data and Report Findings

Now that you've gathered all of the information you demand, it'southward time for the fun part: analyzing the data. Although one slice of information or data might jump out at you, it's important to look for trends every bit opposed to specific pieces of information. Equally you lot're analyzing your data, don't try to observe patterns based on your assumptions prior to collecting the information.

Sometimes, it'due south important to write up a summary of the study, including the process that you followed, the results, conclusions, and what steps yous recommend taking based on those results. Even if you don't need a formal marketing inquiry report, be sure that you review the report and results then that y'all can articulate the recommended course of action. Sharing the charts and data you collected is pointless if it doesn't lead to action.

Was your hypothesis proven wrong? Great—that'due south why you lot practice testing and don't run with assumptions when making decisions that could have a major impact on your organization. Information technology's e'er ameliorate to accept the results equally they are than to twist the data to evidence yourself right.

v. Put Your Research into Action

Your enquiry is complete. Information technology's time to nowadays your findings and accept action. Start developing your marketing strategies and campaigns. Put your findings to the test and become going! The biggest takeaway here is that, although this round of research is consummate, it's non over.

The bug, concern environment, and trends are constantly changing, which means that your enquiry is never over. The trends you discovered through your enquiry are evolving. Yous should be analyzing your data on a regular basis to see where you can improve. The more you know about your buyer personas, manufacture, and company, the more than successful your marketing efforts and company will be. When you look at it that fashion, you should starting time to wonder why so many organizations don't upkeep time and resources for marketing inquiry.

Of grade, at that place is a lot more to the marketing inquiry process than these five core steps, but these are plenty to get you started. Good luck, and be sure to share any tips yous have discovered for conducting marketing enquiry!

This mail was originally published in June 2016 and has been updated.