What are the Types of Market Research?

July 3, 2021 By Hitesh Bhasin Tagged With: Market research

Market Research is one of the business strategies used to help the company or the brand research their target audiences and market. It helps them communicate with their consumers and assess their need and utility and how it can be provided or advertised by the company. The market research also deals with consumer satisfaction and even employee satisfaction surveys and activities. There are nearly 4 Types of Market Research.

Table of Contents

What are the Types of Market Research?

Market Research can help a company to know their consumers better and their expectations from the brand. Knowing that can help a brand devise a significant marketing strategy. The 4 Types of Market Research are as follows:

1. Primary Research

• It is the process of collecting new data and information without the help of any existing data.
• It is the generation of new data by conducting polls, interviews, surveys.
• This research type helps gain essential insights into the consumer’s behaviorisms and what would appeal to them.
• Large responses can be gathered from communicating with the consumers.
• It is a form of field research.

2. Secondary Research

• This is the form of research done using pre-existing data extracted at the time of primary research.
• Many sources exist using which secondary research progresses.
• Internet, public libraries, government archives, statistical data, etc., are used to cite.
• Going through many different articles can help come to newer, more innovative conclusions and results.
• It is a form of desk research.

3. Qualitative Research

• This type of research is where quantifiable data is not used; instead, the consumers’ feelings and opinions about a specific product are considered.
• This type of research is conducted using questionnaires, interviews, etc.
• It indicates what the consumer likes or does not like, what works for them, what they would like to see in an advertisement, etc.

4. Quantitative Research

• This involves measurable items and numerical data.
• The data collected by doing quantitative research is used for statistical analysis.
• Such an analysis can be worked at to see how to aim at the target audience correctly.
• It can be in the form of page views, subscribers, users, lapsed customers, etc.

The Necessity of the Types of Market Research

There are various reasons to use Market research and its different types; some of the objectives are as follows.

• It helps to check the effectiveness of a particular marketing campaign or the strategy behind it.
• It is required to know the consumers’ feelings, opinions, and attachment towards a product, brand, or idea.
• It is also essential not to the consumers’ dislikes, and market research helps to find such.
• In an organization, Market Research is needed to check the employees’ satisfaction and their grievances, if any.
• An organization with better conditions for its employees will become well-reputed.
• Subscribing to any of the Types of Market Research helps assess the competitors in the industry and what can be done to stay on the lead.
• To assess the requirements for being a category driver.

Methods Involved in Market Research

Market research is crucial in building a business because it is through this that one can identify their target audience well, understand the market trends, and be mindful of the competitor brands.

Different methods can be used for conducting Market Research. Some of them are as follows:

1. Survey

• Using this method, questionnaires are handed out to the consumers who act as respondents.
• The questions can be of various types, open-ended or closed-ended.
• There could even be multiple response questions.
• Depending on how objectively the consumers respond to a survey, it helps in obtaining useful insights.
• The survey questions should not be boring, but it should be engaging and effective enough to get to the needed points.
• These surveys can be taken physically, in-built surveys in apps, or emailed to the customers.
• There are diverse ways of arranging the types of questions for a survey. They should be done in a manner that helps to alternate between behavior and opinion questions.

2. Focus groups

• This is a form of discussion that is being conducted formally with a group of selected individuals.
• Consumers are brought in with their consent and willingness to provide some of the valuable time.
• Group discussions are a very comprehensive way to come across different opinions and perceptions within a short time frame.
• These can be conducted in batches, depending on the demographic in question.
• Discussion of relevant points and having a set direction help attain the conclusions the test is looking for.
• Analysis of the highlights of such discussions is known to be very insightful.

3. Interview

• For interviews, individuals who are the consumers are brought in.
• A set of questions are prepared, which the consumer has to answer.
• These are very objective interviews usually but can also be a form of qualitative research.
• It helps in gaining details of the consumers’ minds.
• Some topics or suggestions from the consumers may be sensitive to discuss as part of a focus group. Those can be addressed via an interview.
• Proper redressal of such nuances can help the brand improve its prospects without being offensive to people.

4. Social media engagement

• The brand’s social media page or the product is how the consumers will identify with them on social media.
• Over these platforms, the brands can try to be interactive and keep their target audience in the loop.
• Through various campaigns over a virtual platform, brands can stay relevant in peoples’ lives.
• Holding regular short surveys and trivia quizzes could help understand its effect on the minds of the people.
• As more and more consumers take to social media, it can be used significantly to connect with the target audience.
• This can help the brand know more about what attracts the consumers more and can appropriately take action.

5. Observation

• Observation of the market scenes is essential to notice the rise and fall of various trends.
• It helps in planning out the next steps towards satisfying the consumers.
• Observation over a long time is a necessity to have carefully planned out strategies that will be effective.
• It can also help know the methodologies that the competitor brands are taking up and can be taken as starting points.

6. Field testing

• Using this, tastings and user reviews can be gathered.
• Once the companies know how the consumers are behaving, they can make improvements accordingly.
• In many supermarkets, tasting new chocolate, cookies, or edibles is done to know the consumer’s opinion of the crunch, taste, flavor, texture, etc.
• It helps in analyzing what the consumer would prefer and what they would reject.

7. Competitor analysis

• In an industry, a new brand comes up every day, so a brand needs to stay relevant.
• Observing the trails of the competitor, one can find out what works and what does not.
• This can even help a brand find ways to overtake the competition by finding ways to create the desire in their audiences.
• They can do so by being a step ahead of their competitors.

8. Sales data analysis

• This is a form of statistical data analysis.
• It helps in understanding what sells and does not sell to the consumers.
• This can be in the form of advertisements or subscribers. Knowing data of the people influenced by your brand can help analyze the intricacies of the consumer mind.

9. Advertising testing

• Some advertisements can be very influential to consumers.
• While some others may be offensive
• Sometimes, ads tend to be offensive and insensitive to consumers’ lives. It makes the customers get repelled by the product and the brand.
• Knowing the right kind of ad to put up works wonders.

10. Satisfaction and loyalty analysis

• This is to check the satisfaction of the existing users of a product or a brand and what keeps them loyal.
• Routine feedback sessions with the consumers help attain a strong bond between the brand and the consumer.

11. Customer Segmentation Research

• Such types of market research are used for dividing markets or customers into different smaller groups or personas that comprise similar sorts of characteristics to channelize targeted marketing.
• It lets you know how people in each category behave and how they are going to influence revenues.
• You can opt for it at the time when you are ready to offer individualized experiences to your target audiences. With effective customer segmentation, focusing and delivering customized service becomes easier.

12. Consumer Insights Research

• It is useful in telling who your customers are and what they do. Also, it can tell you why your audiences behave in specific ways.
• It will also assist you in accomplishing your business goals. By knowing your customers deeply, you will be able to make an effective strategic marketing plan.
• You can use it to anticipate customer needs, personalize campaigns, solve business issues, and so forth.

13. Usability Testing

• This type of market research will guide you in understanding how your users use your products in real-time.
• It is useful for detecting any problems or bugs in early prototypes or beta versions of a product before launching them for consumers’ use.

14. Product Development

• While doing market research for product development, customer knowledge is used to create and improve any product or service.
• With effective market research for a product, you can minimize the risk of a new product failing while entering the market.
• Market research involved in product development revolves around the conception, formation, and introduction phases for making the product better before introducing the product in the market.

15. Campaign Effectiveness

• With the help of this type of market research, you can evaluate whether your ad or marketing message is reaching the right audiences and delivering the exact message to get expected outcomes.
• Market research for campaign effectiveness can aid you in selling more and reducing customer acquisition costs.
• If you want to spend your advertising dollars productively, it is essential to opt for such market research types.

Suitability of the Types of Market Research

Depending on the requirement, the type of market research that a company has to choose will differ.

A brand can use Market research to spread awareness or retain existing consumers.

Thereby, the type they choose will be different. The approach depends upon the goal they are trying to achieve. It is also essential to target the audience effectively so that it touches them somehow, and they become attracted to the brand.

For new brands trying to establish themselves, they need Market Research to find out the consumers’ problem that they could help to solve.

Communicating with the audience by showing them the benefits will help the brand become important to the customer.

Conclusion

Market Research is a useful mechanism to find out a lot about consumer behaviorisms.

Apart from that, the 4 Types of Market Research involving the different methods helps assess the market trends and create the desire in the consumers’ minds.

Such research should be conducted periodically to remain active in the consumer’s lives.

What are your thoughts about the importance of different types of market research for conveying marketing or advertising messages, developing the right product, and optimizing sales potential? Share your views with us in the comment section below.