Best Market Research Techniques and Their Advantages
Are you thinking of starting a new project? You are in the right place, as we have the best online market research techniques for you.
There are market research tools that are essential to have a relationship with your clients or prospects and know their reactions to your products / services, for example to measure the impact of marketing actions and create effective communication with consumers. Here you will find resources to easily collect information and make sure you obtain the necessary information that allows you to make better decisions for your business.
Advantages of using online market research techniques to understand customer behavior
Companies have more tools at their disposal than ever before, so they have no pretext to start effective market research, where they develop hundreds of resources to create products and services that meet customer needs.
Next, we have for you the benefits of using different online market research techniques:
- Using various techniques, it is possible to collect a large amount of information in less time.
- Organizations can identify consumer needs and offer products that meet them.
- Businesses and individuals can streamline processes by studying users’ wishes and behaviors in real time.
- It allows you to identify market trends and design products that are up to the competition.
- It is possible to create better market segmentation strategies and start offering products that meet the needs of the target audience.
What are the best online market research techniques?
The market research is a key success factor for bringing new products to the market.
How to identify the ideal research method to obtain the information we need?
Here are some techniques that will help you detect and analyze consumer expectations, competition and market trends.
1. Interviews
Interviews can be conducted over the phone, face-to-face, or through web video conferencing software.
It consists of the researcher talking to a person to obtain honest comments on aspects such as product price, design, advertising, etc.
One-on-one interviews are an effective research tool for companies seeking to obtain more qualitative information, such as opinions on sensitive topics that respondents may not feel comfortable discussing in a group setting.
2. Focus group
Another of the techniques for market research that can be carried out online is the focus group, which companies use to identify which marketing strategies are most effective in attracting customers, selecting the ideal products, assigning prices, selecting the packaging design, and even naming your products and services.
Focus groups are similar to individual interviews, except that they generally include a group of 6 to 10 people. A facilitator who moderates the discussion asks the participants a series of questions.
The information gathered during the focus groups is delivered to key decision makers in a report format and is used to help companies solve problems.
Today, there are also various options to avoid having to focus groups in person, and online focus groups are used .
3. Social networks
Social media is one of the most popular online market research techniques, as consumers have the opportunity to express their opinions without a survey or interview.
Customers are more willing to share their true feelings about brands, products and ideas through these networks, so it is important for companies to use these sites as a tool for market research.
4. Online Communities
The online communities are one of the techniques for research preferred by researchers, since in the same virtual space, can apply polls and surveys, create discussion forums, board ideas, to reward participants for their feedback and more.
It also allows you to carry out qualitative and quantitative studies and have the results in real time. By having participants with a certain profile and committed to research, you can turn to them to get insights whenever you want.
5. Online surveys
Undoubtedly, online surveys are one of the best tools for market research, since it allows you to collect a large amount of information without the need to exhaust resources such as money by printing paper questionnaires and going from house to house to collect information, or time, since you can send hundreds of questionnaires in an instant and view the results in real time.
Online surveys have incredible features that make it easy for consumers to collect data and help organizations make better decisions to achieve their goals.
Benefits of online surveys to collect data
Among the main benefits of using a survey platform as one of the online market research techniques are:
- Different types of questions can be used to create a dynamic data collection process, which is perfect for users to feel motivated to share their answers.
- Another reason why online surveys are more popular is because it allows you to create personalized questionnaires, adapting the logo and colors of your brand, which allows customers to always keep it in mind and feel confident to answer what they truly feel. .
- Online surveys allow organizations to visualize data in real time, which favors acting immediately when identifying areas that need change.
- They allow organizations to save on a large amount of resources such as labor, time, and money, since they can be distributed over the internet in a short period of time using effective survey software.
- With online surveys, organizations can perform data analysis in less time, get diagrams, and share research reports with the right people.
Good practices when implementing online market research techniques
If you are in the process of collecting data for your study, we have some practices for you that will help you when using any of these online research techniques.
- Ask short, direct questions : Whether it’s a personal interview, survey, or focus group, try to create simple questions that participants don’t misunderstand.
- Do not interfere with the opinion of the participants : This advice is applicable to any method you choose to collect data. Do not interfere with the opinion of the participants, allow them to express their ideas as they feel, otherwise you could cause a bias in the research.
- Go through an anonymous process : Sometimes, participants feel more comfortable sharing their opinion when they know that they do not have to offer personal data that can identify them.
- Offer incentives : Companies often offer incentives such as coupons, free products, or gift certificates to respondents. This helps participants feel more encouraged to complete the survey.
- Choose the ideal data collection platform: To ensure the process that the information you collect can be analyzed effectively, it is necessary to choose a platform that allows you to carry out an effective process from start to finish.
A market study encompasses a phase of gathering information and then processing that data to better understand the market. Hence the importance of choosing the online market research techniques that best suit your business and help you obtain the best results.
