Whether we’re talking about small businesses or big corporations, market research is vital. As a small business owner, you’re juggling so many responsibilities that market research is often put on hold. Small businesses lack access to the resources that big businesses have to understand their customers. They have to be thriftier to understand their customers without big-budget support.

As a small business owner, you may be wondering these questions: How can you reach into your customers’ minds to figure out what they need – or better still, solve a problem they didn’t even realise they had? Understanding what your customers want lies at the core of creating a successful business strategy. 

Getting to the bottom of these questions first involves understanding why a business needs to conduct market research. 

What are the purposes of market research for small businesses? 

A market research plan plays a key role in how you plan, market, and grow your business, whether you’re just starting out or developing a new product.

Unless your company hasn’t been running for very long, there’s a good chance you’ve done market research as part of your business plan, or even done a SWOT analysis.

In order for your business to stay relevant, you should continue keeping an eye on new trends and market challenges. 

The following are reasons why businesses should conduct market research: 

1. Viability tests for products and services 
2. Be familiar with the pain points and desires of the people you’re trying to reach 
3. Develop an understanding of the market gap 
4. Make sure you stay on top of market trends, challenges, and changing tastes 

And many more reasons that small businesses must need market research. Even this is the reason why savvy tech companies search for a market research company to conduct market research. 

You gain a deeper understanding of your customers through effective market research. That’s great right? 

Before starting the survey, a small businessman must keep in mind three crucial things. Before we get started, let’s clarify a few more points that we discussed above:

1. Plan your budget. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a budget, but you should always stay aware of where your money is going. 

1. Your team should be informed. If you have a staff, ensure they understand their responsibilities when it comes to any market research task. Set up a data management and archiving department if you have one. 
2. Be specific about the next steps. Consumer insights could change within months of collecting market research. 

If you have little time or a smaller customer base, there are still plenty of ways to do market research that are affordable. Below you will find a list of the most effective types. 

1. Communicate with your customers
   It’s important to talk to your customers to get their feedback and opinions. You can set up exit surveys to appear automatically if someone buys something or leaves your website, and you don’t have to make them extensive. You can accomplish this using a number of techniques and tools. 
2. The second step is to monitor social media
   According to the latest data, there are over 3.6 billion social media users worldwide, which means you’ll learn a lot about your customers by going to their pages and groups. You can gain insights into different opinions and issues related to your industry by digging into existing discussions and participating in discussions on LinkedIn/Facebook groups, for example. 
3. Examine the trends in search
   If you are researching a side hustle like candle making, for instance, you may want to check out trending products on websites such as Easy to see if your idea can solve a problem. 
4. Identifying competitors
   Regularly review your competitors’ marketing materials so you can compare strategies. Although you won’t necessarily be able to tell whether their market research is better than yours, you can still learn from comparing. 
5. Data tracking on your website
   Many businesses have an online presence, and a website is a great way to get first-hand information on your customer base. Platforms like Squarespace and WordPress have analytics built-in, and you can set up Google Analytics for a monthly fee. The simple act of tracking your site’s page views can help you understand what pages are the most popular and how customers interact with them. 

CONCLUSION 

If you want to gain deeper insight into the minds of your consumers, consider some more traditional methods like focus groups and customer interviews as your business grows. Until then, please let us know your experiences with the suggestions above.

As Market Quotient is a Top Market Research Company in United States we can help you to get through your market research requirements. Contact us to get started to grow your businesses.

Contact us today at contact@marketquotient.com or +1 201.285.2024 to learn more about how our virtual business solutions can benefit your business and avail 10 hours of no commitment FREE trial.