5 Reasons To Invest In Market Research

While there are many budding entrepreneurs, relatively few understand the value of market research. Many may wave it off as “pointless” or “too expensive”, especially during the early phases of business growth. The fact is, however, that budding startups have the most to gain from devoting time to conducting market research. Here are a few reasons to conduct market research, way before you open your doors for business.

1) Understand your market and industry

In today’s fast-paced world, whoever has the latest, most accurate view of their customer/audience and their industry is much better positioned to meet the customers’ needs. Without market research, you might be unwittingly directing resources to a dead-end market or entering a soon-to-be-dead industry. An upfront investment in professional market research will give you a good chance of foreseeing and managing the problems that may beset your business.

2) Find your niche

Finding your niche can help your business market and advertise its offers far more effectively, drastically reducing the effort required to acquire and retain each customer. This is especially vital for smaller businesses who may not have the resources to directly compete with larger and more established businesses that have had time to develop their customer base.

3) Standout from competition

Because investing in market research gives you a more accurate view of how things are, it can give your business a massive advantage over similar-sized competitors who are doing things purely by feel and guesswork. 

It will also allow you to discover the best practices of different businesses operating in your market as well as in seemingly dissimilar areas. Knowledge of these can be leveraged to help you outperform businesses that are larger or more established than your own.

 4) Offset personal biases with hard data

We tend to view our industries and markets through the distorted lens of our personal biases. While accurate market research will not completely remove the effect of biases from our day-to-day business decisions, it is perhaps the best tool for offsetting its worst effects. Without market research, all you can rely on are random tips, experience and gut feel, which while sometimes important, may not consistently produce the desired effects.

5) Tailor your offers to match your customers’ preferences and behaviour

A better understanding of customers’ wants, needs and behaviour can be used to develop services, fine-tune product development, and create delight at every stage of the customer journey. This enhanced understanding can be key to developing a truly loyal customer base.

 Conclusion

Market research isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to do, especially when you’re operating within the constraints of typical small businesses but is a necessity for any business that desires to be competitive and relevant in today’s fast-paced world. 

While small businesses may not always have the resources to spare to conduct vital market research on their own, some firms are ready to offer world-class market research services at rates most serious entrepreneurs can afford, giving even modest businesses a powerful set of tools for shaping their future.