What are the common market research challenges and how do you overcome them?

The market research objectives should be led by the business objectives and desired outcomes. They should be focused on developing the understanding and insights necessary to help move the organisation forward towards its business objectives. By starting with the end in mind, the methodology can be specifically designed to achieve the business objectives.

Market research is an essential tool for businesses seeking to identify new opportunities, assess potential risks, and gain a deeper understanding of customer needs. By gathering and analyzing data on customer behavior, preferences, and purchasing patterns, businesses can make more informed decisions about product development, pricing, and marketing strategies. At the same time, market research can help businesses identify areas where they may be falling short and where improvements can be made to better meet customer needs. By taking a data-driven approach to understanding the market landscape, businesses can position themselves for success in a highly competitive environment.

It is not uncommon for new and tenured businesses to bypass the valuable process of defining or reviewing their mission, vision, and strategic priorities. Understanding the position of your business in a fluid and dynamic economy, is critical to near-term success, as well as sustainability. Market research and data analytics are only as valuable as the context in which they are derived. Therefore, strategic planning review and evaluation must be the first step in any market study process. When an organization enjoys clarity of mission, clarity in action follows.

It's great to see the emphasis on defining objectives when conducting market research. A clear understanding of the goals and desired outcomes can make all the difference in effectively utilizing limited resources, especially for small businesses and startups. One aspect that might be worth considering is the role of technology and digital tools in market research. With a plethora of data analysis tools and platforms available, businesses can overcome some of the challenges associated with market research. For instance, leveraging AI-driven data analytics and social listening tools could provide valuable insights into customer preferences and industry trends at a fraction of the cost and time required for traditional research methods.

For usable market research, results, leveraging the local experts and understanding of the local culture are primordial. No amount of expertise coming from another target audience or market will give the accurate data and consequently correct analysis. There are so many failed market research and consequently failed product or service launch because this initial important phase has not been done correctly. One common mistake is that since we speak the same language (English in the States and Canada, or French in Quebec), we should be able to use the same publicity, marketing materials or just duplicate what works in the original market. However, culture is not that simple. Each market needs to be addressed utilizing the right experts.

Again, also in the design phase, it is important to take into account the culture aspect. Same language does not mean same culture. We can see it through different words that are used: depending on the country, some words have different meanings even if they are spoken in the same language. For example, English is spoken in the States, Canada, UK or Australia but these countries have different cultures and one cannot just duplicate what works in Ireland and deploy in Australia for example. Same goes for Quebec and France. We have district cultures and audience perception. So extreme tailoring needs to be made for a successful product/service launch. Hence the market research design phase needs to be mindful of these important nuances.

Again, local expertises need to be leveraged for the actual research itself. Intake and anastomoses of the data will differ greatly if the researchers are not issued from the target industry, culture, etc who understand and speak the same language (literally and figuratively speaking).

In my experience, any data can be misinterpreted if analyzed over a too short period, in a to narrow sector, compared to wrong competitors, using a too smaller sample, etc. Usage of the correct scope, methodology, industry standards are all the important factors to take onto account when assessing research results. It is very important to start with correct assumptions and parameters in order to obtain correct results through right assessment methodologies.