Before you start collecting and analyzing data, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your market research. What are the specific questions you want to answer? What are the assumptions you want to test? What are the gaps in your knowledge that you want to fill? Your objectives should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They should also align with your overall business goals and strategy.
Ask yourself what would change if you had a particular dataset or information. What decision will it affect, or at least validate? There are many situations where you can use surrogate variables or secondary data to achieve your objectives.
Certainly, when setting objectives for market research, it's crucial to follow the SMART criteria. By setting SMART objectives, you'll have a clear roadmap for your market research, enabling you to collect and analyze data that directly contributes to achieving your business goals and filling the gaps in your knowledge effectively.
Make sure that your objectives are as clear as possible - without clarity about what you hope to learn you can't design good research or ask the right questions All too often the scope of such projects is too broad to be of actual practical use, so keep things tightly defined
Go beyond market size. Don't just measure market size; understand the "why" behind consumer behavior. Explore cultural factors, purchase motivations, and decision-making processes. Analyze emerging technologies, social trends, and competitor innovations that could impact your product's future relevance in the target market.
When deciding how to gather information about your target market, you can choose from various market research methods. Secondary research involves using existing sources of data, such as reports and databases, to gain insights into the market size, growth, trends, segments, and competitors. It is usually cheaper and faster than primary research, but the data may not be as accurate or current. On the other hand, primary research involves collecting your own data directly from potential customers. This allows for more in-depth and customized feedback, but it can be more expensive and complex to conduct and analyze. Alternatively, you can use mixed methods which combines secondary and primary research to get a more comprehensive view of the market. Mixed methods can help validate your findings, fill in the gaps, and address different aspects of your research questions.
According to the literature on the topic, the best source of information about decision-makers within an institution are the actual providers. An example of gathering relevant information from a regulatory institution is to seek out a list of legal service providers who specifically work with regulatory entities. By reaching out to these providers and scheduling appointments, you can gain insights that will help you identify the decision-makers within your target institution. This approach can provide valuable information and facilitate your understanding of the roles and responsibilities of decision-makers in that specific area.
Utilize social media listening tools to understand what's being said about related products and the underlying sentiment and emotions in the target market's language. Collaborate with online forums, groups, or influencer communities relevant to your product category to conduct surveys or discussions, gaining insights directly from potential customers.
If you are conducting primary research, you need to decide who you want to reach out to and how you will find them. Your sample should be representative of your target market, meaning that it should reflect the characteristics, behaviors, and preferences of your ideal customers. You also need to consider the size, diversity, and accessibility of your sample, as well as the response rate and quality. You can use various sampling techniques, such as random, stratified, quota, or convenience sampling, to select your participants.
Once you have chosen your methods and sample, you need to design the tools you will use to collect the data. These can include questionnaires, interview guides, focus group scripts, or observation checklists. Your instruments should be clear, concise, relevant, and unbiased. You should also test them before using them to ensure that they are valid, reliable, and easy to use. If you are conducting research in a foreign language, you may need to translate and adapt your instruments to suit the local context and culture.
Designing effective instruments for data collection is crucial for obtaining reliable and meaningful insights. Here are some guidelines for creating instruments such as questionnaires, interview guides, and other tools: 1. Clarity and Conciseness 2. Relevance 3. Unbiased Approach 4. Validity and Reliability 5. Cultural Adaptation (If Necessary) 6. Ease of Use 7. Format Consistency 8. Ethical Considerations By following these guidelines, you can design effective instruments that will enable you to collect accurate and relevant data, leading to comprehensive and insightful research findings.
Make sure that the instruments you choose for your research are suitable for the market in which you're researching. In some countries an online survey is more likely to receive a response than an in-person focus group. Respondees from some cultures may feel uncomfortable being asked to express a critical opinion in front of the brand or other people
Now you are ready to execute your market research plan and collect the data you need. Depending on your methods, this may involve accessing online sources, sending out surveys, conducting interviews or focus groups, or observing customers in their natural settings. You should follow ethical and professional standards when conducting your research, such as obtaining consent, respecting privacy, and avoiding deception or coercion. You should also keep track of your data sources, methods, and results for future reference and analysis.
When preparing to expand to an European emerging market, as an "outsider" it can be sometimes difficult to carry out a proper market research and opportunity assessment. It is not easy to obtain trusted data regarding the local players - competitors, potential business partners such as importer-distributors or suppliers. In many such cases it is preferable to collaborate with a trusted local Market Entry Consultant, experienced in providing customised market research and that has extensive professional network in the local market.
Do everything you can to avoid confirmation bias in your results. Research is usually best carried out by a professional 3rd party with your close involvement in the design and evaluation stages but not necessarily during the research itself.
You can start, with competition, not customers if you want a soundly based understanding of possible opportunities. New entrants need to both understand the competition and look to have transferable experiences that potential customers can relate to.
The final step is to interpret and present your data in a meaningful and actionable way. You should use appropriate statistical or qualitative techniques to analyze your data, such as descriptive, inferential, or thematic analysis. You should also look for patterns, trends, correlations, or anomalies in your data that can answer your research questions or support or challenge your assumptions. You should also be aware of the limitations, biases, or errors that may affect your data quality or validity. You should then summarize and visualize your findings in a clear and concise report that highlights the key insights, implications, and recommendations for your product launch.
Analyzing data is a critical phase in market research, as it helps uncover valuable insights that can guide informed business decisions. By following this approach, you can analyze your data in a systematic and rigorous manner, deriving valuable insights that can inform strategic decisions and contribute to the success of your product launch.
Conducting market research for a new product launch in a foreign country requires careful planning and execution to gather relevant information about the target market.
While the article touches upon important Do's and Don'ts of market research in general, there is one aspect that plays a significant role when it comes to new product/service launch in a new country : Size and maturity level of the organisation. If it's a new startup/scaleup then using a reputed market research agency for a syndicated report works better. If it's a mid-size business they could utilise a combination of reputed market research agency and channel partner(s)/market affiliate(s) in the target country who could provide key insights/understanding of the dynamics involved for the launch. If it is a large enterprise with established brands, they will typically prefer to have their own market research team or agency to handle this.
Don't simply analyse the research results, make sure that you also set actions as a consequence on the basis of your findings!
Better to have the assistance/assignment to be given to the local MR agency. A sample test market research exercise will help to fine-tune full-scale MR. Data about local culture and consumer behavior be assessed.