Leveraging Market Research for Smarter Business Decisions

Market research is a critical component for every business aiming to stay ahead in a competitive landscape. Conducting research on a continual basis helps businesses keep up with market trends and maintain a competitive edge.

Key Objectives of Market Research:

1. Identify Potential Customers:

• Who are they? What is their age, gender, location, and level of education?

2. Understand Existing Customers:

• What motivates them to choose your product over competitors? What do they value? Who influences their buying decisions? What media do they consume?

3. Develop Effective Strategies:

• Determine optimal distribution channels, media platforms (newspaper, radio, direct marketing), or the necessity of developing new products/services.

4. Identify Business Opportunities:

• Discover underserved markets, detect shifting trends, and assess demographic factors like education and leisure time that present new opportunities.

As noted by Dolan in "Market Research - Harvard Business School," while there is considerable debate on the best research procedures, managers agree that high-quality research information significantly impacts the quality of marketing decisions.

Types of Market Research:

Primary Research:

• Gathers direct information by monitoring sales levels and evaluating the effectiveness of existing business practices, such as service quality.

Secondary Research (Situation Analysis):

• Involves collecting published data to build a company database. This helps identify competitors, create benchmarking strategies, and target specific market segments.

According to Moore (1991, 1999), introducing a high-tech product presents unique marketing challenges as it often requires users to change their behavior. New technology adoption follows a lifecycle where certain audience segments are early adopters.

Understanding Your Target Audience:

Early Adopters:

• These visionaries appreciate the benefits of new technology. They are crucial for market penetration, being the least price-sensitive, easy to sell to, but demanding to please.

Majority Customers:

• Rationalists who prefer to purchase after others have tested the waters. Conservative majority adopters are comfortable being followers and are typically engaged later in the product lifecycle.

By knowing the characteristics of your target buyers, businesses can tailor their strategies to effectively reach and engage different segments, ensuring a successful product introduction and sustained market growth.

Okani is an international trade and business development firm dedicated to activating global business growth. Our expertise includes business development and lead generation, where we leverage an extensive network to connect clients with prospective customers. Additionally, Okani organizes international trade missions, assisting organizations in all aspects of foreign market entry.