Let’s see how we can use the knowledge to conduct any type of market research in 5 steps.
- Define the market research problem
This is where every research project begins. You will also find that market research in general follows the model of the scientific method. First, you need to define exactly what you are researching.
Do you have a question about your business that you want to answer? Maybe you see an opportunity in the market. Or have you noticed something curious in the use of your product and you have a hypothesis you want to test? State this in the first step of your market research process.
- Choose a sample and research method
We’ve already covered the basic types and methods of market research. You should already have a good idea of the differences between primary and secondary research, and which methods will best suit your needs.
As for the sampling of your research, this refers to the portion of the total data source in question that you will use. For example, if you want to survey your customers, the sample would be the selected customers you decide to include in your survey.
- Collect the data
Once you have decided on the problem, method, and sample, all you have left to do is collect the data. This is the step where you send out your surveys, conduct interviews, or ask industry analysts for information.
A little advice: choose your market research tool carefully. Its choice will significantly affect the amount of data analysis work you have to do. Google Forms, for example, automatically builds graphs from quantifiable data (and for free).
- Analyze the data
Now that you have your data collected, the next step is to look for patterns, trends, concepts, or frequently repeated words – it all depends on whether your method was qualitative or quantitative (or both).
A simple study done on a small sample will be relatively easy to analyze, even automatically, as in the aforementioned Google Forms. Sometimes you will need to use expensive and difficult to learn software such as Tableau, NVivo, PowerBI or SPSS. You can also use Python or R to analyze the data (if you have an analyst or data scientist, you’re in luck).
- Interpret the results and present conclusions
It’s not enough to simply analyze data. You need to organize your data in a communicative, actionable way that decision makers can understand. It is good practice to include all information in your report, describing the research process, results, conclusions and recommended actions.