I get a lot of questions from marketers asking about how to do market research for their own marketing needs. While the process changes from project to project, there’s still a few very important framework components that apply to virtually every market research for marketing project.
With that in mind, last year I wrote an article about how do to market research for marketing, and I figured I decided to revisit that content and format it into an easy step-by-step guide that marketers can follow to get better at doing market research.
So, marketers, sit back, relax, and enjoy this short read to help you figure out how to do market research for your next marketing project!
Step 1 – Decide what you want to know.
The very beginning of the market research process is to ask yourself the following question:
What do I wish I knew that could make my marketing better?
The answer to this question is possibly the most pivotal point in the research process, as it guides the entire direction of everything else we do.
Like any great journey, you have to have an idea of where you want to go, and posing the focus of that in a marketing context will help you develop the right plan for your marketing exploration.
It doesn’t have to be anything overly specific – something broad about your audience or your major challenges is fine – but in general, how you focus your overarching ‘wish’ will end up being the focus of your market research process. The compass for your marketing research.
For even better results, spend time trying to answer the above question with your marketing team first. Conduct a group brainstorm, and give some notice ahead of time so everyone can come prepared with a few ideas. Take notes, scribble ideas, and keep going until you have it all refined to one simple phrase to answer the question.
I wish I knew why my audience buys from my competitors instead of me.
I wish I knew more about who my audience is and what they want.
I wish I knew if I’m talking to the right people the right way with my advertising.
Get the right voices involved, and put it all together into one great question, and you’ll be on your way to a strong market research strategy.
Step 2 – Use the best methodology to gather the best information.
When it comes to great market research, you need to be able to gather great information that helps you answer your major question from Step 1.
There’s a few ways to do this, and depending on your time, budget and the abilities of your team or market research partner, the best methodology available can change a bit.
You can gather primary market research data by conducting one or several of the following:
Surveys
Focus groups
In-depth-interviews
Big data analysis
Observation
Etc.
These are incredibly valuable tools, especially if you have the ability to design the studies yourself. They can also take time depending on how you choose to implement them, and can come with costs and a need for specific skills. While incredibly valuable, they might not be the best market research solution for every marketing team.
You can also gather secondary data to save time and energy using one of the following sources:
Census data
Industry surveys
Marketing association surveys
Expert articles
Existing interviews
Etc.
Though you might not find exactly what you’re looking for, often you can find several data-points and ideas. Together, they can often paint a picture that will help your team make reliable decisions to answer your marketing questions.
Step 3 – Combine the information and decipher what it means.
Squishing together all of your data and market research findings, and then summarizing it all together into several cohesive chunks is where you’ll end up making sense of all your hard market research work.
Take the time to conduct the right analyses and draw the right conclusions. If you have a big data set, or even a set of your own survey data, examine it through several lenses. Cut the data up into several audience crosstabs, and see if you’re able to identify key audience segments, or even direct measureable answers to your major marketing question.
If you have a lot of existing information, articles, thoughts and ideas, start to condense it all together into consistent thoughts. Create narratives, and bring it all together into compelling stories that capture the audience and the market.
Step 4 – Remove anything that doesn’t provide marketing value.
Market research is relevant and powerful when it’s memorable and actionable. For that to happen, the clutter needs to be removed, and the findings need to be condensed into the most meaningful components possible.
Start by eliminating anything irrelevant or redundant, especially information that doesn’t bare repeating from a marketing standpoint.
Next, combine repeating ideas and information, editing and revising until they come through in as short a message as possible.
Finally, bring what’s left together into the most obvious format possible, in order to paint a clear and compelling story that altogether answers your original marketing question as best as possible.
Step 5 – Create action from your insights.
Actionable marketing insights are the most critical output of great market research for marketing. They’re obvious next steps that you can take to make your marketing better, and they’re derived from your newly-condensed market research information.
Begin by reviewing your market research findings, and asking yourself:
What can I do with this information?
If you’re a marketing manager, could your findings provide opportunity for better messaging? What about persona development?
If you’re a social media marketer, could you build out better targeting strategies or on-the-ground activations?
If you’re a direct marketer, could you identify better opportunities for lead generation or customer acquisition?
If you’re a media planner, could you create more targeted digital out-of-home placements that fit better with your audience’s driving habits?
Consider all of these situations, and create actionable ideas that you can implement into your marketing strategy. Brainstorm them with your marketing team, write them out, develop great ideas around them, and begin to add them into your day-to-day marketing operations.
Put it to work.
Market research works in marketing when it’s performed with the marketing goals in mind. If you’re a marketer working to map out how to do market research in your organization, taking the time to follow the above five steps can help.
Be sure to follow this approach with your marketing. And if you have any questions, be sure to shoot me a message! I’d love to help!
Want to put Market Research to work for your marketing team? Don’t know where to start? Shoot me a message!
