Marketing research is about understanding your target audience, figuring out the best way to reach them and monitoring what’s working.
But it can be difficult to go from an idea to a fully-fledged marketing strategy especially if you’re a rookie marketer who doesn’t know where to begin.
That’s why we’ve created this handy guide for beginner marketers looking to learn how they can use research in their day-to-day marketing efforts. So sit back, relax, and let us do all the heavy lifting (at least when it comes to research).
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Understand the importance of market research for informed decision-making. |
| 2. Learn how to conduct surveys effectively to gather customer insights. |
| 3. Explore various types of market research methods and their applications. |
| 4. Discover the role of data analysis in deriving actionable conclusions. |
| 5. Gain insights into creating buyer personas for targeted research. |
| 6. Recognize the significance of staying updated with market trends. |
| 7. Learn how to interpret research findings to enhance marketing strategies. |
| 8. Get tips on conducting market research on a budget. |
| 9. Understand the iterative nature of market research for continuous improvement. |
| 10. Realize the value of regular research to adapt to changing market dynamics. |
Understand Key Terms
In the field of marketing research, there are many terms that you will hear and use frequently. These terms are specific to this industry and you must understand what they mean.
If you’re new to this industry or are looking at doing some research yourself, here are some key definitions:
Conducting market research doesn’t have to be expensive. Learn how to gather valuable insights without breaking the bank by reading our guide on conducting market research for free.
Key Term
A term used in marketing research to refer to a concept or idea that needs further clarification. For example, if we were looking for information about how people perceive their daily lives, we could ask them “How do you feel about your life?”
This would be considered a key term because it needs some kind of clarification (i.e., What does good mean?).
Questionnaire
A survey where respondents answer questions based on their personal experiences using preset response options such as Yes/No answers (categorical), Likert scales (ordinal), or rating scales (interval).
Examples include customer satisfaction surveys or employee satisfaction surveys where people rate their level of satisfaction with certain aspects of a product or service they’ve used recently (e.g., How likely would recommend us? On a scale of 1-5).
Before you launch a survey, make sure you’re well-prepared. Our article provides 14 essential tips to consider before conducting surveys for better results.
Establish The Right KPIs
Setting goals is an important part of the research process. It’s a great way to get your mind focused on what you want out of your fitness journey, but it can also be incredibly daunting.
There are so many different types of exercises available, and there are even more ways to combine them into routines that suit your preferences and abilities.
If you’re not sure where to start or what type of goal would be most helpful for you, here are some things to consider:
- Is there a particular exercise that gives you anxiety? If so, why do you think this is?
- Are there exercises that make your chest burn? Do crunches hurt when they should feel good? What could explain these feelings?
- Is there something about your current workout regimen that isn’t quite clicking for you yet?
Why is this happening (is it something specific about the routine or just how much time has passed since the last working out)?
Know-How To Measure These Metrics
You need to know what you want to measure and why. If you don’t have a clear goal or objective for your marketing research, then it will be difficult to get meaningful results.
You also need to know what metrics are important for your business and which ones aren’t worth tracking. This can vary from company to company, depending on the size of their budget and resources available for marketing research (or any other aspect of their business).
Make sure that you can measure these metrics accurately so that they’re useful in providing actionable insights into your customers’ preferences and behaviors.
If possible, look into automated tools that can track this data without requiring too much manual work on your part (or needing an expensive software package).
Finally, interpret the results of these measurements carefully so that they’re relevant not only today but also tomorrow when considering changes or improvements down the road.
Use The Right Tools
Use the right tool for the job. There are various types of tools, each with its strengths and weaknesses. Some are better at collecting qualitative data while others excel at gathering quantitative information.
While it’s important to understand what kind of data you need, this is not always easy to do without experience in marketing research or working with researchers.
It’s better to use tools that are easy to use, scalable (that is, able to be used for large projects), affordable and secure than ones that can only do one thing well.
But cost more money or take longer to collect data from respondents who aren’t highly motivated by your product or service offerings because they lack expertise in marketing research techniques themselves!
Integrate all relevant sources into one database:
This will allow you to find patterns across different types of information quicker than if each source maintained its separate database which might not even be compatible with each other due to differences between how different types work best when analyzing queries.
some require Boolean operators while others require proximity searches such as “nearby locations?”
Before making queries easier for users looking for services nearby instead of having them search through long lists where most companies’ names appear several times (which takes up space unnecessarily).
Marketing research comes in various forms. Discover the importance of different types of marketing research and how they can enhance your decision-making process.
Understand Your Audience
The first step to marketing research is understanding your audience. The most important thing you can do is know who your customers are, and what they want from you.
Do they want the best deal, or do they need more information before making a decision? What kind of language do they use when talking about this problem? How does their lifestyle affect their interactions with products like yours?
Once you’ve answered these questions, go beyond basic demographics age and gender don’t tell us much about how people think or feel about something. Next look at psychographics: what kind of person is this customer? Are they introverted or extroverted?
Do they live in an urban area, rural area, or somewhere in between?
Someone who lives in New York City might be more interested in seeing new restaurants than someone who lives near a big city like Atlanta; someone who grew up on a farm might not care as much about organic food as someone raised by city parents (and vice versa).
Leverage The Right Channels
As you build your marketing research skills, be sure to leverage the right channels. There are several ways to do this:
Social Media And Email Marketing
These two channels provide an excellent opportunity for direct interaction with consumers, their friends, and family members.
Through social media platforms, you can gain insights into what people are talking about in real-time. You can also use social media ads or sponsored posts on Facebook or Twitter to reach new audiences inexpensively.
Paid Search (PPC)
PPC ads allow you to target specific keywords that relate directly back to your product or service offerings.
They’re also easy to track because Google Analytics allows for detailed reporting so you know exactly how many clicks each ad received, as well as how much it cost per click (CPC).
Ever thought about what zombie movies can teach us about marketing research? Find out in our article that explores 11 lessons from zombie movies that can be applied to effective research strategies.
Video Marketing
Videos have become one of the most-used forms of content online today because they’re easy for viewers to digest quickly while still providing valuable information that resonates with them on an emotional level.
And they’re great at driving engagement across both organic search results AND paid advertising!
Research Your Competition
When you are researching your competition, it’s important to take a look at what they’re doing. The goal of this activity is to identify the best practices of your competitors and then use them in your own business or marketing strategy.
Here are some examples of how you can use the information from this research:
Improve your product or service based on findings from competitor research.
Make sure that you’re not missing out on anything by reviewing what others offer (and don’t offer).
If a certain feature is unique to one company but not another, then it’s worth looking into whether adding that feature will help with customer retention and loyalty (and possibly even increase sales), which should lead to higher profits.
Improve customer service based on findings from competitor research especially when it comes down to price points;
If several companies offer similar products at different prices, customers might choose vendors who have lower prices because they think they’re getting better value for their money!
Audit Your Website
Before you begin any marketing research, it’s important to audit your website for broken links.
Broken images are also important to check, as well as outdated content and spelling errors. Grammar and grammar errors, like missing commas or periods at the end of sentences, can be easy to miss when looking at your site, so it’s a good idea to get an outside opinion on this.
You should also check for broken links on both internal and external pages within your website that engage with customers through email subscriptions or lead generation forms (if you have one). Sometimes these things happen because Google updates the way they index websites.
Monitor The Online Conversation
Monitoring the online conversation is an essential part of any marketing research strategy. It’s important to find out what people are saying about your brand, so you can respond appropriately or build on their feedback. Several tools can help you with this.
One option is Google Alerts, which allows you to set up an alert for specific keywords or phrases (like “your brand” or “your product name”).
Google sends you an email if it finds new results matching your search criteria, which means you’ll be updated as soon as there’s new information available on the topic.
You can also set up alerts specifically for social media sites like Twitter and Facebook by using a service like Mention, which monitors more than 30 different platforms for mentions of your company name or products.
And it even lets users filter results according to geography!
If live monitoring isn’t enough for you or if it takes too much time away from other facets of your business another tool called Hootsuite allows users to schedule posts across multiple social media accounts at once using filters based on location and language settings
Create A Landing Page With An Opt-In Offer
A landing page is the first page a visitor sees when they arrive at your website. You can use this to collect emails or phone numbers from potential customers, and it should be designed to convert visitors into leads.
A good landing page should include an offer that is relevant to the visitor’s needs so that they feel compelled to give up their contact details in exchange for receiving more information about it.
If you’re able to create an effective call-to-action (CTA), you’ll increase conversions significantly.
Use A Contact Form With A Specific Call To Action On Each Page Of Your Site
Contact forms are a great way to collect data from your website, and they’re simple to set up. There are many different kinds of contact forms, but the most basic ones allow users to submit their email addresses in exchange for some kind of reward or incentive (like a coupon).
Many websites also use contact forms as a way to collect information about their visitors and prospects on their site.
Contacting folks through this method is an effective way of getting people interested in your product or service, but you must have a goal in mind when using them.
By using specific calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout each page of your website, you can increase conversions and engagement with visitors who complete the CTA form.
While many different types of CTAs can be used successfully on any given page; however there are two basic types: soft CTAs which include phrases like “learn more” and “sign up for our newsletter”; hard CTAs include phrases such as “contact us” or “buy now.”
Marketing research might not always yield the expected results. Learn why it sometimes falls short and how to improve it by reading our insights on making marketing research work better.
Decide What You’re Going To Do With New Visitors Once They Arrive On Your Site
As soon as someone lands on your website, they should see a clear path forward. They should be able to find what they came for quickly and easily or at least be given an obvious way to continue their search.
If your site structure is confusing or overwhelming, visitors will leave before they even realize what it was that brought them there in the first place!
And that’s not all: once you’ve gotten visitors past this initial hurdle (and hopefully convinced them to stick around), make sure you’re keeping up with good design practices and engaging them with relevant content.
Offer opportunities for contact, whether through phone numbers or email addresses (if appropriate) and provide alternative methods of contact in case one method isn’t working out well.
Also, make sure it’s easy for visitors to learn more about what makes you different from other companies offering similar products/services; this might include a blog where customers can get insight into how things work behind the scenes at your company.
Anything that helps build trust between brand and consumer will help keep sales numbers high down the road when people are ready to buy something online!
Create Attention-Grabbing Content That Reels In Leads Like Crazy
The first step to creating content that captures the attention of your target audience is to use headlines that are relevant and compelling. When it comes to marketing, headlines are what make or break a piece of content.
Because they’re so important, you should take some time to brainstorm ideas and test different versions before settling on your final headline.
Your next step is to use call-to-action (CTA) buttons in places where your visitors are likely to see them, like the top and bottom of each page on your website or blog.
These CTAs allow you to direct visitors toward a conversion goal such as signing up for an email list or making an online purchase and they’ll also help with SEO!
Images are another great way for marketers to grab their readers’ attention: A recent study by Hubspot found that people respond better when articles feature visual elements rather than text alone!
And don’t forget about videos; according to either Forbes or Inc., videos can increase organic search traffic by 40%.
Collect Data From Forms, Emails, And Phone Calls And Organize Them In A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Tool Such As Hubspot’s CRM For Free
For example, you can collect data from forms and emails. And then, once you have all this information in one place, it’s easy to sort through it and organize it by company, contact person, and other relevant details.
As you’re organizing your contacts into HubSpot CRM, make sure that their contact information is up-to-date. You’ll also want to add any notes about how your sales team interacted with them or what products or services they might be interested in buying from you.
When setting up a customer relationship management system like HubSpot CRM for Free (if you don’t already have one), think about what makes sense for your business.
Then look at some of the most popular CRMs on the market today: Salesforce Sales Cloud Lightning Experience; Zoho CRM; Freshsales; SalesLoft; Insightly; Highrise (formerly Basecamp); Zendesk Sell box
Send Pre-Written Emails To People Who’ve Completed Great Leads Nurturing
You should also send pre-written emails to people who’ve completed a form, visited a specific page, downloaded a specific file, or made a purchase. You can even target them based on their level of engagement with your brand.
If you’re running an eCommerce store and want to send them product recommendations after they’ve browsed through ten pieces of clothing in your store and then left without buying anything, this is where you would start targeting them with marketing messages.
Test Everything – From Landing Pages To Emails – Before Sending It Out Using Software Such As Unbounce Or Hubspot’s Free A/B, Testing Tool
Don’t just test your marketing copy. Test everything – from landing pages to emails.
The best place to start is by using a tool like Unbounce or HubSpot’s free A/B testing tool, which will allow you to do split tests on things like the color of a CTA button.
Different headlines in an email or even different call-to-action buttons on a landing page. This way, you can see which version converts the most effectively and then roll out that version across all of your marketing materials (and ideally beyond).
If there are any questions left in your mind about how effective your marketing tactics are, now is the time to find out!
Conclusion
Digital marketing is a field of endless possibilities, and it’s only going to get bigger. As more and more people are using the internet each day, they need access to information to make good decisions when purchasing products or services.
One thing’s for sure: If you can master these tactics today – research, collect data, analyze it and use it strategically – then you’ll be able to do anything with digital marketing tomorrow!
Further Reading
Explore more about market research with these informative resources:
Market Research Basics: Get a solid understanding of the fundamentals of market research, including its key concepts and methodologies.
Marketing Research Guide: Delve into a comprehensive guide that covers the various aspects of marketing research, from data collection to analysis.
Market Research for the Buyer’s Journey: Learn how market research can guide you through the buyer’s journey, aiding in customer-centric strategies.
FAQs
Have questions about market research? Here are some answers to common queries:
What is market research and why is it important?
Market research is the process of gathering and analyzing information about a market, its consumers, and competitors to make informed business decisions. It’s crucial as it helps businesses understand customer needs, assess market trends, and identify opportunities for growth.
How can I conduct market research on a tight budget?
Even with limited resources, you can still conduct effective market research. Utilize free online tools, tap into social media insights, and consider surveys or interviews to gather valuable information without breaking the bank.
What are the different types of market research methods?
Market research can involve various methods, such as surveys, focus groups, interviews, observations, and data analysis. Each method offers unique insights into consumer behavior and preferences.
How do I choose the right target audience for my market research?
Identify your ideal customer by considering demographics, psychographics, and behavioral factors. Create buyer personas to represent different segments of your audience and tailor your research accordingly.
How often should I conduct market research for my business?
Market research is an ongoing process. Conduct it regularly to stay updated with changing market dynamics, consumer preferences, and emerging trends. Regular research ensures your strategies remain relevant and effective.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.