How Marketing Research Can Help You Gain Access To An In-Demand Market

If you’re a marketer, you know that understanding the customer is critical to being successful. Marketing research helps companies and brands attract customers by identifying who their ideal consumers are.

This type of marketing research can help identify a target market, find predictive data about your customer base, and gather information about what people like or dislike about your product or service.

By using surveys, interviews or other tactics, marketers can identify how to best position their brand to gain traction with potential customers. Additionally, this information can be used in developing marketing strategies to reach those consumers most likely to buy from you.

How To Do Market Research! (5 FAST & EASY Strategies)

Key Takeaways
Market Research Strategy: Discover how strategic market research can provide insights into an in-demand market, helping you understand customer needs and preferences.
Targeting High-Demand Segments: Learn how market research enables you to identify specific segments within a high-demand market, allowing for targeted marketing efforts.
Trend Identification: Understand the importance of market research in spotting emerging trends and adapting your offerings to meet the demands of the market.
Competitive Analysis: Explore how market research aids in analyzing competitors’ strategies, strengths, and weaknesses to position your business effectively.
Informed Decision-Making: Gain insights into how market research empowers you to make data-driven decisions, minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities.

Segmentation

Segmentation is the process of dividing a market into different groups of buyers. Segmentation helps to identify the different groups of buyers and the different needs of the groups.

Different needs lead to different buying patterns and different product, promotion, and place decisions. These different groups of buyers need different marketing mixes.

The marketer must first define who they want to target, then they must figure out what makes them tick.

They will use this information as they develop their strategy by creating a profile for each person that makes up this target audience or segment based on their lifestyle, income level, where they live etcetera (you can get more information about customer profiling here).

Crafting compelling narratives is an integral part of modern marketing research. Discover how the art of storytelling can elevate your research efforts in our article on The Power of Storytelling in Marketing Research.

Family Life Cycle

The family life cycle is a concept used to describe the stages a family goes through from birth to death. It can also be used to describe the economic and social behaviors of families at different life stages.

In recent years, there has been an increase in media coverage of gender roles and expectations being challenged or changed. This is causing marketers to reevaluate their family life cycle marketing strategies to appeal to different types of families.

For example, if you’re marketing for babies or children, you might have traditionally gone after parents who have recently had children (e.g., first-time mothers).

Today though, there are more stay-at-home dads than ever before which means that your target audience may not necessarily be mothers but rather, all those involved with caring for children: single dads; grandparents who help care for their grandkids; etcetera…

Psychographic Segmentation

Psychographic segmentation is based on the way people think, feel and behave. Psychographics are often referred to as “soft” benefits or “intangible” advantages since they are not directly related to functional features and attributes of products or services.

They include lifestyles, social class, values, personality traits, and identity factors.

Psychographics can help you determine how customers want to be treated by your company and what appeals most to them. Psychographic segments might include:

Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964)
Generation X (born between 1965-1979)
Millennials (born after 1980)

Embarking on a career as a market research analyst? Our detailed guide on How to Become a Market Research Analyst provides insights and tips to help you navigate this exciting field.

Demographic Segmentation

Demographics

Demographic segmentation is based on age, gender, income, education, and location. Demographic segments can be used to target specific groups of people.

For example, if you’re selling lawnmowers for the spring season and want to promote your brand among young mothers in Atlanta suburbs who haven’t bought a new mower in 10 years but have some disposable income this month (the “spring cleaning”).

Then you would probably create several demographic segments based on these criteria:

Age: 18-30 years old
Income: $40k+ per year
Location: Atlanta area suburbs with good schools and shopping options nearby

Geographic Segmentation

Geographic segmentation is the process of dividing a market into different groups based on where they live. It’s an effective way to target customers and it’s pretty easy to do.

You can use geographic segmentation by identifying the specific region or neighborhood where your target audience lives and then focusing all of your marketing efforts on that group.

For example: if you’re selling furniture in New York City, focus all of your marketing efforts on Brooklyn and Manhattan residents who are between the ages of 25-35 with high-income levels.

This will help ensure that when someone searches “furniture” online, they see only ads related to what you offer in their area.

Socioeconomic Segmentation

Socioeconomic segmentation is based on the social class of customers. Socioeconomic segmentation is typically used to target either a high-income or low-income audience.

Socioeconomic segmentation is also used to target people who have a certain level of education, occupation, or lifestyle. You can use this information to create marketing campaigns that appeal specifically to each type of customer.

For example, you may want your ads for luxury items or services like personal trainers to be shown only on platforms within the app store that are used by people with higher incomes and more education than other apps’ users (e.g., Google Play instead of App Store).

Or you may want your ads for discount deals on pre-owned clothing at thrift shops to appear only during prime-time TV shows watched by women with children under 12 years old (because they’re likely more likely than other viewers at that hour).

Are you ready to tackle the challenges of Super Bowl marketing research? Dive into our comprehensive resource, The Ultimate Guide to Super Bowl Marketing Research, and learn strategies to maximize your research during this high-profile event.

Behavioral Segmentation

We all know that people are different. Everyone has different needs, preferences, ways of thinking, and ways of interacting with the world.

What you may not have known is that each person also behaves uniquely. All of these things come together to make up who we are as individuals and what makes us an individual market segment.

Behavioral segmentation involves identifying common characteristics that define your target customers’ behavior patterns and lifestyles based on their attitudes, needs, and motivations; rather than on demographic or psychographic attributes (e.g., age, gender).

In other words: behavioral segments go beyond traditional demographic groups because they consider how people behave when making decisions about products or services (and not just who they are based on what they say).

Target Market

A target market is a group of customers who share similar characteristics or needs. The following sections will help you better understand how to identify your target market, define it, and find other terms that are used in this context.

Identifying Your Target Market

There are several ways to identify which customers you should focus on for marketing research. One way is by using a persona map.

A persona map is a visual representation of your ideal customer and their habits, preferences, and pain points from which you can build personas as well as create content that resonates with them most effectively (more on this in the next section).

Another way is by conducting a survey such as the brand loyalty index (BLI) or Enterprise Customer Preference Index (ECPI). These surveys measure customer sentiment towards various brands and products so that businesses know if they’re meeting the needs of their audience.[1][2]

Defining Your Target Market

A target customer profile consists of demographic factors such as age range, gender, and location while also focusing on psychographic traits like attitude/behavioral attributes.[4] For example:

If we were targeting college students living at home during university breaks then our demographic would be 18-21-year-old males living at home during school vacations; whereas our psychographic might include “loves adventure sports” AND “wants more freedom”.

Creating an effective marketing research panel starts with selecting the right participants. Learn the art of participant selection in our guide: How to Identify the Right Participants for Your Marketing Research Panel.

Find Predictive Data

As you know, customer research helps you get to know your customers so that you can better serve their needs. Customer research also helps you predict what they want and need, which is a critical step in being able to sell them something.

Predictive data is the next phase in this process: knowing what they want or need should help predict what they will buy and then also be able to predict what they will buy again, thus leading us around the circle back again.

This cycle of predictive data is incredibly helpful for marketers because it allows them to create effective marketing strategies based on past behavior (and thus avoid wasting time and resources).

When you look at your buying habits for example, if I were looking at my buying habits.

I could use predictive data as part of an overall strategy for increasing sales by predicting future actions based on current actions within my target market.

As well as current trends unrelated but relevant enough that they might influence future decisions (e.g., whether or not there’s going to be another recession).

Get Customer Feedback Through Surveys Or Interviews

Customer feedback is one of the most powerful tools for improving your business.

Whether you’re creating a new product or service, looking to improve an existing one, or trying to figure out how to market it to your audience, getting feedback from customers will help you make sure that whatever you create meets their needs and expectations.

Use Surveys

One of the simplest ways to get customer feedback is through surveys. You can send them out through email blasts.

Ask people in person when they interact with your company (for example, at check-out), or even use an app like SurveyMonkey that allows users to submit responses via their computers or smartphones.

Conduct Interviews

If you prefer having more in-depth conversations with customers rather than just asking them questions over email or phone calls (and if they’re willing enough), then conducting personal interviews could be right up your alley!

However, this method has a few drawbacks like not being able to reach as many people as quickly as those other methods might allow so keep that in mind before deciding which method works best for each particular situation.

Know Your Customer Profile

Before you can even start thinking about how to market to a particular customer, you need to know who that customer is. How old is she? What does he do for a living? What are her hobbies, interests, and values? What does she look like? Where does she live?

Is she married with children or single and living in an apartment by herself? Does she have any pets?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, or at least have an idea of what they might be based on past research and experience, then no one else (including yourself) can understand why this person would want or need your product or service.

For example: If I were selling cars and my consumers were young men who worked as accountants at medium-sized companies without families but with plenty of disposable income, I’d probably advertise in magazines like Forbes where they read about new products every day.

On the other hand, if my primary customers were middle-aged women who loved reading romance novels and watched soap operas every evening after dinner then maybe television advertising would be more effective than magazine ads for me.

Identify Pain Points

A pain point is something that makes your customers think twice about using your product. It’s a reason why they’re not buying, using, or recommending it.

Pain points are small in size, but they can have a big impact on sales. For example:

A customer may be hesitant to use your product because he’s worried about losing time and effort when he has to set up his new computer system from scratch. This is the first time he’s ever used this system, so getting past the setup process would be difficult for him.

Another customer might not buy from you because she’s worried about paying for long-term maintenance fees once her contract expires.

She doesn’t know if this will happen with all providers; if it does happen with yours, she might have no choice but to switch providers if her current provider doesn’t offer affordable ongoing services once her contract expires (and there goes another sale).

Identify Your Products And Services Strengths And Weaknesses

Identifying your strengths and weaknesses is an important part of marketing research. Your strengths are the things that make you different from your competitors, so use them to your advantage and build on them.

If you have a weakness, look for ways to improve it. This can be hard because some weaknesses may not be easy to fix, but if there’s anything that can be done about it then do it!

You should also make sure that the products or services you offer align with the needs of your target market.

For example, if most people in your target market care about price but you’re offering high-end luxury goods then they won’t buy from you because their priorities don’t match up with yours.

This is why it’s important for businesses like restaurants (where food quality is an important factor) who want customers in there every night; they need something unique like great service which better sets themselves apart from other restaurants nearby..

Attract More Customers By Knowing Those Whom You Are Serving

If you don’t know your customer, how can you serve them? Reaching out to an in-demand market is a great way to attract more customers. It’s one thing to have a big idea it’s another thing altogether to know who will care about it and can help you make your vision come to life.

If you want access to an in-demand market, start by knowing those whom you are serving: what they want; what they need; what they are willing to pay for; what they are willing to give up; what they are willing to share; and what they are willing to do.

Gaining valuable insights into people’s everyday lives is a crucial aspect of marketing research. Explore innovative approaches in our article: How to Effectively Gather Insights About People’s Everyday Lives, and enhance your research methods.

Conclusion

If you want to be a thought leader, the first step is to identify your audience. Then, market research can help you find ways to reach that audience and get them engaged with you and your product/service.

After you have thought about leadership status, it’s time to capitalize on that by utilizing it as a new sales technique because people will trust what you say more than they would another company who isn’t as well known.

This can lead to increased conversions which equals an increase in revenue for any business!

FAQs

Have questions about market research? Here are some common inquiries and their answers:

What is market research?

Market research involves the systematic collection and analysis of information about a target market, including customer preferences, trends, and competition. Its purpose is to guide business decisions and strategies.

How can market research benefit my business?

Market research provides valuable insights into customer needs, preferences, and market trends. It helps businesses make informed decisions, develop effective marketing campaigns, and identify growth opportunities.

What are the primary types of market research?

Market research can be categorized into quantitative research, which involves numerical data analysis, and qualitative research, which focuses on understanding motivations and behaviors through open-ended discussions.

How do I choose the right market research methods?

Select market research methods based on your research objectives, target audience, and available resources. Methods can include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and data analysis of existing sources.

How can market research impact my competitive advantage?

Effective market research allows you to stay ahead by understanding consumer preferences and market trends. It enables you to tailor your products, services, and strategies to meet evolving customer demands effectively.

Costantine Edward

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.