It is no secret that successful marketers are data-driven. They use customer research to decide which marketing channels they should pursue and what products they should sell. But how can consumer research be used to achieve specific business goals?
This article will look at some of the ways that companies or brands can use customer research for their company’s different needs, including generating ideas, planning marketing campaigns, forecasting demand, identifying trends in product popularity, understanding competitive strengths/weaknesses and more.
Consumer research is the process of collecting information about consumers, their consumption habits and interests. Like market research data, consumer research can be used to identify new opportunities for your business or even brainstorm new ideas for products that could sell well in certain markets.
Using Research on Consumers to Achieve Your Business Goals
1) Generate ideas
Research can provide companies with clear product development strategies.
This is because companies have access to the opinions of consumers, which are based on their real-life experiences and preferences.
2) Planning marketing campaigns
Customer research can help companies develop more effective and successful product-marketing strategies. For example, suppose a company knows what types of consumers are most likely to purchase their products. In that case, they can use targeting techniques such as geo-targeted ads on social media or search engine optimization (SEO) using keywords that appeal specifically to these demographics.
This knowledge will increase engagement/return on investment by investing in the right advertising channels for specific demographic groups.
3) Forecasting demand
Companies can use consumer research to forecast the future success of their products.
For example, they could run a survey asking consumers about what types of new products they would be interested in purchasing or which product features are most important to them. Then, based on the results of these surveys/interviews, companies can predict whether or not certain products will be successful and then determine how much effort should go into developing those particular items.
4) Identifying trends in product popularity
If companies can identify which products/services are most popular among consumers, they can focus more marketing efforts on these items.
This will help ensure that the company achieves its business goals by effectively targeting its target market with attention-grabbing ads for highly demanded products while also avoiding wasting financial resources on less successful ones.
5) Understanding competitive strengths/weaknesses
When companies can identify their competitors’ marketing strategies, they can then determine how these approaches may be affecting the demand for their products.
For example, suppose a company notices that one of its major competitors is running an ad campaign about “new and improved” product features that consumers want. In that case, it could become concerned that this advertisement might convince buyers not to purchase its brand because it doesn’t offer similar benefits. The company would then need to consider whether making changes to compete with the other brand’s advertising strategy was worth potentially losing sales on their less popular items.
What type of research is most valuable
While some types of consumer research are more valuable for specific business goals, all consumer insights will provide companies with useful information to help them make informed decisions about their future.
For example, suppose a company wants to develop new product features or release an updated version of its older products. In that case, it could run focus groups and interviews with current customers to get feedback on what they would like changed or added.
By understanding how consumers use the existing item(s) and what benefits they find appealing most, the company can then incorporate this data into developing new items that offer these key characteristics. This strategy will allow the brand to achieve its business goals by creating customer-centric products based on actual market needs.
Common types of research often used on Consumers
Common types of research used by companies include surveys, focus groups, and interviews.
Surveys are a type of market research that typically involves sending out questionnaires to consumers to learn about their opinions on certain topics or brands. It is the most widely used method of research because it is simple and inexpensive to implement. Surveys can be implemented by mailing out paper questionnaires or conducting online surveys via email and social media messaging/posts.