Marketing 101 – Market Research

Marketing research is extracting data and insights from customers, the market, competitors, and producers, in order to create marketing opportunities.

“Research is to see what everyone else has seen, and think what nobody has thought.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

My experience with marketing research was first in college during a market research class taught by the owner of a local research firm. The class was great because it stressed one of the most important considerations of marketing: be specific.

Marketing research is conducted best by first person. Having a preconceived questionnaire designed to elicit specific answers is my favorite method. Additionally you can create surveys and ask questions digitally but it’s not the same.

Digital marketing research is more commonly today done by market analysis and competitor analysis within the small business world. Large companies can afford to spend thousands of dollars to optimize their campaigns whereas small businesses just need to know how to differentiate themselves from their market as simply as possible.

What is the point of market research? The million dollar question and to answer – the more you know about your customers the better you can serve them, communicate with them, and deliver value with your products and services. Information is king….