Scaling Your Market Research for Business Growth: Tips and Resources

Market research is a critical aspect of any business operation and essential for product success management. It provides valuable insights into what the customer wants to do, the target audience (target persona(s)), industry trends, competition, and emerging opportunities and technologies. However, the nature of business is dynamic, and market research methods that worked yesterday may not be effective tomorrow. Therefore, product success managers, business owners, and marketers must scale their market research techniques to keep up with the changing needs of the organization. In this article from Spice Catalyst, we will explore some practical strategies you can use to scale your market research and stay ahead of the curve.

Identify Your Target Audience and Market Segment

Market research starts with a clear understanding of what your customer wants to do, rolling up their personas and translate into your target audience and target market segments that you can reach. You cannot conduct effective research without knowing who you are targeting and what they want. Therefore, it is crucial to develop buyer personas that capture the social, psychological, and economic factors that influence consumer behavior. The personas should include demographic information, pain points, motivations, where they get their information and communication preferences. Once you understand your audience, you can tailor your research approach to meet their needs and interests.

Invest in a Customer Data Platform

A customer data platform (CDP) is a software solution that allows you to collect and unify customer data from different sources, such as social media, email, web analytics, and CRM systems. CDPs offer a single view of customer behavior across channels, which enables you to create personalized marketing campaigns, improve customer engagement, and make data-driven decisions. By investing in a CDP, you can leverage the power of big data and AI to streamline your market research process and get accurate insights in real-time.

Some companies do not have a CDP.  Putting one together can be a significant career enhancement accomplishment for a product success manager.  

Establish a Framework for Research

One of the challenges of scaling market research is that different scenarios require different research methods. For example, launching a new product requires a different approach than evaluating a customer service experience. Therefore, it is essential to establish a research framework that can accommodate multiple scenarios and research methods. The framework should include observations, questions, tools, data sources (including representative people/companies to observe, interview, survey and analyze big data), and evaluation criteria that align with your business goals and objectives. By having a flexible research framework, you can adapt to new challenges and opportunities as they arise.

Study the Competition and Trends

Keeping abreast of the competition and trends in your industry is critical to staying ahead of the curve. You need to know what your competitors are doing, what strategies they are using, and how they are positioning themselves in the market. Additionally, you need to be aware of emerging trends, technologies, and consumer preferences that could impact your business. Therefore, it is crucial to invest in competitive intelligence tools and trend-monitoring services that can help you gather and analyze relevant data from various sources.  But just because a competitor is going after a particular market in a particular way does not mean it is right unless you verify it with good market research.

For example, the food container market was dominated by Tupperware for over 70 years, such that its name became synonymous with its use like Kleenex, Xerox and Vaseline. But the company is close to going out of business because it stuck with their home party distribution model while their competitors set up retail and online distribution.  If their competitors copied Tubberware’s distribution model, they too would not have noticed people were buying such containers in the store, or online and would have followed Tupperware down the same rabbit hole.

Use a Combo of Qualitative and Quantitative Research

To get a complete picture of your target audience and market, you need to use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Qualitative research involves collecting data through open-ended questions, interviews, focus groups, and observations. It is useful for exploring complex issues, understanding customer needs and motivations, and generating new ideas. On the other hand, quantitative research involves collecting structured data through surveys, experiments, and statistical analysis. It provides a more precise and objective view of customer behavior and market trends. By using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, you can validate your assumptions and make evidence-based decisions.

Additionally, the quantitative research enables you to forecast the market and market size from the bottom up instead of taking an overall market size from say a market research firm and guessing at what percentage of the market you will be able to capture.  A bottoms-up approach will enable you to more accurately understand what sales you will get from the marketing spend and from your distribution and sales force.

Incentivize Customer Surveys

It is important to make sure that customers are willing to participate in your research, so ensure that you’re considering incentives for survey participation. Offering incentives such as cash, gift cards, or prepaid cards can motivate people to take time out of their busy schedules to provide their valuable opinions and feedback. Moreover, incentives can assist in attracting a more diverse and representative sample of your target audience, which will result in more accurate insights. Contests, whereby say you offer an incentive to just a portion of the respondees, will tend to bias the sample to those who are most likely motivated by the giveaway and not the information you are seeking. However, when designing your survey incentives, it is essential to balance your costs with your research objectives carefully.

In conclusion, scaling your market research requires a strategic approach that leverages technology, data, and human insights. By identifying your target audience and market segment, investing in a customer data platform, establishing a framework for research, studying the competition and trends, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, and incentivizing customer surveys, you can gain a competitive edge and make informed business decisions. Remember, market research is an ongoing process, and you need to keep refining your strategies as your business evolves.

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