I Don’t Need to Care About Market Research….Right?

According to Gartner, 77% of B2B buyers state that their latest purchase was very complex or difficult. Help your customers out by doing your research before entering the market. Plus, your business will grow much more efficiently when you conduct strategic market research consistently. You always want to have insights into what your customer’s wants and needs are. So stay focused, stay relevant, and stay ahead of the competition by staying up to date with your market research.

The world is ever-changing. There’s always a new product, software, app, gadget, or trend that can make your business soar to new heights or run your business into the ground. You need to be on top of what is going on with your audience and your competitors.

An easy way to do that is using the “sniff test.” Boundless Media’s CEO and Co-founder, Nico DeBryun, formulated this method. The sniff test is a quick and simple way to “sniff” out what problems your target customers are having. Go to a post relevant to your business. It can be from a competitor, a blog post, TikTok, or anywhere else you choose. Once you’re there, look at the comments. What is your target customer saying their problems are? After all, your business is all about solving your customer’s problems. This is also an excellent way to identify opportunities to improve your business and relationship with your existing customers.

For instance, if you’re a restaurant, you might go to a competitor’s Facebook page. Scroll through the most recent posts and see what their customers are saying. Maybe they’re disappointed that your competitor doesn’t offer a certain drink, or they love a particular appetizer that you don’t currently offer. You can use that information to your advantage. You could put that drink on your menu and feature it, or you could add that appetizer to your menu to see if it increases your average ticket price. Understanding your customer’s wants and needs, as well as your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, gives you valuable insight that you can use to grow your own business.

Market research can also help minimize risk and evaluate the success of your business to see how happy your customers are with your product or service. What are some ways to conduct market research? Great question! There are a lot of different forms of market research. You’ll want to find the option that’s right for your brand:

• Phone surveys
• Email surveys
• Social media posts
• Mail surveys
• Focus group interviews
• Keyword search results
• SEO software
• Hire a company, like Boundless Media, to research for you

Don’t think that market research is a one-and-done thing. Have an outlined time each month or quarter that you do a little market research to stay one step ahead of your competition.