5 ways to conduct a market research while on a budget

Before launching a new company, product, or brand, getting to know their customer base forms an important process. A business cannot be successful without conducting adequate market research. A market research, as the name suggests, is very similar to a pilot survey in an interview process, where a company dips their toes into the water to get the real feel. Companies, whether big or small, will be able to reap long term benefits if they conduct a market research, whereby they will be initiated and acquainted with the kind of demand, the consumer preferences and the competitors playing in the field.

Image : shutterstock

Of course, startups caught up in ‘more important’ affairs often tend to forget, or rather undermine, the need for a market research, but this is an aspect of utmost importance and entrepreneurs should take utmost care in investing in adequate time, resources, and money on the same. Here is how companies can do a market research in a pocket-friendly manner.

Use events as research opportunities

The countless events and conferences that any company has to attend in a year’s time are good enough to get acquainted with the potential customer base. Turn these events and expos into an informal interviewing platform where you can get to talk face-to-face with the target audience.

Quality over quantity

Of course, with a limited budget at hand, a startup can only do so much, but what’s important is to realise the art of allocation i.e. to know what to use and when to use it. Before investing in external researches, try to make sense of the data available internally. A lot of companies have huge amounts of data available, but what they fail to do is process them in the right manner. Companies should identify their areas of interest and try to make sense of pertinent questions.

Use free data

In order to get gross estimates, there are a number of national or international agencies available which provide their data for free which is a matter of public record. A company can use it for their own interests as well. Use Facebook Insights and Google Analytics to churn out more data.

Use social media

Smaller companies have nothing to worry about, especially in today’s day and age, because they can conduct a huge chunk of their market research on social media. Make use of the social media giants like Facebook and Twitter to ask questions, drop products, and get a general feel of how the masses feel about it. You can do some productive promotional work along with gaining information.

Get involved in industry association

Getting a membership in an industry association can open up major doorways to some huge amounts of information and data. Finding general answers on the marketplace and the whereabouts of the industry is something that will be easily available from sources like these.

Investing in a market research is a crucial step that should be taken by any startup at the beginning of their journey. Just entering the war zone without testing the waters first can prove to be detrimental to the interests of the company concerned.