Market research before investment: Shortening the gap for the leap of faith
Every company needs to make sure that it doesn’t go stale. The fact that the market is in constant motion and changes occur on a daily basis is enough to make you want to adjust and modify things. Things that were once cutting edge could lose their freshness in a very small period of time and that’s why it is important that you are on top of things at all times. Changes usually equal investments and we all know that if a company doesn’t respect its own budget, it will not stay afloat for very long.
A bad investment is a plain waste of money. It is that simple. If you don’t get your money back and earn some on top of it all , it was all for nothing. In cases with negative ROI (return on investment), serious budget gaps can occur to an extent where it can jeopardize the stability of the entire company. That’s why it is not enough to have a good idea, it needs to be bulletproof. Anything else has a chance of failing and that’s something you need to avoid. But, how do you know in which direction to go? How do you actually determine what a good solid investment is and what’s not? It is rather simple; know your market and you will start to recognize the right moves by yourself.
The customer is always right
Basically, your customers decide what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. Don’t be afraid of harsh words; just use them to your advantage. Most customers avoid confrontation when they are not satisfied with a product or a service. They simply go to your competitors. This is why it is important that you ask their opinion in a safe and friendly environment. This way, you will get quality and honest feedback and you will have the material on which you can actually rely on, when you start planning your investment into the changes your business will make, regardless of what they are.
Not all feedback is good feedback
Don’t go just rushing in. Not every market research agency does things the same way. In reality, there are multitudes of different ways to approach customers and ask for their opinions on a certain subject, but they will not give the same quality of insight if they are, for example, bored by your entire approach and the survey you are trying to convey to them. People don’t just give away their free time. When they are not motivated to talk to you, they will just answer your questions halfheartedly in order to be done with the whole thing as soon as possible. Logically, the quality of the data is than lowered and you can rely on it less.
This is why it is very important to find a company that will adjust their work and the entire approach to your needs. They need to be aware of the market, your target audience and a lot of different factors in order to design the whole process with foresight – so that they can get quality results.
Another thing that is really important is in what form you will get your feedback in. The trend is that the more data you have the better, but if you get tons and tons of useless statistics you will have to decipher for the rest of your life, you are not going to get anywhere. You need to get concrete data that you can use and that can inspire you to do new things, and not waste your time and patience trying to figure things out. In my opinion, this is something that needs to be done by the market research company. You don’t want raw data, you want facts.
What is it really for?
Depending on the state of your company, there are a lot of things you can invest in. If you want to get a better standard of products or raise the quality of your service, you can focus on that. If you want to see why you are losing customers, you can go for that as well. Basically, it all depends on your situation. Knowing yourself and your capabilities is crucial for running a lucrative and stable business. Even if you are doing great, you still need to follow new trends and make a valid evaluation of the future, because things tend to change fast and if you don’t keep up, your revenue might start to gradually melt down.
On the other hand, if you are well informed and aware of the changes in your market of choice (and these changes are usually gradual) you have the time to invest properly and earn a lot more, since you can make a timely change and hit the market with the trendiest offer. You can also anticipate how long this trend will last and get out of it before it becomes saturated with offers and the interest of buyers sinks lower.
Good market research company is like a safety net for your business and it would be unwise to disregard it, since, in the long run, it can only bring you profit.