What is Market Research?

Market research is the process of collecting and analyzing information from consumers so that marketers can use this information to create opportunities and marketing strategies, and also to know the business dynamics such as advertising, market segmentation, marketing promotion, and differentiation from competitors.

This information will help us know where and how customers buy products and services. factors that affect their choices and purchasing decisions. what are the reasons why customers buy and do not buy each product and service? marketers can use this information to meet the factors they need.

Types of market research data collection

Marketing research is divided into two categories: Primary and secondary.

1. Primary research

Self-storage from potential or target individuals can be done in a variety of ways, including group interviews or inviting a number of people to comment on a product or service (Focus group), Open-End conversation single interviews and queries with specific questions.

This type of research will be very good with creating Persona or targeting customers. this will help us gain a competitive advantage because it is the information we collect for our own goals, and third parties will not see this information, making the information designed to meet our own objectives.

2. Secondary research

Is the collection of surveys that have already been analyzed. the right information must be relevant to the business. this information may include statistics such as reports of trends or articles related to the business, market statistics, etc. can be found in general, such as the Industrial Council, Thai Chamber of Commerce, International Business Analytics agency or major marketing agencies. also, the market analysis reports of various business industries, as well as information on our social media website can also be used.

Marketing research procedures identify target audience

The first question that a businessman should ask ourselves is who our customers are. who we will sell products to, because it will be important to make us feel the needs of the target audience and to meet those needs immediately. this is the basis of determining market components such as Product, Price, Place, Promotion to the business.

1. Target group identification

This can be done by defining “Customer Segment”. most of them are defined by gender, age, income, occupation, education, housing, which is defined as a large group, and the Customer Segment is subdivided again to make it more clear by choosing from the interests or behavior of the target group.

For example, cushions control it. 18-30-year-old targets earn 15,000-20,000 per month. live in Bangkok and scope more clearly. attention to make-up, cosmetics, and behaviors like online shopping at 19.00-22.00 hrs. Etc.

Or if you are a Niche-based business or want to have a more clear goal, this Segment can be identified more specifically by using the “Buyer Persona” or “Customer Persona " tool to enable us to respond more to customers.

Read the customer Persona guide in depth! Click

2. Collecting data from Target groups

Once we have defined the target group, the data should be collected to help us understand the target group and know more of the customer's Insight. the methods of data collection can be done as follows:

Making a questionnaire is a basic data collection to help us quickly find the target person, but it depends only on how to design the questionnaire for the purpose we set.

Interviews can be randomly queried by the person who answers the questionnaire, the person who resembles the Persona defined, or the existing customer base to talk to comment on the product or industry. an interview to obtain Insight information should actually be done by using “Why Why Analysis”. i.e., why use cushions, then why use them to control them, then why do they face them? this will keep keeping more in-depth data.

Observing consumers in everyday contexts or real situations. observation methods can be done in a variety of ways, from sitting, monitoring, observing on their own, or using observations through devices such as CCTV or technology to help us. this method allows us to get the most real information, but requires a period of time to obtain the desired information.

3. Explore the market and analyze competitors

If we know where our business is in the industry, we should identify our competitors and analyze them. the most common instruments, Swot Analysis or SWOT, stand for Strength (strengths), Weakness (weaknesses), Opportunities (opportunities) and Threats (obstacles), are used to assess the situation in business both within the organization and outside the organization, which will allow us to see other positions and impacts.

4. Define marketing strategies

When good data is good enough, we should set the marketing strategy, plan the work to meet the objectives. it is a competitive tool strategy, to assign the marketing component to the target audience, and also the basis for meeting the needs of the target audience.

Marketing research is a priority for businesses because it is a part of Branding products and services that reflect the identity of customers or Target groups and lead to branding to be known, profitable, and also helps to promote the channels in which those Target groups live, such as cushion controls.online shopping targets range from 19.00 to 22.00 hrs. The focus should be on online advertising during that time, but choosing a PR channel is not always stereotypical, depending on the product, behavior or appropriateness. therefore, marketers should test or try research to find the best way for the business.