Why should small business owners invest in market research? What role does market research play in a product launch? Can market research information be a source of competitive advantage to a small business? I advice you read on.
In the process of developing new products, increasing sales and expanding into a new market or organizing a product launch, the importance of conducting marketing research before commencing any of the processes listed above can never be over emphasized. So without wasting your time, below are five reasons why conducting marketing research is good for a small business.
The Importance of Market Research in Business
1. It Helps in Decision Making
Marketing research assists the marketers to make a decision about the product or service. At times, a marketer or entrepreneur may feel or believe that the new product or service is useful for the customers. But research may show that the customers do not require that product and that they are meeting their needs with certain competitor’s product so far. Similarly, good research strives to provide options for the successful introduction of new products and services. This causes or makes the market entry of a new product or service less risky.
2. It Helps you serve your customer the right way
Marketing research helps in ascertaining and understanding competitor information such as their market network, customer focus, their identity and scale of operations. This assists in survival and in certain issues, leaving behind the competition. Moreover, with market research, you can as well understand the under-served consumer sections and consumer requirements that have not been met.
3. It assists in deciding targeted market
Research assists in providing customer information in terms of their age, location, gender and buying behavior. This helps the marketers catch up with their target markets and customers for their products and services.
4. Profit maximization
Apart from maximizing profit, other goals like customer profitability analysis, item optimization and price elasticity are met. Market research permits you to discover approaches that can enable you to maximize profits. For instance, a product’s price elasticity research can enable you to ascertain the impact of an increased price on the profits and sales of that product. These values on profitability can assist in shifting the company’s concentration from maximizing sales to increasing the profits of the company. This assists the company to survive in the long run.
5. Market research leads to Sales increase
When you understand your customer’s needs, attitude and wants towards your products, you can increase your sales. This assist not only in increasing the sales to the target customers and those who are already using the product but also converting the non users into customers for the product. This research can also equip the management with the power to make better decisions.
In conclusion, i want you to know that the benefits or importance of marketing is limited to being a marketing tool that assists you in making a credible decision. So instead of depending on your management decisions or a customer survey, you can make use of this tool as a guide and supplement it with a good and intelligent decision making; that will in turn lead to an increase the sales, maximizing profits, minimizing the risks and ascertaining if a new product will be accepted by your prospective customers and so forth.