The Importance of Market Research

Often associated with startups and fresh ideas, market research should be a significant consideration to all businesses. The motor giant Ford had incurred $3bn losses between 1979 and 1982 when they approached statistician, W. Edwards Deming. His research-led approach brought them to heights they had not experienced in half a century. His famous words, "without data you're just another person with an opinion" act as a warning to businesses who choose to act on instinct over intelligence. Your gut may tell you that your product or service will succeed, but is it enough?

At Titanic Suites, we've set out some of the critical benefits of market research that help you identify, understand and engage your customers. There will always be risks in business, and we believe they are better noted than negated.

Remember, if you wish to carry out your own market research to test your ideas, Titanic Suites offer advanced Market Research Viewing Facilities, ideal for Focus Groups, user testing and in-depth interviews.

Your Competitive Landscape

Awareness of your competitors is a must if you believe you have a monopoly; only research will confirm this belief. Try to identify competitors of similar scale as well as some aspirational examples. Beyond identifying your industry's success stories, understanding why others have failed is equally essential. Online, you have access to your competitors’ journeys, from inception to growth.

Online competitors are a threat, but market research has benefited dramatically from digital transformation in business. Now, more than ever, you have access to case studies and figures that can help you understand where your business is positioned.

Communicating Your Idea

Belief in your product is based on time spent designing, planning and tweaking it to bring your initial idea to life. You understand your product and can list its USPs and critical features, but can you relay this information to your customer?

For some entrepreneurs, the bond with their product creates some geocentric thinking and leads to assumptions. To understand how customers perceive your product, consider setting up focus groups. Studies with real-life customers will allow you to measure the success of your communications. Learn more about setting up focus groups here.

Planning for the future.

When you initially scan your business environment, you are trying to find out where you are now, but it's also an opportunity to look ahead. Do you have a one, three or five-year plan? Do you anticipate your business to have a set shelf life, or do you see opportunities to grow into new markets or business models?

These questions may keep you awake at night, but considering them will help you set achievable goals. Setting realistic milestones enables you to benchmark your success against previous periods. Again, it's worth carrying out a SWOT analysis on an annual basis; research should be a continual process.

Where are you now?

If your business needs room to find its feet or space to grow, Titanic Suites can help. As well as Focus Suites for customer research and meeting rooms for strategy days, we also have serviced office space and a host of packages to help your business grow.

To find out how we can be the perfect partner to your business, contact us now.