How is Market Research Used to Analyze Demand?
A one-person landscaping company can conduct a survey within a neighborhood to ask homeowners if they need someone to cut their grass. A major nationwide company can conduct a survey across the county to see how many people are interested in reseeding their lawns to make them look better. Marketing research is used in both cases. Whether big or small, companies of every size can effectively deploy marketing research techniques and strategies to analyze the potential for success of their products and services in the marketplace.
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Surveys and Questionnaires
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Surveys and questionnaires are low-cost vehicles that provide important feedback. For example, a hotel chain considering marketing itself as a "pet friendly" facility could use marketing research to assess the marketplace potential. Guests could be surveyed to find out their interest in the service, likelihood to stay or not stay at the hotel if pets were allowed, anticipated fees and more. The hotel would then use the marketing research feedback in making advertising, pricing, and policy decisions.
Response To Discounts, Coupons And Incentives
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Companies will often use incentives and discounts like coupons and discounts to generate sales and trials of new products. Marketing research is used to gather data in terms of results from these types of incentives. The data is used to provide supporting information on consumer demand prior to going forward with plans and expenditures to expand distribution and resulting costs.
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Product Sampling Sales Results
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Product sampling is an effective and results-driven technique. Food manufacturers use product sampling in grocery stores. Software development companies offer free trial periods to test the marketplace potential to generate long-term subscriptions and purchases. Sampling results help marketers estimate pricing levels and sales channels to achieve distribution for new brands and increase orders for existing brands.
Focus Groups Analysis
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A focus group is a marketing research technique that is used by many companies to gauge the success and demand for products. Groups typically involve 8 to 10 pre-screened participants who are asked questions about their opinions, attitudes and the products and services they purchase. A moderator poses questions to the participants that are designed to provide the advertiser or group sponsor with information to help them make important marketing decisions. The feedback is structured in terms of qualitative (verbal opinions expressed by participants) and quantitative results (numbers of people expressing opinions), and used to gauge the potential for success for products and services in the marketplace.
Test Marketing
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A company that distributes products nationally will often conduct a test market campaign prior to conducting a national rollout of a new product or service. For example, a salad dressing company might test a new flavor by conducting a test in Midwestern states. The company uses the results to confirm the feasibility of the current marketing strategy or use information and feedback from the test marketing to revise the strategy.
Segmented Research
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Companies may conduct research efforts that test or compare one type of consumer group versus another. For example, a marketing research survey might include participants from various ages, income levels and ethnicities. The research results could then be segmented and compared to see if there is a greater likelihood for demand within a given age, income or ethnic group based on the responses to the marketing research.
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References
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Comments
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One of the better articles I've found.
