Marketing News
Why Market Research is vital for business success
We’ve all heard about market research, but what does it mean in practice and how are businesses using it as a vital part of making their brands successful?
The benefits include enhancing a marketing strategy, strengthening a brand’s identity and cementing a company’s relationship with its consumers by understanding their customer-base better.
It pays for brands to be on top of the latest research, with customer and market intelligence, savvy businesses can remain agile and pivot their marketing strategy at a moment’s notice.
Lead generation
According to research, 90% of brands who saw an increase in leads were actively spending on market research via multiple channels. Out of those, 29% were small scale businesses.
Armed with insight, businesses can fine-tune their USPs, which can be a game-changer in crowded markets.
See how the following household names are using data to their advantage to win over their customers and challenge the competition.
Starbucks & McDonald’s
Global coffee chain Starbucks demonstrates the value of open innovation among its customer-base within its marketing research. Its approach includes tracking cultural trends, monitoring social media, gathering customer feedback as well as instore testing.
By handing power to its customers and incentivising new ideas, the brand is able to channel a lot of crowd creativity to help with new product improvements.
McDonald’s uses customer feedback to alter its product offerings and improve its advertising. For example, altering menus to suit the territories they are in and following the latest food trends – Toffee Latte anyone?
When a growing number of customers feedback their concerns about the absence of healthy and organic food items on its menu, the fast-food giant added apple slices and launched an advertising campaign to prove that its chicken nuggets and burgers contain good-quality meat.
The rise of Uber Eats
Another example is Uber Eats and what it has achieved in a relatively short space of time. Although late to the food delivery market, it got the opportunity to learn from other prominent players through market research and has since redefined the competitive landscape. By utilising its existing infrastructure of drivers and cars (its initial service offering was providing taxis), Uber pivoted to focus on what customers needed the most when the world was in lockdown. That was comfort in the form of their favourite restaurant foods delivered safely to their door, which catapulted the company to the top of the food delivery business.
Using AI
Launching new products or entering new markets can be a risky business though, however, artificial intelligence (AI) is making it easier for brands. Nestle used insight from its online virtual reality store to determine the prices and placements of new ice cream cups. After implementing the research recommendations its ice cream sales increased by a whopping 53%.
Issues-led marketing strategies
Market research empowers businesses to craft targeted marketing strategies that resonate with their audience. Especially when consumers are researching brands like never before with savvy customers looking at brands as extensions of their own lives.
In the health and beauty sector, Dove has established itself as a brand that helps women’s self-esteem, in that it makes beauty something people should be proud of and not a source of concern. Its Real Beauty campaign analysed women’s real sentiments on and offline. It continues to promote self-esteem and new standards of beauty in different forms and shapes through clever PR and advertising campaigns.
And everyone remembers Coca-Cola’s ‘Share-A-Coke’ campaign, which motivated customers with the excitement to get a Coca-Cola bottle with their name on it. Using insight to define its goals, the campaign identified the most popular nicknames in various countries across the world. The #ShareACoke hashtag became the top trending on Twitter globally and received 1 billion impressions with global sales increasing by as much as 3%.
Converting research into customers
By understanding customer preferences, paying attention to their social, environmental concerns and media consumption habits, companies can create compelling campaigns that are more likely to convert leads into customers.
The outdoor retail brand, Patagonia, is an excellent example where a brand has done its research by recognising what was important to their target demographics. The founder recently transferred its ownership to a trust that will combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the world, seeing the business better align its brand values with the concerns of their core customer base.
What’s clear is that market research is not a one-time activity; it should be an ongoing process to ensure a business remains relevant and competitive in an ever-evolving marketplace.
Further reading:
5 reasons why marketing research is important to your business Kantar
Market Research Services Global Market Report 2022 ReportLinker
THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON DIGITAL AGENCIES: A SURVEY REPORT Uplers
