Did you know that less than 40% of marketers use consumer research in decision-making? That’s a shame, as this practice is vital to finding new customers. It’s also invaluable for improving business practices and offers that help retain clients.
So, as a business owner, never skip market research. It can help you determine if there’s a demand for your business offers and how big the market is. It can also help you market your brand better to make it stand out more.
We’ll discuss the top research methods you can use for your business, so read on.
Check Free Statistical Resources
The U.S. federal government offers free online publications on industry statistics. You can find these via the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) website.
Another resource is the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) site. The CPSC provides valuable insights into existing products, customers, and consumer markets. Use these pieces of information to understand better what consumers want and need.
To learn about consumer spending, check the Bureau of Economic Analysis site. Here, you can find statistics on what people in the U.S. spend money on, including goods and services. You can use the data here to gauge consumers’ willingness to pay for your business’s offerings.
Read Industry Publications
Also called trade papers or journals, industry publications are industry-specific magazines or newspapers. They’re excellent sources of the latest market analysis, trends, and news.
You can find industry publications both online and offline. Doing so can help you stay current on your industry’s latest events. With these, you can learn the newest practices or technology that you can use for your business.
Use Website Analytics
If your firm is part of the 71% of small businesses in the U.S. with a website, use it to learn more about your visitors. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a data analyst to do this; you can use web analytics tools to help.
Web analytics tools are software programs that track, report, and measure website activities. For example, they can tell you the following:
- How much traffic your site gets
- Your visitors’ locations
- The device visitors use to access your site
- The most visited pages on your site
- Length of time visitors spend on pages
- Bounce rate
Use the tools’ findings to determine what’s happening to your site, what’s working, and what’s not. For example, if there’s not a lot of traffic, you may have to employ better inbound marketing tactics. As for a high bounce rate, this may be due to low-quality content, page errors, or slow pages.
Research Competitors Online
Knowing your competitors allows you to curate a marketing strategy that shadows them. For example, you can set lower prices for your products or services than your rivals. Also, if you know what consumers dislike about them (e.g., poor customer service), you can avoid it in your business.
You can research your competitors online via their websites. Check consumer review platforms, too, such as BBB and Consumer Reports. Social media, which about 67% of small businesses in the U.S. use, is also an excellent source of competitor data.
Time to Do Some Market Research
As you can see, multiple market research methods exist; to top it off, many are free.
So, as early as today, start checking online government sites and industry publications. Don’t forget to use web analytics tools and check your competitors’ social media.
If you enjoyed reading this guide, you’d love our other marketing tips. For starters, check out our post on the top reasons to use direct mail marketing!
