Before you want to launch a product in a market, it is prudent to know whether you can create a demand for your product. And this process involves a lot of research. To ensure that your product is what people will purchase is to create a solution for a common existing problem.
Surveys
Conduct surveys with concise and straightforward questionnaires directed at the right sample group. Typically, larger the sample, the more reliable your results will be. In person interviews can be conducted in high human traffic locations like malls, beaches, cinema theaters. Such interactions allow you to present people with samples of products, packaging, or advertising and gather immediate feedback. While these interviews and surveys are very beneficial in getting feedback, customer preferences and price ideas, conducting such interviews is expensive.
The next best thing to in person survey is the telephone survey. It is a lot less expensive than in-person surveys, but costlier than mail. But a lot of people today do not like being disturbed by such calls and tend to not pick up or go ahead with such calls.
Mail surveys are a relatively inexpensive and they can reach a broad audience. But the response rate is minimal with mail surveys. Online surveys also have a broad reach but their responses are not very reliable. People forced into surveys online tend to click something or the other to get rid of the survey and go to the next page.
Observation
It is seen that individual responses to surveys and focus groups are sometimes different from people’s actual behavior. So, a good idea is to observe consumers in action by videotaping them in stores, at work, or at home and you can observe how they buy or use a product. Since the customer is in his own element, this gives you a more accurate picture of customers’ usage habits and shopping patterns.
Field trials
Displaying a new product in selected stores to test customer response under real-life selling conditions is a wonderful method to gauge market response to your product. It can help you make product modifications, adjust prices, or improve packaging. A lot of small business owners try to establish rapport with local retailers and Web sites that can help them test their products. A smaller target audience and firsthand experience in the purchase go a long way in helping market research.
Competitors
Competitors in the business must be identified and their actions monitored. This is also part of market research. Competitive advantage and pricing are decided upon after analyzing market research inputs.
Making use of market research inputs
Once you get the information on consumer needs, you need to work on satisfying consumer needs. The main purpose of market research is to reduce risk and facilitate decision making. It is particularly useful not only while launching a new product but also in tweaking an existing product.
The organization can estimate potential sales with market research information. It gets to know the level of sales that it can achieve. This helps deciding on investments, supply and infrastructure.
