Why Market Research Should Drive Your Content and Marketing Strategy
The best, and most successful, marketing strategies are informed and essentially created by the customer. Knowing what your ideal customer or client wants, and needs will allow you to create the perfect product for them. Content marketing that is informed by sales data, customer insights, and industry knowledge is a sure way to increase sales and maintain customer interest and loyalty. If you are a brand that is desiring growth this year, then market research could just be your way forwards.
What is market research?
Market research is the process of determining the viability, or potential success, of a new service or product through research conducted directly with potential customers. Market research allows brands to discover and learn about the target market's needs and desires. It allows you to get opinions and other feedback from consumers about their interest in the product or service you are aiming to sell. Essentially it’s where you can determine your product or service's potential success rate.
Researching your target market before selling can be a truly illuminating experience. It sets the course for not only what you sell, but how you sell it. It determines your entire marketing and content strategy.
In summary, market research at its core is simply finding out what consumers want, and whether your product meets those needs.
Why is market research so important?
Market research gives you critical information about your market and your business landscape as a whole. It can tell you how your brand is perceived by the target customers and clients you want to reach and it can help you determine who and where your customers are. Essentially it gives you a connection with the customers who are most likely to do business with you. You then use your market research to create your marketing, making it tailored and personalized to the audience you want to sell to.
Market research gets you into the shoes of your clients and customers. It is a great way for you to remember why you created your brand in the first place. Who is your brand for? And, what service or product does it provide for them?
Successful marketing makes your ideal customer feel truly seen, understood, and supported. There’s nothing better than finding the perfect product or service that’s tailored directly to your needs. You’re setting people up to want to buy from you, or your brand. After all, this is what marketing is all about!
Not sure yet who your ideal client is and how to attract them? Check this article.
Let's dive a little deeper. Here are our top reasons why market research needs to be a part of your content and marketing strategy.
Your competitors are definitely doing it
Most companies and brands utilize market research. It just makes sense too. If you choose not to and market your product or service without truly connecting with your customers, you put yourself behind in the race for success (and sales).
Market research is also a way to understand your competitors. If what they’re doing works, you want to know why! Equally, if something isn’t working, this is very useful information and may save you time and money in the long run. Allow your competitors to make the mistakes so that you don’t have to.
Test your product before you launch
If you’re a new brand, or you have a new product or service coming soon, market research is a great way to test it out. Your research allows you to find out if there is a genuine need for what you are offering.
For example, if you’re hoping to launch a range of sustainable toothbrushes, but you find that most people either already have one or use electric brushes, then perhaps this is an opportunity to reconsider your offering. Equally if you’re offering a service and people don’t show genuine excitement or interest, again you can use this information to enquire further to cultivate a service people genuinely want.
Identify problems before they occur
As your brand grows, you may experience bigger problems and challenges. This may be website or shop extensions, customer service, hiring more people, etc. As a brand owner, you need to be able to anticipate change. And fast.
Market research can help you to solve future challenges before they happen. This relates to testing your product before launching - what worked/what didn’t? How is it received by people? How streamlined is the customer journey? If you learn of complaints in your field, you can make efforts to correct them before they become too big. This also works for branding and content errors - a great product or service that doesn't fit in with your brand may be perceived as misleading, confusing, or even dishonest. You’ll only know this if you take the steps to understand your audience and how they feel.
Market research shows you how to create your content - it makes marketing easier!
Often, especially with newer business owners, doing too much too quickly happens. This often leads to burnout, or a decrease in motivation, and eventually sales and brand growth. All of the ideas you want to implement are brilliant, but it’s useful to research to understand if they will actually work.
The product or service you sell should be clear and designed to directly solve your customer or client's problem. If you try to sell to everyone, it may lead to you selling to no one.
Once you know who you are selling to, you can create the exact content that speaks to them. Market research allows you to cover a lot of ground and is the key to your brand success when implemented properly.
Are you ready to dive into research and better understand your industry, your ideal clients, and how your offer can fit into this landscape? Let’s do it!
If you need support to conduct your research, learn from the results and implement it in your business, get in touch! Click here to schedule a Complimentary Brand Consultation and get the support you deserve!
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