A staggering number of marketing campaigns fail — did you know this? They do, largely due to poor research. Marketing research also greatly effective. It enables companies to avoid risks and to know their customers and markets. It also enables them to make intelligent decisions. We’ll discuss five easy steps that will take your marketing to the next level!
Step 1: Identify the Problem and Research Goals
The second tip is critically important is to have a clear understanding of what problem you need to solve. You waste time and cash if you mess this up. Identifying the problem grounds your research. It makes sure you are collecting the right information.
Identifying the Problem
First, you need to find out what’s bothering you. Are sales dropping? Not sure what customers want? Ask “why” a lot. It’s similar to peeling an onion. Dig until you reach the marrow.
Step 1: Poorly Defined Problem: “We need more social media followers. In TURQUOISE QUOTE, EFFICIENT SUGGESTION: Well-Defined Problem: “Our engagement is low among 18-25 year olds on Instagram. Which is because our content doesn’t speak to them.”
Here are some questions that might help:
- What’s happening right now?
- Who’s affected?
- Where’s it happening?
- Why is this a problem?
Setting Research Objectives
Once the marketing challenge has been identified, define specific goals for the research. What do you hope to discover? There are three main types of research each one have its own purpose exploratory, descriptive and causal. Explanatory helps to explain a problem. Descriptive tells you about the characteristics of the market. Causal tests reveal cause-and-effect relationships.
Exploratory: “Exploring customer perceptions on our new product.
Explaining: “What is the profile of our existing customers?
Causal: “Is ad campaign A more effective than ad campaign B in generating sales?
Step two: Setting up the research plan
This means deciding what are some ways to get answers. Think about your budget. And think about your deadline, as well.
Data Sources: Primary vs Secondary
There are two primary methods you can use to get data. Primary data is fresh information you gather. There exists secondary data already. If the source is something like reports, articles or just public info. You have data that is designed specifically for you. It can be pricey. Secondary data are less costly and more quickly available. It may not shoehorn in, however.
Quantitative Research Method: Surveys, Experiments. Web research (Secondary Data): Government reports, industry, and competitor publications.
Selecting from Different Research Approaches: Qualitative and Quantitative
Qualitative research focuses on depth of understanding. Quantitative research is about numbers and stats. Qualitative data is best suited for focus groups. Surveys are good for quantitative data. Experiments systematically explore stuff. Observational studies observe what people do.
Surveys: “What features would you like in our next product?”
Experiments: “Will a 10% drop in price boost sales volume?
Focus Groups: “What are customer perceptions about our branding messaging?
SECOND QUESTION: “How do shoppers behave in our store?” Observational Studies
Choosing Methods for Data Collection
Design surveys that are easy to understand. Choose your sample carefully. Keep questionnaires short and easy to understand.
Sampling is who you ask. Random sampling means everyone gets a fair shot. In stratified sampling, you group people into categories. It then selects a few from each cluster. You reach out to whoever is easy to reach — convenience sampling.
Step 3: Collecting the Data
Good data is essential. Don’t let errors creep in. Here’s Where Your Plan Comes to Life
Training and Supervising Data Collectors
If other people are collecting data, train them well. Standardize the way everyone asks questions. The data remains solid because of consistency. Accuracy is key.
- Hold training sessions.
- Provide detailed manuals.
- Monitor their progress.
- Offer feedback along the way.
In a nutshell, leads to data lineage
Spot-check the data. Look for weird answers. Correct them as you discover them. This avoids errors and makes sure your research is on point.
- Double-check entries.
- Verify contact info.
- Remove duplicates.
- Don’t let the missing data make you.
Step 4: Analyzing the Data
Now you find way to make sense of what you have. Dirty data needs to be cleaned and distilled into insights.
Data Cleaning and Preparation for Analysis
Cleaning means correcting errors. It is all about filling in the missing pieces. That also means doing away with outliers. These are outlier data points. It is called data transformation to transform your data into usable format. To code the data is to give survey responses numbers.
Using Statistical Methods
By doing regression analysis one can find out the relations between the variables. ANOVA is simply comparing means between groups. Use Cluster analysis to join similar data points. Choose the right technique. Then, make sense of what it all holds.
Hurdles: “Does increasing advertising expenditure show positive sales?”
ANOVA: “In a different ages, is there a different level of satisfaction?”
Clustering: “Can we group similar customers based on their purchasing behavior?”
Step 5: Communication of Results and Recommendations
The last step is to share what you discovered. Make it clear. Offer solid advice.
Interpreting the Results
What does the data actually say? Don’t just show numbers. Explain what they mean. Share your findings back to the problem you started with
“70% of our customers love our new feature, claims our survey.”
Sales grew 15% since introducing the new ad campaign.
“Focus groups found that our website confused customers.
Methodology From Goals to Actionable Recommendations
What is the next step for the business? Your answers need to be practical. Ensure that it meets your research objectives. Be specific.
“Put more resources into the new feature.”
“Continue to run the successful ad campaign.
“Improve the website user experience.”
Telling the Story of the Findings
Use charts and graphs. Write clearly. Avoid jargon. A good report is simple to get to grips with. Graphics make it so much better.
Follow by LoadingTo compare data with each other, Use bar charts
Use the pie charts to present in percentages
Line graphs are great for representing trends through time.
Conclusion
We just listed five steps for doing marketing research. It’s not hard. Doing good research will help you make the right decisions. It also helps to engage with your customers. Give these steps a whirl in your own projects. See what you discover.
