September 29th, 2021 | Updated on March 15th, 2022
It’s no secret that starting a business is difficult. A quick market survey tells us that 30% of new startups are doomed to fail in less than 2 years.
We’re not just talking about dreamy optimists working Saturdays, Sundays and mealtimes for side startups; sometimes, significant startups with substantial funding are often destined to fail as well.
However, a short market research (funnily enough, the topic of this blog) indicates that the majority of businesses fail for one obvious fact: a lack of effective planning.
With such competitive market rivalry and far too many well-executed ideas, only startups with a laser-like emphasis on the right area will live.
You may place yourself in a strong position to score with a little effort, planning, and timely decisions. It all starts with thorough market research.
Even though the amount of material written on marketing research might fill a small library, we’ll attempt to put you on the correct path as fast as possible.
What Is Market Research?
Market research is collecting and evaluating data on individuals or businesses – a market – in order to truly comprehend what that group of individuals need.
Market research findings are then utilized to assist business executives in making better decisions regarding their company’s strategy, operations, and prospective client base.
Understanding market developments, changing customer demands and tastes, and legislative patterns, among other factors, can influence where a company invests its time and money. That is what market research is good for.
How To Conduct Market Research For A Startup Idea?
Begin With Performing Primary Research
Primary research (compared to secondary research, which is gleaned from other people’s studies) is research that you undertake yourself.
Primary research could be something you can conduct yourself, based on your time and skills. Alternatively, you may engage an internet freelance marketing research professional to complete the task quickly.
SWOT Analysis is a common marketing research approach. Understanding your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is the first step.
Or, to put it another way, just dive in and start analyzing the competition. This involves determining who your competitors are, how they outperform you, as well as what your competitive edge is.
While you’re at it, learn about the market’s size and geography (note, finding consumers before you begin makes it simpler to obtain funds).
If you’re short on funds (like many startups seem to be), try searching on online platforms like Google, Quora, Reddit, Digg, and several others.
You could also get a great deal of information from the United States Census Bureau (if your target audience is the American market/consumers). You could get some very insightful responses to your concerns by this stage.
If you’re not receiving the desired results, don’t be afraid to pivot and change your product or market somewhat (or drastically?). When conducting primary research, you may come upon a market that is so neglected that you just cannot ignore it.
Perform Both Quantitative And Qualitative Assessments
Consider performing quantitative and qualitative market analysis once you’ve thoroughly examined your data.
This entails inquiring about the market overall and your products in particular with prospective buyers. Actual in-person assessments are part of quantitative research (maybe outside a relevant business meeting or retail center where your consumers congregate?).
It can also incorporate web questionnaires (like, on Survey Monkey) or social surveys (like Facebook or Instagram). Qualitative research, such as conducting focus group discussions and planned one-on-one interviews, allows you to delve a little further.
Finding an internet marketing research expert or company may save you time and effort, allowing you to concentrate on what you need to do with the data to utilise the insights and build your startup.
Ask The Right Questions
Here are some tips to take into consideration if you choose to write and ask your own questions.
To get consumers comfortable, start with some warm-up inquiries. It might be too startling to get directly into difficult inquiries about purchasing your product.
An excellent warm-up question is: What frustrates you the most about (input: your industry). After that, you could start asking people more straightforward questions, including: Where would you go if you wanted to learn more about (input: product type)?
Lastly, you may ask more indirect questions, like “What would you develop if you had to design the best (input: product category)?”
Remember, the goal is to persuade the participant to divulge those crucial details that might significantly impact your product innovation. This is something that an experienced marketing researcher could easily accomplish for you.
Compile Raw Data And Engaging Narratives
Following the recommendations above, you should have amassed a wealth of useful data by now. This encompasses everything including the volume of your industry to an industry analysis to costing and positional awareness perspectives.
This methodically collected information, if gathered accurately, is a hundred percent more credible than your gut-feelings or a fist bump from your friend’s relative. It’s now time to shift that relevant data into a strategic plan.
Make Intelligent Choices
In certain instances, this literally implies that your proposal needs to be tweaked? For example, your merchandise may be overpriced at $100, but at $79.99, it’s the best thing since the feather boa.
Or do your findings demonstrate that you should swivel and seek out opportunities on the outskirts of your initial concept? It might even sound right to just step away and focus your efforts on other ideas you have. You must make the choice.
Conclusion
Before you devote a lot of time and resources on your startup, it seems logical to gather vital information. Not only will you be flexible enough to modify your product more easily in the initial stages, but you’ll also be able to pinpoint where errors are happening sooner rather than later and take lessons from them before ramping up production.
Ensuring the appropriate data is in hand, regardless of whether it’s gathered on your own or with the help of freelance market research professionals, is your boarding pass to a successful start in business.
About AbstractOps
If you’re an early stage CEO, AbstractOps handles and automates your HR, finance, and legal ops — so that you don’t have to. We help you Be Scrappy, Not Sloppy.
We understand that ops can be painful. If you have any questions or need assistance with your ops, drop us a note at hello@abstractops.com. We’ll do our best to help.
