As we discussed in Part III – Qualitative Market Research, we know that people sometimes get very nervous about the idea of doing market research.
(If you haven’t read Part III, be sure to take a moment and do so.) If you’ve read Part III, you are probably saying, ‘Okay, I can do those things but quantitative research sounds too much like Quantum Theory … no can do.’
While it is true that market research can be very complex and involve substantial statistical analysis, it’s also possible to gather information systematically but more simply and gain good marketing intelligence that you can put to practical use. In this article we will look at some quantitative methods for gathering market information.
In general, quantitative market research involves some type of data gathering or the development of some method of measuring and analysing marketing information. One of the best starting places for quantitative market research is the collection of demographic data.
Demographic information
Demographic information plays a crucial role in understanding and segmenting target markets. It provides valuable insights into the characteristics and preferences of specific consumer groups. Here are some methods for gathering demographic information:
- Census data: Government census surveys collect demographic information on a large scale. This data provides comprehensive insights into population characteristics, such as age, gender, race, income, marital status, geographic residence, and household data. Census data is often used to analyze broad demographic trends and make informed decisions at a national or regional level.
- Market research surveys: Conducting surveys among your customer base or target audience can provide valuable demographic information. By including questions about age, gender, income, and other relevant factors, you can gather specific data about your target market. This approach allows you to tailor your marketing efforts and product offerings to the needs and preferences of your customer segments.
- Online analytics: If you have an online presence, you can gather demographic information through web analytics tools. These tools can provide insights into the demographics of your website visitors, such as their age, gender, location, and interests. This data can help you understand the characteristics of your online audience and optimize your digital marketing strategies.
- Social media insights: Social media platforms often provide demographic insights about your followers or fans. These insights can include information on age, gender, location, language, and interests. By analyzing this data, you can gain a better understanding of your social media audience and tailor your content and messaging accordingly.
- Customer databases: If you have a customer database, you can analyze the demographic information of your existing customers. This data can help you identify common characteristics among your customer base, allowing you to refine your target market segments and develop personalized marketing strategies.
- Market research reports: Third-party market research reports can provide valuable demographic data for specific industries or target markets. These reports often include information on consumer behavior, purchasing power, and demographic trends. Utilizing such reports can help you make informed decisions about your target market and identify potential growth opportunities.
When gathering demographic information, it’s important to ensure compliance with data protection and privacy regulations. Safeguarding personal information and obtaining necessary consent from respondents are essential ethical considerations.
By gathering and analyzing demographic information, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their target markets. This knowledge enables effective segmentation, targeted marketing strategies, and the development of products and services that meet the specific needs and preferences of different consumer groups.
Unique Customer Database Development
It is very, very, (are you getting this?) very important to know who your customers are. You can obtain this information by asking for it and making it worthwhile for your site users to provide the information to you. How do you do it?
Registration:
Make it easy for people to register to get something from your site, name and email address – that’s enough for you to know who’s visiting and be able to contact them again. However, if you can, offer something worthwhile in exchange for a more complete set of registration information. Give users a discount in exchange for learning age range, income range, marital status, geographic location, how they found your site, occupation and so on.
Customer Satisfaction Survey:
Once again, use an incentive to get feedback from your purchasers. In this situation, you will be able to tie the type and amount of purchase and type of payment mechanism to other demographic data.
Aggregate Demographic Information
Once you know something about your customers or you have established a demographic group as your intended customers, tweens in the UK from families with income over for example, it’s often useful to understand what the market potential is by determining the number of people in your market segment. Here are the sites to go to for census data.
- UK: The government of the UK provides a statistical data site that provides demographic information across many categories of inquiry and allows you to create your own data tables as well. Go to http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ to access the information.
- U.S.: Although the U.S. Census publishes census data in aggregate form, you will need specific information that is compiled for your unique needs. The best way to obtain that information is through the Factfinder site,www.factfinder.census.gov.
- Canada: Canada provides both raw census data as well as tabulated data in many forms. Go tohttp://www12.statcan.ca to access the information.
- Australia: Australia’s Bureau of Statistics’ website is a storehouse of demographic information. Go to www.abs.gov.au to access the data.
Surveys
You are in a unique position to discover customised information from your customers through formal surveys. Online traders have a strong advantage over bricks and mortar retailers who have great difficulty enticing customers to fill out and return survey forms or respond to surveys by telephone. Web users, on the other hand, are much more likely to provide information when asked. And, you already have an audience of website users to draw into your data gathering efforts.
The subject of constructing surveys is an enormous field of study, much too complex to even begin to discuss in this article. Formal surveys should be carefully designed with questions tested for validity (Does each question elicit a response that answers the research question?) and reliability (Will the question be answered in a consistent way when asked by different surveyors at different times under different circumstances. Does this mean that formal surveys are out of the question as a tool for you unless you can afford the services of a survey design group? Not necessarily.
If you decide to conduct a survey on your site, try these strategies to improve the survey’s response rate and validity:
- Keep the length to the equivalent of one page or less
- Use a dynamic format if possible so the survey adapts to the survey taker
- Write as clearly as possible
- Offer confidentiality
- Offer an incentive for completion
- Make the survey aesthetically pleasing.
One good way to test the survey’s ability to retrieve the kind of information you want is to study the results of a trial run of a limited number of users. Look at individual results to see if responders became confused by the questions, if there were too many ‘don’t know’ or ‘n/a’ responses to make the question useful and so on.
Remember that statistical validity doesn’t really begin until you have at least 30 responses within a response. This means that if you ask a question with four possible multiple choice answers, the data begins to be reliable when each multiple choice option has at least 30 responses.
Now, you need to remember that the surveys you conduct of visitors to your site represent the people that actually made it there – it completely misses all of those people that do not seem to know that your site exists. Oftentimes, those are the people whose opinions you need to discover. In that case, you may want to try an online survey group.
There are many, many web survey businesses that will help you design, conduct and analyse a formal survey, often targeting specific markets for you. One of the more interesting offerings is www.surveymonkey.com. These folks are so sure that you will prefer their service that they encourage you to compare and give you a list of their competitors with links to their sites! So, if you think you know what you want to ask and who you want to ask, it may be worth giving one of these services a try.
Trend Analysis and Industry Research
Since many small business owners cannot afford to undertake major formal marketing surveys, this kind of market research is typically the province of trade associations. One of the many reasons to join a trade association is to gain access to the market research that is conducted on behalf of its membership.
Trend analysis and industry research are important components of market analysis that help businesses stay informed about the latest developments and dynamics in their respective industries. Here’s an expansion on these concepts:
- Trend Analysis: Trend analysis involves examining patterns, shifts, and changes in market behavior, consumer preferences, technological advancements, and other factors that influence an industry. By analyzing trends, businesses can identify emerging opportunities, predict market demands, and make informed decisions to stay competitive. Trend analysis can be conducted through various methods, including market research, data analysis, and monitoring industry publications and reports.
Key benefits of trend analysis include:
- Anticipating customer needs: By understanding evolving customer preferences and behaviors, businesses can proactively develop products or services that align with current and future demands.
- Identifying market gaps: Trend analysis helps identify underserved or emerging market segments, allowing businesses to tailor their offerings to address these gaps.
- Forecasting industry developments: Analyzing trends helps businesses anticipate industry shifts, technological advancements, regulatory changes, and other factors that may impact their operations.
- Staying ahead of competitors: By staying updated on market trends, businesses can proactively respond to competitive challenges and differentiate themselves in the market.
- Industry Research: Industry research involves gathering comprehensive information about an industry, including market size, key players, competitive landscape, market trends, growth prospects, and challenges. It provides businesses with a deeper understanding of their industry’s dynamics and helps them make strategic decisions.
Key aspects of industry research include:
- Market size and growth: Analyzing market size and growth rates helps businesses assess the potential for their products or services within the industry.
- Competitive analysis: Understanding competitors’ strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning allows businesses to develop effective competitive strategies.
- Customer insights: Industry research provides insights into customer preferences, buying behaviors, and needs, enabling businesses to tailor their marketing and product development efforts.
- Regulatory and legal considerations: Researching industry regulations, standards, and legal requirements helps businesses ensure compliance and mitigate risks.
- Technological advancements: Identifying technological advancements within the industry helps businesses stay updated on innovative solutions and leverage them for competitive advantage.
Industry research can be conducted through various methods, such as analyzing market reports, industry publications, trade associations, government databases, and conducting primary research surveys or interviews with industry experts.
By conducting trend analysis and industry research, businesses can gain a comprehensive understanding of their operating environment. This knowledge enables them to make informed decisions, identify opportunities for growth, and develop strategies to navigate challenges effectively in an ever-changing marketplace.
To find macro market research, try these techniques:
- Google your product area name and the words ‘trade association’ or ‘market research’ or ‘industry’
- Google your target market name and the words ‘market research” or ‘trends’ or ‘buying habits’
eBay Resources
If you sell on eBay, be sure to read our articles on Secrets of Selling on eBay to learn about the wonderful array of market research information that is available to you through the gauk Market Research Wizard and the eBay sites.