5 Benefits of conducting Market Research in Opportunity Identification
Benefits of Market Research in opportunity identification starts with the collection and analysis of information from different sources. Research agencies find hidden insights to provide companies with a foundation to make informed decisions. Therefore, irrespective of the market sector the company operates, or your project, the benefits of conducting market research exercise should never be underestimated.
Benefits of investing in market research
- conducting market research guides how you communicate with your current and prospective customers. You should know what they like, don’t like to hear, see, or do. As a result, it is from the results of such an exercise that you can tailor your offerings.
- Market research helps you establish your market positioning.
It’s important to know the position of your business at particular moments in time. Information from market research helps you benchmark and monitor your progress.
- It helps you establish trends. Market research is an ongoing exercise that you do periodically. You’ll find that you have a lot of data to analyze your customers. This will also go to establish any particular trends.
- Conducting market research helps you plan ahead. Research can estimate the likely sales of a new product/service. Also, the advertising expenditure required to achieve maximum profits.
- It measures your reputation. It’s always good to know how you measure against your competitors. Market research finds out just where you are. According to the results, you can take action to change perception.
Therefore, in today’s competitive business environment, sustaining growth and profitability is never a guarantee. Business models are ever-changing and new competitors are always entering markets.
Opportunities that come from conducting market research
-
Consumer segmentation
- You must identify consumer segments that share common characteristics. These characteristics can be hard variables such as age, gender, place of residence, etc. Soft variables may include lifestyle, attitude, and purchasing motivations.
-
Environment analysis
- The growth of the Internet and smartphones’ penetration has enabled companies with new business models. Biotechnology and renewable energy sources also provide multiple business opportunities.
-
Direct competition
- Knowing the existing players in the market is important when evaluating opportunities. What competitive advantage do we have over them? What is their value proposition?
-
Indirect competition
- Opportunities can also be found by analyzing substitute industries. This type of analysis helps establish competitive advantages against indirect competitors. It also provides insight on additional opportunities for growth.
Not all market opportunities identified will succeed but experimenting will give answers on the potential of each. Therefore, to minimize the costs of failed opportunities, pilot testing new products and services can be performed in controlled areas.
Talk to a specialist to help you get started on your market research project!
If you have a specific business question that you think could be solved with the help with market research, then we’d be delighted to have a chat. At Walaco Africa Ltd, our professional team will provide strategic insights to guide your marketing strategy. Please get in touch with us on +2547 10 913094 or visit send us a message through the contact form.