Market Research
Service description
Market research gathers evidence about a market, customers or competitors to inform a specific decision, such as entering a market, setting a price or choosing positioning. A provider typically scopes the question, designs the method (surveys, interviews, focus groups or analysis of existing data), collects and analyzes the findings, and delivers a report with recommendations.
Common industries
Applies to any business facing a significant launch, pricing or expansion decision.
ROI
De-risks a big decision with evidence instead of assumption; value tracks the size of the decision it informs.
Benefit
Research a market, customer segment, or competitive landscape to inform a specific decision — entry, pricing, or positioning.
Why get it
A decision based on evidence costs less to get wrong than one based on assumption. Research is most useful when it is scoped to the decision it informs, rather than to general curiosity.
When you benefit
Usually project-based and tied to a decision, though some businesses repeat a study yearly to track customers or competitors.
What it costs
Typically a project fee.
When you pay
Providers usually quote a fixed fee based on method and sample size, often split between a deposit at kickoff and the balance on delivery of the report. Larger studies may bill in stages, and extra analysis requested later is often priced separately.
Other costs
Participant recruitment or survey panel access, respondent incentives, survey and analysis software, translation for other markets, and paid access to industry data.
Risks to know
A weak sample or leading questions produce results that look credible but mislead the decision. Where research reaches people through autodialed calls or texts, or collects personal information from children online, federal consent and privacy rules apply.
When risks arise
Method problems are cheapest to catch while the study is designed, before any data is collected. Once results arrive, flaws in the sample or questions are hard to spot and tend to surface only when the decision they informed performs badly.
The process
The provider and business agree the question and method. The provider recruits participants, collects the data, analyzes it and writes up the findings, usually with a review meeting. The business uses the findings to make its decision and may commission follow-up work on any gaps.
Your commitment
The business states the decision the research should inform and what it would do with each possible answer. It shares customer data and contacts it is willing to use, approves the method and questionnaire, and makes decision-makers available to review the findings.
Documents to gather
- A written statement of the decision the research will inform
- Customer lists or CRM exports you are able to use for outreach
- Prior research, surveys or reports
- A list of competitors and any pricing or positioning material you have
Helpful reading
- Market research and competitive analysis (Plan your business) — U.S. Small Business Administration
- 37 Questions to Help Buyers of Online Samples — ESOMAR
- Data Tools and Applications — U.S. Census Bureau
Further research
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