Principles of Market Analysis

Market research is a term you’ve probably heard before, but what does it entail, and how do you go about it? Let’s dive in and find out!

This article aims to guide you through the fundamentals of market research and how to conduct market research for your business concept.

Grasping the Fundamentals of Market Analysis

Before embarking on any business venture, it’s crucial to determine the feasibility of your idea.

This involves a process of determining whether there’s a demand for your product or service. This is where market research comes into play.

What Does Market Research Entail?

Market research involves collecting data about your target market, their needs and preferences, and the competition in your industry. By understanding your market, you can decide whether you feel confident that your business concept and strategy are robust or not.

If your market research indicates that your business concept is risky, you might not want to invest a few years of your life trying to make it successful.

If your research leaves you uncertain about your idea, it might be time to assess those weaknesses and revisit your plan.

Crucial advice: Always conduct research and validate your business concept BEFORE you start building.

This can save you YEARS of time, effort, and expense if the concept proves to be weak after you conduct the research.

Or perhaps it’s time to continue digging, keep learning, and understand the data you’re seeing…

Conducting Market Research

Now that you understand the significance of market research, let’s discuss how to conduct it.

Most of it can be done online, using various methods.

Some of it is done offline, by speaking to potential customers, conducting in-person surveys, and in-person focus groups.

Let’s examine the main methods and explore some tools you can use to get started.

1. Define your target market

• Conduct market research online using tools such as Google Trends, SurveyMonkey, and Facebook Insights.
• Collect data about your target market’s demographics, behavior, and preferences to help you refine your business idea and marketing strategy.

2. Examine the competition

• Research your competition online by visiting their websites, social media accounts, and online reviews.
• Use tools such as SEMrush, SimilarWeb, and Google Alerts to monitor your competitors’ online presence and marketing strategies.

3. Assess the industry

• Visit industry associations’ websites, industry blogs and forums, and government websites like the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Use tools such as IBISWorld and Statista to access industry reports and data. Unfortunately, some of these services are not free. 🙁

4. Ascertain demand

• Conduct customer surveys and focus groups to gather data about potential demand for your product or service.
• Research keywords related to your business using tools such as Google Keyword Planner and Google AdWords to see how often they are searched. These Google tools are incredibly useful and they are free!

5. Formulate a pricing strategy

• Analyze the prices of similar products or services in your market.
• Conduct customer surveys and research industry pricing trends to help you develop a pricing strategy.
• Use tools such as Priceonomics and PriceIntelligently to access pricing data and analysis.

6. Develop a marketing plan

• Research your target audience’s behavior and preferences, analyze your competition’s marketing strategies, and research industry trends.
• Use tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer, and Mailchimp to manage your social media and email marketing campaigns.

7. Validate your idea:

• You can validate your idea by conducting surveys and focus groups with potential customers, launching a minimum viable product (MVP) to a small group of users, and analyzing user feedback.
• You can also use crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to validate your idea and gather feedback from potential customers.

Employing a SWOT Analysis to Evaluate Your Business Strengths and Weaknesses

A SWOT analysis is another excellent tool that complements market research.

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to identify and analyze an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

It helps organizations to understand their internal and external environments and to develop effective strategies for success. The acronym SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

A SWOT analysis is a simple yet effective tool to evaluate your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By conducting a SWOT analysis, you’ll be able to identify areas where your business excels, areas that need improvement, and potential growth opportunities.

To conduct a SWOT analysis, start by identifying your organization’s strengths and weaknesses.

Here’s a sample SWOT analysis – you can draw 4 quadrants on a piece of paper and make your own.

What I suggest is to start by creating a table with four quadrants, one for each category of SWOT analysis. Then, make a list of your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and place them in the corresponding quadrant.

Here’s a link to a very comprehensive SWOT analysis template at SCORE.