Market Research Surveys
Market research surveys are immensely important for every business. Most business decisions are made after careful market research. Market research surveys are important if you are trying to determine:
• which marketing approach to use
• whether or not to launch a product/service
• how much trust your buyers put into your products/services, and,
• the wisdom of virtually any decision that affects your primary market in any way.
What are the Main Approaches to Conducting Market Research Surveys?
Market Research Surveys
• Quantitative Approach: this deals with measurable quantities. For instance, questionnaires asking how many units of a certain product you consume per week, how much you would be willing to pay for a new product, how many people use a certain service and so on are all examples of quantitative surveys.
• Qualitative Approach: this deals with the analysis of things that cannot be associated with numbers, for instance the level of satisfaction of a customer, what improvements should be made to a product or service, or the best features of your business in customers’ view. Such questions require either verbal interviews or long answers in written questionnaires.
Sampling
Since you cannot interview all the members of your target market, you try to select a sample that is highly representative of the general views of the wider market segment that you are aiming at. There are two things to keep in mind while choosing your sample:
• Sample Size: The larger the size of your sample, the more valid your research results will be. Interviewing a very small sample would lead to too many variables in your research and hence affect its validity.
• Cost/Effort involved in reaching a representative sample: Since very large samples are difficult and expensive to reach, you often have to restrict yourself to smaller samples.
As the choice of the right sample is based on both these factors, this becomes something of a tradeoff. A larger sample size will give you greater accuracy, but will increase the cost and effort involved.
Some Tips to Carry Out Good Market Research Surveys
For Questionnaires:
• Keep the questionnaire anonymous, short and relevant to ensure that people give complete and truthful responses.
• Do not ask personal questions or anything that could offend the respondent.
For Interviews:
• Be careful of interviewer bias – do not introduce your own ideas. Let the interview openly state his/her views
• Do not ask leading questions. Make sure that your questions are completely neutral and you give no indication of what answer you want. This will ensure that the interviewee states his own true views.
Market Research Surveys are essential for every business. Take the time to do it correctly and your business will thank you for it.
