Market research can propel you ahead of the competition by providing detailed information about your customers. By not using market research to get a deeper understanding of your customer, you risk falling behind competitors who do.
Custom research is needed to uncover vital details about customers: from brand perceptions and channel usage to opinions on specific product features and willingness to pay. Here are a few key pieces of information you (or your competition) can learn about your customers through market research.
What Price Your Customers Consider a Good Value
It’s easy to assume customers will favor the lowest price possible, but we’ve found that this is not always the case. While you may think you’re offering a good value by pricing something lower than your competitors, your customers may avoid your product and opt for something more expensive if the price suggests the product is low-quality.
Your competition may know something you don’t by providing a higher price point. Conducting pricing elasticity research within your product development process will tell you the optimal price point to appeal to the broadest market.
What Customers Think Is Most Important, and How You Perform on Those Factors
Market research can tell you what customers value most in your product and WHY. Usage and Attitude Research will show you which features/attributes are most critical to deliver and whether you are meeting consumer expectations in the most important areas.
Knowing this information can help you decide which attributes of your product or brand to tout or features on which you must focus. Furthermore, your company can pull time and energy away from areas that aren’t a priority for customers and devote those resources to what matters, giving you an edge over your competitors and creating differentiation for your brand and product.
The Health of Your Brand and How It Compares to Your Rivals
Is your brand top-of-mind for consumers looking to buy products in your category? How is your brand perceived? Why do they view your brand better/worse than the competition?
Brand health research answers these questions through a deep analysis of the right questions. Brand health research can tell you what qualities or attributes customers associate with your brand and WHY they feel that way. More importantly, how those perceptions compare to your rivals.
This helps you focus on areas of improvement to either close the competitive gap or expand it. When brand health research is done regularly, it provides your organization with key performance metrics that you can use to truly evaluate your brand on an annual basis and help you be proactive to market changes.
The Farnsworth Group has spent 30 years developing the right methods and techniques combined with our industry expertise to provide detailed insights on your customer through:
- Product Development research
- Usage & Attitude research
- Brand Health research
Contact us to discuss the type of market research that would best suit your company and your customers.