German-American aerospace engineer and space architect, Wernher von Braunfamously said, "Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing". At times, the only way to forge forward is by striving to understand a situation in-depth. This also applies to the field of business where it is pertinent to deeply understand the market & consumers in order to create any further growth or movement.
Any marketer worth their salt knows that when it comes to running a business making decisions based on assumptions is the wrong way to go. It could be assumptions about one's customers, competitors, market, or systems, but it's guaranteed that they will only lead a company to loose time, money, and effort.
It is non-negotiable that businesses must invest their resources conducting market and marketing research before making any business related decisions. Doing so can often help a business grow and prosper. Market research can help companies deeply understand their target customer. And, companies need to understand them and their thought patterns in order to achieve sustainable growth.
Market research provides leaders with credible data to understand the needs, wants, behaviours and core values of consumers. Sound market research also helps companies re-evaluate what is and isn't working for the brand. Not only does it aid companies devising effective marketing strategies, but also helps make selling more effective.
Going forward, the world of market research will strive to achieve a perfect harmony between technology and human driven interventions. Experts believe that `social listening' is another trend on the rise in the market research industry. While the practice has been in use already, it is slated to become marketer's go-to tool for following & understanding social media conversations about a brand or industry. Going forward, companies will also have to strive to obtain data through less intrusive means. This is where user-generated content comes in. So videos, vlogs, blogs, social media posts and others will become the primary source of data for companies.
We are all in for a more technology driven yet ethically sound future.
Do let us know your thoughts.
