When designing a new product or service, or upgrading existing ones, probably the most crucial question brands can ask themselves is: What will our customers think about this? 

Companies that plough ahead without undertaking relevant research up-front can sometimes miscalculate what will satisfy the users of that product or service—thereby placing their company’s prestige and sales track record at risk.

User studies (also known as “user research” or “UX research”) play a crucial role in significantly minimizing that risk for organisations. 

The objective is to understand how well your product or service meets current needs and help make informed decisions on new product upgrades or launches before committing vast amounts of time and resources to the venture. 

Through user studies, “we can validate or disprove [a] hypothesis early on in a product/service development,” notes Medium. Since the “cost of this would be much less than developing something which no wants to use after,” it’s clear that user studies have “an invisible ROI: the spared cost of doing something useless.”

In the end, the desired outcome of user studies is a closer alignment between what a brand has to offer and the needs and expectations of its targeted customers.

How User Studies Benefit Brands

A wide array of beneficial results grows out of expertly crafted user studies. The key, as we have noted before, is knowing “what you’re looking for with each type of user study.” 

In many cases, companies frame their goals around:

  • Getting clarity about brand positioning to build a firm foundation for what is planned next 
  • Leveraging fresh user experience data that challenges long-held assumptions
  • Creating a clear benchmark for new product development or planned expansion into new markets

Also, a user study can help organisations “measure the impact of events or major changes—not just after a marketing campaign or change to a product, but in the wake of shifts in the environment”—including such world-altering events as the global Covid-19 pandemic.  

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User Studies and Product Design

Product designers depend upon user research to help guide them towards adding or modifying features that best suit consumer needs. The data acquired through these studies enables designers to avoid these critical errors:

  • Potential technological glitches
  • Gaps between what an existing product does and the state of current consumer needs and pain points
  • Manufacturing products that turn out to have minimal market demand

Design teams often “design for how they want the user to act,” notes MentorMates. By using consumer behaviour data gained through user studies, “designers can instead design for how [customers will] actually act.” This leads to a final product that “feels less like an artifact” and more like what customers genuinely need. Both product designers and the ultimate end-user benefit from the results in this process.

Effective user research for product design includes these methodologies:

Conduct an online survey. With a testing survey, you can reach large audiences of targeted customers and get an informed idea about what’s important to them. This is an excellent way to test various concepts, better understand their appeal, and determine which concepts should be moved forward for further testing.

Use conjoint analysis to see what consumers value. Conjoint analysis measures the value consumers place on a product’s specific features. Usually, data emerges from survey questions in which participants are shown a combination of product attributes and asked to compare or rank them. 

Employ qualitative methods such as guided group discussions. In online communities or through face-to-face focus groups, groups of potential consumers enable researchers to drill down into product features genuinely favoured by the target audience. Qualitative research can also uncover unforeseen customer needs, inspiring further rounds of innovation, with the bonus of getting a jump on the competition.  

Sometimes designers and product teams become too enmeshed in the development process to make the most effective decisions about how to proceed. UX research enables them to assess authentic feedback from target customers, so no crucial elements are overlooked in the design process. 

Added Benefits of User Studies

Brands can benefit from tapping into the user experience in numerous additional ways. 

Let’s say a design team has come up with a half-dozen “great” ideas about a new product. In general, many of these design ideas will fall short of expectations or prove too costly to implement all at one time. But the chances of success (and acceptance by consumers) sharply increase when user research methods identify the most promising of those ideas. 

Design teams are very good at what they do. But they can’t succeed in a vacuum. Without pinpointed UX research, they may rely too much on their instincts and miss out on what consumers really want. An organisation can benefit enormously when its design team learns to incorporate a steady input of user experience data into further research and design.

As with any scientific endeavour, there’s always the chance that an “aha moment” can dramatically shift the focus of research into more promising avenues. Extensive user studies facilitate the greater likelihood of encountering those “aha moments” around design features and attributes that might otherwise be overlooked.  

Tips to Get the Most from User Studies

As discussed, the importance of user studies—for new product development, customer satisfaction, and retention, etc.—can’t be overstated. To gain the most benefit from the process, keep these tips in mind:

  • Determine ahead of time whether you want general background information on consumer needs and preferences or if you’re seeking specific, in-depth usage patterns
  • Define what is possible to alter in the development phase based on the results of a user study. 
  • Be sure to ask specific questions when surveying targeted users so everyone has the same reference points for the survey. 
  • Identify a baseline, or neutral starting point, for people’s assumptions and ratings, thus enabling an objective interpretation of results.
  • Incorporate research into competitor brands (even smaller or niche brands) when assessing user research findings.

With the necessary parameters in place, it will more effectively translate the results of UX research into concrete product design and development efforts. 

Where to Go Next with User Studies

A user study should never be a “one-off” proposition. After all, the customer journey isn’t a static experience. User studies differ widely from one segmented audience to another, and over time can alter dramatically due to unexpected external factors. 

For these reasons, forward-thinking brands commit to ongoing research into customer needs and pain points. They can benefit from gaining insights into shifts in market trends well before the competition does, enabling them to be first in addressing emergent consumer needs. That’s one effective way of capturing market share before your competitors do. 

Finally, it would be best to communicate any changes you make to your product or service based on consumer research to the target audience. Don’t hesitate to share the story of how your focused research identified the challenges customers face and the efforts you took to address those challenges. This alone demonstrates the depth of your commitment to a valuable customer experience—which in turn generates more trust and engagement with your brand in the long run. 

Feedback loops that incorporate user research data also help ensure that your brand’s unique selling proposition is consistently re-validated and that everyone within the organisation sees the importance of serving customers’ needs. There may be no more effective tool to add to your brand’s arsenal today and in the future. 

Singapore has reigned supreme as a lucrative market for domestic and international businesses, and according to many economists, it is the best country to do business. 

So, what makes Singapore a favourable market for international companies?

Singapore’s location makes it an ideal place for foreign investments. The world’s busiest port and a pro-business environment position Singapore as an attractive market for foreign companies to expand into the Asia Pacific. 

#1. Singapore presents an excellent balance of East and West. 

Given Singapore’s colonial past and diverse population, there is much familiarity with many Asian, European, and American cultures. As a former British colony, Singapore’s legal, administrative, and taxation models are similar to those in the UK and the US.  

“Singapore builds itself on this position of being kind of like a trading post,” said Philip Steggals, Managing Director at Kadence International Singapore. 

Furthermore, English is widely spoken, and adopting a Western lifestyle has made Singapore an ideal international market. At the same time, Singaporeans are proud of their heritage, so it’s an excellent market for other Asian countries to enter. Therefore, Singapore is an ideal mix of the east and west and embraces everyone. 

#2. Singapore’s economy is very business-friendly. 

Geographically, the island of Singapore is small and lacks natural resources. Therefore, the economy relies on international operations. It has also focused on building a large manufacturing industry, making it a significant export market for the US. 

“The Government very much has that mantra of helping people either come into the country or helping people in the country expand regionally to grow their business and improve everybody’s lives,” Philip said. 

The government has also implemented economic policies to promote international trade and has a friendly business model. Foreign businesses are subject to the same laws as local businesses. 

Businesses can also use agencies to get the help they need to secure capital and set up their Singapore entities. 

“IE Singapore or Enterprise Singapore sits under the administrative trade, and it facilitates overseas growth of Singapore-based companies, regardless of nationality,” Philip said. 

There’s another entity called Spring, which plays a similar role in growing enterprises. 

“Spring is the place to go where you get quite a lot of government grants as well — the sort of tech investments and grants, which any small-to-medium-sized company can benefit from,” he added. “Then there is the Economic Development Board that also helps businesses. So the message is that if you are in Singapore and you want to grow, then we will help facilitate that process.”

If you have a good product or service, you could quickly expand it in Singapore. And if you’ve got a product or service that you’ve replicated quite well, Singapore is a great, safe, predictable market to grow it. 

The legal help you get in Singapore is very transparent and secure. With sound finance systems, it is easy to get loans. If you are an SME, you can walk into one of the local banks and set yourself up with all the business accounts you need, likely on the same day. Many banks accept digital signatures and allow opening bank accounts online. 

 “You can also easily find advisors who will help you grow into other markets or advise you on how to grow your business in Singapore,” Philip added. 

There is a massive opportunity for external investment, and international businesses own their companies 100% when they expand to Singapore. 

Geographically, being a small market, it’s easy to meet people, even in times of a pandemic, because everyone lives in a small area. “You can network quite easily, and you can find somebody that will have the right skillsets or advice for what you need,” Philip said. 

fitness-tech-trends

#3. Singapore also offers attractive tax laws to international companies entering the City, State. 

The government offers attractive tax incentives to businesses in Singapore. 

#4. Access to ASEAN.

Despite the small market, Singapore is well-known globally for its IP strengths and easy access to the broader ASEAN region. 

Top industries in Singapore

Tech, fintech and cryptocurrency, cyber security, and mobile payments are some of the fastest-growing industries in Singapore. FMCGs and food franchises from well-established brands overseas do very well. 

“Singapore is a centre for tech and innovation excellence. We have a lot of people that would typically be involved with big multinational companies setting up innovation hubs here or bringing their regional headquarters into Singapore,” Philip said. 

Main challenges of doing business in Singapore

More than 99% of all imports enter Singapore duty-free as a free port. It levies high excise taxes on distilled spirits and wine, tobacco products, motor vehicles, and gasoline.

Other industries that pose challenges for international companies include livestock, and services barriers that restrict satellite dishes, pay television, legal services, banking, and healthcare procedural transparency.

Philip listed three main obstacles for companies trying to build a subsidiary in Singapore.

“While it’s fairly easy to set up a business in Singapore, it’s a challenge to bring in mid-to-low-level employees, which then gives you two options. You either have to come in with some top trainers, or you have to come in and know that much of the work will be done by people that aren’t necessarily familiar with the business,” he said. 

“If you want to set up a business, you should be able to show that you are going to employ locals and, you’re going to train them so that they can eventually take over running operations and have more senior roles.”

“The job creation equation is what Singapore is looking for when you set up a business, so you should have a plan on employing Singaporeans,” he added. 

There is also fierce competition with other countries trying to enter Singapore, so international companies should be aware of this. 

Impact of covid 19 restrictions

Singapore has had some of the most stringent lock-downs during the pandemic. 

As a result, some businesses have shut down during the pandemic, and others have accelerated in Singapore, despite strict COVID-19 restrictions.  

“I think the pandemic has just accentuated what was going on beforehand,” Philip said. “However, one of the issues has been a shortage of labour force coming in from other countries. Many expats have also left the country due to stringent COVID-19 restrictions.”

keeping-up-with-Gen-z

What do Singaporean consumers want?

Price, quality, and service are essential factors for consumers in Singapore. International companies entering Singapore must know that the buyers are discerning and that the competition in the market is intense. Singaporean consumers also like products and services that are well established in their home countries and have a story or history behind them. 

So from a consumer standpoint, what are the key considerations Singaporean consumers have? 

According to Philip, that depends on the category. 

“We did some research on the luxury purchases made in Singapore and Asia. Consumers want to see some heritage and a well-defined story of where the brand is from and why it exists when it comes to the high-end market,” he said. 

“The German manufacturers do very well in the automotive market, and there’s a sense of prestige associated with the well-known European luxury car manufacturers. There’s also a significant segment of people that are very practical and go for Hondas and Toyotas.”

Food and beverage outlets do very well if they are well-established in their home market. Brands with their roots in China or Taiwan for some novelty-type items and popular brands in Japan also do very well, as do Korean skincare brands. 

In a nutshell, Singaporean consumers like understanding the brand’s roots, why it’s now Singapore, and what it’s doing. They are a discerning populous and are looking for quality products and services. 

Selling and distributing products and services in the Singaporean market.

Selling techniques utilized in Singapore vary by product and are similar to sales practices in sophisticated western markets. Social media and online marketing are growing in Singapore, and it is essential for international companies that use agents in Singapore to visit them regularly. 

“A lot of our clients at Kadence have their regional offices in Singapore because of a very transparent legal system. The government is also very predictable and pro-business, so if you’re going to set up a regional base, Singapore is the perfect place for it,” Philip added. 

A favorable time zone gives it another advantage and makes it suitable for business. The commerce or the distribution networks from Singapore to the Southeast Asia and North Asia markets is pretty straightforward.

“Moreover, the ease of commuting makes Singapore the perfect base for operations. It’s also typically relatively easy to get visas for higher-paid staff members here, and it’s not considered a hardship posting to be based in Singapore, regardless of your home country,” Philip said. 

How to strategize market entry into Singapore

If you have a successful product or service in your home country, expanding into Singapore is a good idea. One cannot emphasize the importance of a concrete market strategy and solid business plan for market entry into Singapore. 

Over 4,500 US firms have launched business enterprises in Singapore. Many international exporters use agents and distributors to enter Singapore. These agents and firms aggressively represent new products and services in Singapore. Therefore, it is invaluable to find suitable partners and utilize agents.

The top three strategies that subsidiaries can utilize when planning entry into Singapore are:

1. Identify your growth plan. Singapore as a market is not very large unless you are a McDonald’s type company. But for most industries, your potential is relatively small. The population is 5.7 million, so you must identify where else you can go. It would help to calculate your maximum potential returns based on your target audience. For companies entering Singapore, knowing that growth plan would be substantial.

2. You need to have a sound training system. As a small company with one or two people set up like a distribution hub, you will probably be fine, but as soon as you start growing, you will be expected to recruit more Singaporeans. Therefore, you will need to have training in place. 

3. Do your commercial research. The government is pro-business, so you must research who to ask for help and what benefits you can receive. 

Political and economic stability in Singapore

Singapore has had the same government since its foundation. 

One of the reasons behind Singapore’s massive growth over the past five decades is the consistency of government. “You can put long-term visions in place without your political parties, flipping it as a political winning system to get elected,” Philip said. 

Singapore has shown phenomenal growth in the last ten years and will continue to grow as it is a great place to live, and do business and is devoid of red tape or bureaucracy. 

The next 50 years will present new challenges to Singapore in the form of an ageing workforce, a maturing economy, social media’s growing influence, and increasing competition from other trade agreements and ASEAN partners. However, it remains an attractive market to enter and shows phenomenal potential in years to come.

We would welcome the chance to discuss your next market research project. Learn more about our Singapore Office here.

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Like virtually all aspects of modern life, the market research industry has undergone an explosive change in our COVID-19 pandemic era. While most of the principles of market research remain intact, brands worldwide have had to refine and modify their research methods as part of this “new reality.” 

Generally speaking, market research starts with a “wide-angle” look at the spheres of influence upon a market (including new and changing customer behaviours, emerging industry trends, etc.), then zooms in on specific nuances within a target audience. 

The data collection and analysis gained from in-depth market research offer brands “a clear and detailed understanding of what your customers want, what they already like, where they conduct their own research, and much more.” Understanding the broader context of a market enables companies to:

  • Gain insights into how customers use their products or services
  • Differentiate their offerings from competitors
  • Lay the groundwork for successful product upgrades or launches
  • Identify new opportunities for growth

These insights gained can set the tone and messaging for a brand’s marketing efforts both now and in the year to come. 

Here’s a look at key trends in the market research industry today and what lies ahead on the horizon for 2022.

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Trend #1: Agility and Technology

Despite the changes wrought by the pandemic and other global forces, one factor remains constant: the continual evolution of technology underpinning advanced market research.

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, for example, enable researchers to gather information from an increasingly wide range of distinct sources. These advances also contribute to a new emphasis on agile research and speed of insight. Various elements include:

Automation of routine research practices. Automating the more routine facets of research facilitates a speedier analysis and interpretation of findings. This helps researchers save considerable time and effort while winnowing down to what’s truly essential in their work. 

Shorter and smarter polls and surveys. Employing surveys that can be positioned and distributed quickly (and which take respondents only a short time to fill out) are a further boon to the speed of analysis and insight. This approach involves identifying a “mobile-reliant” population that will actively engage in a poll or survey upon request, and within a brief period of time. 

Ongoing research. Agile research equals ongoing research. In a global marketplace that’s continuously in flux, the insights garnered from one survey can dramatically change by the time a new survey is undertaken. In the same respect, researchers can expand on findings garnered from one survey to craft a new, more specialized survey that focuses on changing factors in the marketplace.

As we have stated before, “when you know your offerings suit current and emerging customer needs, your business will develop a reputation for being wholly customer-centric that your competitors can’t match.”

Trend #2: AI, Machine Learning, and Emotion

If 2021 is any guide, we can expect the avalanche of raw data to keep increasing in the year to come. The vast array of sources promises to generate more information than researchers can ever hope to compile and analyze on their own. That’s why AI and machine learning are invaluable for research purposes.

Emotion AI, for example, seeks to “decode” human emotion by analyzing voice patterns, eye movements, facial expressions, and a range of non-verbal cues—all designed to generate data that enhances a brand’s capacity for linking emotion to consumer behavioural patterns. By evaluating consumer responses to a proposed upgrade or new product launch, emotion AI can more precisely “read” human feelings and gauge the success or failure of a new venture.

As MIT Sloan notes, “New artificial intelligence technologies are learning and recognizing human emotions, and using that knowledge to improve everything from marketing campaigns to health care.”

Trend #3: Social Listening

Interacting directly with customers often yields the most pertinent data for marketing trends. But engaging in social listening can be an equally effective research method.

Social listening involves analyzing social media conversations and trends related to your brand to your industry. This extends beyond monitoring basic metrics such as “likes” or “mentions” or “followers,” with a focus instead on the buyer’s mood behind the data.

Customers frequently express their sentiments about products and services on popular social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). Market researchers can look at this as real-time feedback about customer preferences, brand awareness, the inroads made by competitors, etc. 

In this respect, social listening offers a beneficial way of gauging customer sentiment (what they like and don’t like about the purchasing experience, preferences regarding how a purchase is made, and so on). 

For effective social listening, research methodology can include the following actions:

  • Search on the most popular social platforms for branded keywords, phrases, or product names.
  • Explore customer review sections on platforms. 
  • Learn about customer sentiments regarding competitors.
  • Anticipate potential new trends using Google Trends or other social media listening tools.
  • Identify relevant or industry-specific social media influencers.

Social listening should be “a critical component of any company’s marketing strategy, as it allows you to react and respond to customer sentiment — and gather data to make improvements in the way your business runs,” notes Reputation.com. In essence, social listening is like “your very own perpetual focus group, rich with constantly updated and actionable business intelligence.”

Trend #4: Longitudinal Studies

There has been a steady increase in longitudinal studies for long-range market research, and the trend will continue in 2022. This approach works most effectively when a brand wishes to continuously monitor a fixed sample of its target audience over a pre-determined timeframe.

Longitudinal studies, also known as continuous research, tracks consumer and market attitude trends over extended periods. To do so, researchers gather information from the same sources through a long-term methodology that yields insights into buying habits or consumer response to a new product or service launch. 

Trend #5: DIY

Another emerging trend is the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to market research. The proliferation of agile or smart research tools enables in-house teams to conduct surveys and other research activities, often using a centralized online platform. Types of DIY market research include:

  • Interviews with existing and potential customers through surveys, questionnaires, or focus groups
  • Segmentation of the target audience into clearly defined groups (demographic, behavioural, psychographic, and geographic)
  • Product testing, in many cases, before a brand reaches the initial production stage
  • Measuring satisfaction with loyal customers

DIY research should aim for gaining “insights into how happy your customers are and any specific areas they like or dislike.” This enables brands to:

  • Identify any areas of current (or potential) concern.
  • Drill down to core issues by identifying (and then interacting with) dissatisfied customers.
  • Determine what’s needed to improve customer attitudes and experiences. 

One caveat worth mentioning regarding DIY marketing. As Forbes notes, “if you go to a third party [for market research], you’re going to likely get a different perspective than what you would get from your own team. There’s also a greater chance that the perspective you receive is an unbiased one, which is healthy” and potentially more insightful about what a target audience truly cares about.”

Trend #6: Aligning Brand Mission and Values with Customers

In 2022 and beyond, market research will continue to explore the value of aligning a company’s mission statement and the values of its customer base. 

Gone are the days when a brand could tell consumers what it stands for and leave it at that. Today’s savvy customers do their research to determine if a brand “walks the walk,” particularly concerning those values consumers hold dear—be it the environment and sustainability, income inequality, racial harmony, and so on. 

Consumers who prefer brands aligned with their values often become very loyal once they identify that brand. However, if and when customers detect a lack of consistency between what’s expressed in a mission statement and what actions a brand takes, they may abandon that company and seek out more compatible businesses to support.

In 2022, brands are encouraged to take a fresh look at their mission and values and how these are communicated to a target audience. Monitoring social media conversations around these values can illuminate the process of refining a company’s mission statement. It’s also an excellent opportunity to look into making a fresh commitment to support the causes and initiatives that a brand’s audience considers most valuable in their own lives.

Market research trends come and go, but the end result remains consistent from the past to the future. The primary objectives are always:

  • Improving products or services
  • Generating more sales
  • Delivering expected results
  • Enhancing customer service
  • Boosting customer retention

Market research supports the need for brands to maintain agility in an ever-shifting marketplace. Customer needs never remain static. If a brand meets current needs—and, better yet, anticipates future customer needs—its place in the global market will be stronger and more durable than that of its competitors.

Each year, an average of 30,000 new products enter the marketplace (that’s enough to fill the average grocery store!), and 70% will fail to sustain or grow sales in the first two years. 

How does a brand ensure that a new product stands out in the sea of competition? How does it increase the odds of success? 

The key is to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and instead get the correct product in front of the right customers at the proper time.

To achieve this level of specificity, brands must use proper market segmentation. This practice allows a company to focus its product development and marketing efforts narrowly.

What is market segmentation?

At its most basic, market segmenting is breaking a broad swath of potential customers into smaller customer groups with similar characteristics. A company can then design products and marketing campaigns tailored to the needs and interests of a particular target market.

Few companies have the resources to sell to a mass market. Most must focus their efforts to meet more limited budget constraints. 

Market segmentation identifies the many different reasons people purchase products to help companies make smaller investments with more significant returns.

The more that a brand can narrow the audience for a new product, the more likely it can successfully sell to them. Rather than trying to persuade a generic customer base to buy a product they may or may not want, you can place the product in front of people who need it.

Benefits of market segmentation

Market segmentation provides valuable customer insights that can be used to create many positive business outcomes. 

●     Product development: By identifying narrow market segments and researching their specific needs, brands can create products that satisfy those exact pain points. These specialized offers will have little to no competition.

●     Business growth: The more a company understands various market segments, the more it can expand by moving into new geographic areas, offering complementary products to existing customers, or creating new products to appeal to a previously uninterested audience.

●     Optimized marketing: Using the insights from segmentation research, marketing teams can create highly targeted messages on the most relevant platforms. Even 

better, they can make calculated decisions about media spend to reduce costs.

●     Better distribution strategies: Knowing where and when your customers shop can help you change or tweak your distribution strategies to streamline and save money while improving customer satisfaction.

●     Customer retention: Done well, market segmentation can create brand loyalty. When you’re able to anticipate and address a customer’s needs at every turn, they are far more likely to become repeat buyers and brand advocates. 

A company that takes the time and energy to cultivate a deep understanding of its customers is almost guaranteed to have a competitive advantage. It’s far more likely to expand its market share and profits.

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Types of market segmentation

There are four main types of market segmentation, each of which offers a different method for identifying clear attributes unique to a particular group of customers.

Geographic segmentation

It can be helpful to group customers by a specific area—from a country down to a neighbourhood. 

This approach is particularly effective for products and services that address localized concerns. This may include items affected by the weather (lawn care, clothing) or regional preferences (cuisine, sports, or other recreational activities).

To use geographic segmentation, break down potential customers by identifying characteristics such as state, county, zip code, climate, primary language, or population density. 

Demographic segmentation

It’s helpful to group customers by quantifiable factors like age, income level, family size, religion, race, nationality, language, educational level, marital status, occupation, home ownership, political party affiliation, or income.

Demographic information is generally easy and affordable to access, which makes this type of segmentation one of the simplest to use. 

A product may use demographic segmentation to position itself as the best solution for a specific type of person (for example, married men, 30 to 40 years old, who have a full-time job earning $100,000 or more and own a home).

Demographic segmentation may not be detailed enough to create distinct product differentiation. That’s why it’s often combined with another type of segmentation to narrow the customer group further.

Psychographic segmentation

One of the most detailed forms of market segmentation divides customers based on qualitative traits. These details can’t be easily measured like demographics and include things like values, habits, attitudes or opinions, personality, lifestyle or social status, and hobbies or activities.

Gathering psychographic information requires more effort and can be achieved using surveys, focus groups, interviews, and social media monitoring.

Once you’ve identified shared psychographics for a particular market segment, turn it into a statement. For example, “we help busy moms who want to serve their young children a home-cooked meal in 30 minutes or less.” Then, ask your target audience whether the statement resonates with them.

Very often, marketers like to combine psychographic segmentation with demographic segmentation to create very distinct customer groups.

Behavioural segmentation

Finally, another popular method of market segmentation is based on customer behaviour during the buying journey. 

Behavioural segmentation considers actions like when shoppers become customers (acquisition), how customers use the product or service (user journey), how frequently they use it (engagement), how long they continue to use it (retention), and how often they make new purchases (loyalty).

This method can be complicated to execute but is likely to generate beneficial insights. It’s often the best way to identify opportunities for new products or markets and for improving existing offerings.

How to validate a segment

To be worthwhile, a segment must be clearly defined and unique. To test whether your potential market segment makes the grade, ask yourself these questions:

  1. What does this segment value most about a product like ours?
  2. What is the number one reason this segment chooses to buy a product like ours?
  3. What is the buying journey for this segment (what content, platform, features are crucial)?

The answers to these questions must be based on data from actual research, not just your intuition or anecdotal experiences. 

If you can easily and with great detail answer each of these questions, then your segment has great potential to be actionable and profitable.

If you don’t have clear answers, however, then you likely need to do more research or further refine the segment.

How to segment the market for a new product

The market segmentation process isn’t complicated. There are two major components—creating segments and executing a go-to-market plan—and a few significant considerations at each stage:

Customer Segments

  1. Set an objective for what you hope to achieve through market segmentation (create a new product, better serve existing clients, find more profitable customers, etc.).
  2. Identify which segmentation type or combination of types you’ll use, and assess the viability of your proposed market (Is it too large? Is it large enough?)
  3. Conduct research by collecting hard data and anecdotal evidence related to your preferred segment. Avoid rushing this stage because it is the most crucial component of quality segmentation. 
  4. Compile your research and use it to determine which new products or marketing approaches you’ll use to target this segment. 
  5. Validate the offer or messaging with a representative sample of the segment using surveys, focus groups, and polls.

Go-To-Market Plan

  1. Develop a launch plan using marketing and sales strategies relevant to the target segment. 
  2. Test the effectiveness of your strategy by implementing conversion tracking early.
  3. Continue to execute the plan and monitor the results over time, adjusting as necessary.

To ensure the best results, companies may want to invest in marketing software. Many products will automatically segment customers into relevant groups, analyze the segments using interactive charts, and provide third-party data to improve results.

Market segmentation best practices

As you execute a market segmentation plan, watch out for these common mistakes that can negatively affect your results:

●     Unaligned segments: The markets you target must harmonize with your company’s strategy and structure, rather than trying to conform your brand and offer to suit the segment.

●     Segments that are too broad: Failing to make the segment narrow enough will allow the competition to gain an advantage by targeting a more clearly defined and like-minded portion of your segment.

●     Segments that are too narrow: Focusing on too small of a segment will significantly limit the return on investment of your time and money.

●     Too many segments: It’s tempting to pursue all of the potentially profitable segments you identify, but this can dilute resources and negatively affect revenues.

●     Targeting people, not money: A perfectly aligned and well-sized segment is useless if its members don’t possess sufficient buying power. Focus on market segments that will create a positive ROI, even if they aren’t the largest or most glamorous.

●     Never updating segments: People change, and those changes can come quickly in today’s global, tech-savvy world. Frequently revisit your segments and adjust as needed to remain relevant and competitive.

Market segmentation is a highly effective strategy, and it isn’t complicated. It can be time-consuming, however, and may be challenging if it’s a new approach for you and your marketing team. Expect mistakes as you execute this new approach.

Stick with it, though, because segmentation is an incredibly valuable process that shows customers that you genuinely understand them. Providing tailored products and messages that resonate with your customers’ specific needs will help your brand grow exponentially.

How well do you know your consumer base? Can you accurately predict how the design and function of your products will best serve your targeted audience? If the time has come to upgrade your product or service, do you have a strong sense of how your customer base will respond to these changes?

These and related questions form the foundation for user studies. Gauging the quality of the user experience should always be a top priority for organizations. This is particularly true both today and in the short-term future since the global pandemic has resulted in a “dislocation to consumption patterns [that] may have lasting effects for particular brands and products.” 

A user study is a market research method where the target audience is observed and analyzed to understand their behavior, preferences, and opinions. It often involves collecting qualitative and quantitative data through various methods such as surveys, interviews, and usability testing.

The benefits for brands to conduct user studies are:

  • Gaining a deeper understanding of their target audience
  • Improving product design and user experience
  • Validating product assumptions and market opportunities
  • Identifying areas for improvement and innovation

User studies are sometimes referred to as “user research” or “user testing.”

The history of user studies in market research can be traced back to the 1940s and 1950s when companies started using focus groups and surveys to gather information about consumer behavior and preferences. Since then, user research has evolved and expanded to include a variety of methods and techniques to gain insights into the user experience.

User studies are used by a wide range of industries, including:

  • Technology: companies in the software and hardware industries use user studies to understand user needs and preferences, improve product design, and validate market opportunities.
  • Consumer goods: companies in the consumer goods industry conduct user studies to understand consumer behavior and preferences for their products, such as food and beverage, personal care, and household products.
  • Healthcare: user studies are commonly used in the healthcare industry to evaluate and improve the design and functionality of medical devices, drugs, and healthcare services.
  • Automotive: the automotive industry uses user studies to understand consumer preferences and needs in the design and functionality of vehicles.
  • Finance: financial institutions use user studies to understand customer behavior and preferences in their products and services, such as banking, insurance, and investment.
  • Retail: retailers conduct user studies to understand customer behavior, preferences, and satisfaction in their brick-and-mortar and online shopping experiences.

These are just a few examples of the many industries that use user studies. Overall, any industry producing consumer products or services can benefit from user studies.

The right user study can challenge and reset baseline assumptions of user behaviour at the earliest stages of product design changes. According to the computer software firm Secret Stache, the four main types of user research:

  1. Primary. Information is acquired through interviews, surveys, usability tests, etc.
  2. Secondary. Design concepts are confirmed through a review of existing research materials.
  3. Exploratory. A design hypothesis is tested through experimentation.
  4. Evaluative. Determine the benefits and shortcomings of a design prototype.

“Deciding which research method to use depends on what data you’re trying to gather and where you are in the design process,” Secret Stache concludes. This information enables companies “to make informed design decisions and create better user-centered products.”

Start the Process with Specific Objectives in Mind

It’s essential to know what you’re looking for with each type of user study. Brands embarking on a user study often frame their goals around:

  • Knowing what to do (about a product upgrade, new product launch, etc.) before making a major decision
  • Challenging existing assumptions about design and customer appeal
  • Creating benchmarks for the proposed change (new product, proposed expansion, etc.) 
  • Understanding how changes in the global marketplace impact the organization

At its core, a user study “is designed to give you a firm foundation for almost any decision around a brand or product.”

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Here’s a closer look at each type of user study and their related methodologies:

Use Primary Research to Better Understand Your Customers

The ideal time to conduct primary research is before crucial decisions are made about a brand or product. The process involves compiling raw data focusing on what consumers say they want. 

To achieve this objective, it is essential to speak directly with members of that targeted audience.

Find out what buyers (current and prospective) really think by conducting interviews with a single consumer or in small groups. Put together a list of interview questions that:

  • Help put the interviewee at ease
  • Encourages them to share their individual “shopper’s journey” stories
  • Highlights what is considered the most valuable or effective aspects of a customer’s experience 

Open-ended questions are the most effective at eliciting the kind of information you seek, i.e., “What is the process by which you decide what to buy?” and “Can you describe a time when you received an unexpected benefit from the use of this product?” Avoid asking “yes” or “no” questions since they are unlikely to uncover any useful data.

Also, make sure someone on the team takes copious notes during the interview process, so no valuable responses are lost.

Field studies are another potentially rich avenue for user studies. Also known as contextual interviews, these observations and interactions focus on users in their “native habitat.” This can supplement individual and group interviews, with an emphasis on observing how customers use a company’s products in their environment. 

Primary research often yields new insights with respect to:

  • Learning more about challenges users encounter with a product or service
  • Enhancing those offerings to provide a richer user experience

Use Secondary Research to Confirm Your Findings

As noted, primary research will uncover a significant amount of information to evaluate. Interpreting all this data becomes more effective when it can be validated by secondary research. 

Forms of secondary research include relevant material obtained from:

  • Books
  • Articles
  • Market research
  • Internal studies
  • Project reports
  • Industry data

In general, most of this information is readily accessible online and through organizational archives.

Use Exploratory Research to Confirm a Design Hypothesis

Primary and secondary studies are effective user research methods, especially when combined with other types of research. 

In the exploratory research phase, the focus is on pinpointing specific buyers’ needs and objectives. The objective is to craft a design hypothesis and then test it with the target audience. Techniques to employ when you want to validate that hypothesis include:

  • Interview and survey loyal customers
  • Gauge buyer feedback through focus groups
  • Undertake usability testing

Whatever the product or service, it’s essential to know precisely what you want to gain from the research (general background or specific user behaviour). Also, you need to understand what can realistically be altered in a product or service based on the feedback obtained. 

A survey of competitors’ brands can also enhance your understanding of the chances for success with your product or service.

Employ Evaluative Research to Assess Value to Consumer

With the ample amount of data gained from previous user studies, companies can conduct evaluative research to better grasp what users think of the new design or product upgrade.

Usability testing (sometimes called “product testing”) is designed to “tell us how people respond to an actual product—including how they use it and what they think its qualities are—allowing brands to decide whether and how to market it.”

Usability testing is conducted with a moderator present. This individual works directly with those taking part in the testing process, leading them through pre-determined in-person or video conferencing tasks. The moderator should be someone experienced in active listening and correctly recognizing and responding to non-verbal cues. These sessions are often recorded for later analysis. 

In the end, usability testing will enable brands to:

  • Find out a close-to-final version of a new product will work.
  • Fine-tune the product for ideal performance at launch.
  • Test the effect of changes to product design or presentation.
  • See how well consumers in a new market will accept an existing product.

Following the evaluative phase, brands might uncover insights into establishing a better marketing pitch, determining the best pricing, identifying the ideal target audience, and so on. The focus is not on whether a product works but how that product will work best.

Always Be Listening

Throughout the entire scope of a user study, the key is listening to what targeted buyers have to say. Improve the listening process by making it easy to gather and compile user feedback. Methods include analysis of:

  • Online search queries to determine what users want
  • Questions, comments, and complaints coming in through customer service and other existing feedback channels
  • Inviting feedback at trade shows and industry conferences

Your target audience can often be both sceptical and sophisticated. Generic marketing methods don’t work with them; they want to see results from your brand. 

Comprehensive user studies enable you to understand better what drives the buyer’s journey and their ultimate buying decision. These studies also assist in anticipating future needs and challenges. 

Armed with this in-depth understanding of consumers, a brand can exploit the weaknesses of their competitors and rise to the top of the market—and, hopefully, stay there indefinitely. 

Every shopper embarks upon a journey when purchasing desired goods or services. That journey can differ dramatically among various types of audiences. On the other hand, certain aspects of the shopper’s journey are similar, regardless of the product or service involved. This is where organizations can benefit dramatically by mapping the customer journey.

A comprehensive understanding of the customer experience enables businesses to: 

  • Refine offerings and identification of gaps in what a company offers 
  • Pinpoint relevant marketing channels and promote targeted offers
  • Deliver on customer expectations
  • Respond to ever-evolving customer preferences
  • Anticipate customer needs and boost retention

Agile adaptation is key to any business’s long-term success. As we have noted before, “many sales and marketing leaders take for granted that they know what their customers need.” Assumptions like these can prove costly and lose business and trigger a loss in customer retention rates.

By contrast, when you know your offerings suit current and emerging customer needs, your business will develop a reputation for being wholly customer-centric that your competitors can’t match. 

Digging Deep into Customer Needs and Preferences

What are you attempting to uncover through shopper research? Information that describes customer behaviour is key, with many elements that fit together for a broader picture. These elements include insights into:

  • Why do consumers contemplate buying a product? 
  • Why do they ultimately decide not to make a purchase?
  • Buying behaviours of different target audiences 

Conducting shopper research isn’t just about identifying shortcomings in how to deliver what people want. This information enables companies to undertake proactive steps that anticipate changing trends in shopper preferences and behaviours. Ultimately, pinpointing innovative ways to reduce gaps between your business and customer needs can result in a significant boost in customer acquisition and retention.

It’s essential to recognize that a wealth of data may already exist in your company. Everything gleaned from business analytics, and customer survey scores to the reasons behind customer service calls offer potential insights into customer behaviour. This is an excellent place to start with your research to reduce any duplication in data mining.

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Incorporate Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Broadly speaking, two types of research into customer experiences yield the most helpful insights. 

The first is quantitative, a kind of “view from 30,000 feet” of consumer behaviour. The process involves gathering numerical data points to help establish trends and patterns of behaviour. The benefits lie in a deeper understanding about:

  • Broad groups of individuals
  • How different groups of shoppers behave (designated, for example, by age, gender, or market) 
  • Reducing complicated issues around shopper behaviour into a clear-cut number of factors

Among the most useful tools to employ are online surveys, where consumers can be asked (a) about the decision that led to a purchase; (b) what obstacles prevented them from buying; (c) the type of research they conducted before purchase, and (d) what, if any, competitors they considered. 

Demographic data on the makeup of a “typical” shopper is also helpful. This can include information on age, gender, income level, etc., which can lead to creating buyer or shopper personas (more to come below). 

The raw data produced by quantitative research can be analyzed through a range of online tools that helps closely define who wants to buy a particular product or service and predict future customer behaviour. 

Qualitative research aims at drilling down for more precise insights than typically yielded by quantitative study efforts. In general, this approach is more human-focused and relies less upon numbers and figures. What counts is gaining a better grasp of what customers have to say. The objective is to explore “the more intangible and subjective reasons why customers behave the way they do.” 

While there may be occasional overlap in quantitative and qualitative research methods, the latter is designed to zero in on identified target populations to examine more closely what drives them to make specific buying decisions.

Tools include:

  • Open-ended questions in online surveys that require more than a simple “yes” or “no” answer and can also identify shopper pain points (specific problems or challenges that a given product or service can favourably address)
  • “Contextual” inquiries that focus on observing shoppers in their “native habitat” (retail outlet, e-commerce, etc.)
  • Social listening, where information is gathered from social media platforms and other online communities 
  • Shopper journals or diaries, where selected customers maintain a running record of their shopping preferences and behaviours

As part of qualitative research, direct customer interviews can be very effective. Key market questions to ask during this process may include:

  • What specific problem were you attempting to solve when you selected our product/service?
  • What made you choose us over a competitor?
  • How well did our product/service address your needs?
  • What do you like the most (and the least) about our product/service?
  • How would you rate your customer experience with our company?

A combination of quantitative and qualitative research efforts often generates the most accurate insights into why shoppers act the way they do.

Creating a Shopper Persona

What can you do with all the data you collect as part of your research efforts? One necessary action is creating a shopper (or buyer) persona—a fictional representation of your ideal customer. This can be achieved through a focus on your most loyal customers. What shopping patterns are common within this specific group? Do they share specific demographic qualities (such as age or gender)? In what ways are their experiences, motivations, and pain points alike? 

Use the answers to these and related questions to put together a profile consisting of information on a typical shopper’s purchasing decisions and objections, competitors they consider, and final determining factors that lead them to become your loyal customer. For greater ease of understanding, companies often attach a fake name and stock profile to round out the shopper persona. 

A Map of the Shopper’s Journey

It’s often helpful to translate research findings into a visual representation of the shopper’s journey. Outlining the exact steps customers undertake from first becoming conscious of a brand to actual purchase and delivery. When depicted in visual form (map, diagram, etc.), the journey becomes clearer to understand and makes it easier to address any gaps or shortcomings in the process.

In general, the shopper’s journey proceeds from awareness (shoppers recognize a problem or challenge they must contend with) to consideration (shoppers seek ways to address those problems or challenges), culminating with a decision (shoppers determine a preferred solution and begin to act on it). 

You can pinpoint where each of your existing customers stands within these three stages through a well-crafted journey map. This can prove enormously valuable for tailoring your marketing and related communications where they can have the most impact.

Also included in a journey map are clearly defined touchpoints—that is, every possible place where a shopper comes into contact with (or becomes aware of) your business. Touchpoints cover a wide range, including:

  • Customer interactions with employees
  • Business website
  • Digital content
  • Product catalogues
  • Social media platform
  • Paid advertisements
  • Third-party review sites
  • Articles in print/electronic media

The shopper journey “can rarely be represented in a linear journey from point A to point B because buyers often take a back and forth, cyclical, multi-channel journey,” notes HubSpot. To facilitate visualization of this non-linear path, “savvy business leaders use a variety of methods [ranging] from post-it notes on a boardroom wall, to Excel Spreadsheets, to infographics.” It’s critically important that “the map makes sense to those who’ll be using it.”

Take a Tour of Your Shopper’s Journey

After marshalling your resources and analyzing your data, it’s time to create a shopper’s journey map. But the process isn’t complete until you and your team take the journey map for a “spin” and see what your customers experience.

“Take time once a quarter to go through every step of the customer experience yourself,” advises Forbes. Only by adopting a “do-it-yourself” approach to shopper journey mapping “can you understand and prioritize essential changes and improvements.” 

Two key points to keep in mind:

Shopper research always means more than merely locating and identifying problems along the customer’s journey. Adopting a broader view of this research enables businesses to become more proficient in terms of customer service. When the quality of this service improves, and disgruntled customers become satisfied customers, there’s more room for upsell and cross-sell opportunities. Another powerful marketing resource is favourable word-of-mouth from shoppers who feel a business anticipates and responds to issues quickly. 

Also, customer needs and priorities never remain static. (The ever-widening ramifications of the global pandemic are a stark reminder of this fact.) Customer loyalty remains a moving target, mainly when it’s relatively easy for shoppers to move from one company to another, claiming “more improved” products or services.

In-depth shopper research and mapping helps businesses anticipate, predict, and plan for future contingencies. Companies possessing detailed shopper research and a vibrant, real-time shopper journey map are unlikely to be caught wrong-footed when shopping trends take an unexpected turn. 

Do you think you know what your customers need and want from your business? Based on your company’s experience in the industry, you may have a general idea. Still, a comprehensive understanding will only occur when you and your team conduct extensive (and highly focused) shopper journey research.

Market research is an essential activity for companies of all kinds. When entering a new local market or category, it’s crucial to do as much research as possible in a multitude of areas to ensure you’re as prepared as possible to launch a successful entry with minimal risk.

When entering an international market, market research is no less important. In fact, it may be even more important, as the stakes are higher and you’ll be facing entirely new market conditions.

A question we often hear is, “why is it important for marketers to research the competition?” This article will examine international market research, how it typically differs from what you’re used to in your domestic market, and some of the main reasons why companies need to do it.

What is international market research?

International market research is a blanket term for all the research and preparation you do on a new market, usually before entering it. Unlike domestic market research, international market research is focused on an overseas market, often with completely different cultures, business conditions and consumer behaviors.

There are many different methods and stages involved in international market research. In many cases, the individual methods and techniques are the same as domestic market research, but your overall strategy will likely be very different.

What are the objectives of international marketing research?

International market research is a way of understanding a new, overseas market before you launch a product or service there. The main objectives are to understand your target customers, identify any challenges, get familiar with your competitors, and anything else that will boost your chances of success and avoid unpleasant surprises.

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How is international market research different from domestic research?

There are several key differentiating factors between domestic market research and international market research. Here are some of the key differences:

You’re entering a market with social and cultural differences

Domestic market research is already difficult, but the often vast differences between your home country and your target country make international market research much more challenging in many ways.

Often, the reasons for this difficulty are the exact same reasons why you need to do the research in the first place — you need to learn as much as possible about a region and culture that may be entirely unlike your own. 

The differences between countries can create many challenges for researchers. For example, a research method like one-on-one interviews that works extremely well in western countries like the UK and US may fail miserably in other parts of the world where it is treated with suspicion.

There may be more restrictions around research

In addition to cultural and social differences, international markets also come with legal differences. While you might have a good understanding of how the law (as it relates to market research) works at home, the reality abroad may be very different.

This means you’ll need to be aware of an entirely new set of rules in order to avoid breaking them and ending up in legal trouble. One example is the USA’s TCPA, which forbids calling a cellphone using an automated dialing system.

Legal differences make it imperative to conduct legal research and coordinate with lawyers in your target market before beginning any research. Ending up on the wrong side of the law could be catastrophic.

It requires much more investment

Market research on your home soil can often be done relatively cheaply. When doing the same research abroad, however, costs can quickly skyrocket. Seemingly simple things like hiring venues, running telephone interviews, and gathering people to interview can become exponentially more complicated when you’re doing it in a foreign country with people who speak another language.

You may find yourself needing to hire a small army of staff on the ground to help you carry out these tasks. To make things even more frustrating, the cheaper market research methods like email and online surveys don’t work nearly as well in developing countries with less widespread internet access.

8 reasons why companies need to research their international markets

Despite the additional challenges involved, international market research is simply unavoidable if entering a new market overseas. Here are some of the reasons why.

1. Differences in culture

The culture of your overseas target market may be similar to yours, but it could also be completely different. Failing to adequately research the culture of your target market could result in serious blunders, which could seriously harm your market entry and brand reputation.

Cultural differences don’t have to be vast in order to cause major problems. For example, in many African countries containers are labeled with a picture of their contents. When baby nutrition company Gerber entered this market with their jars labeled with photos of babies, the reaction was understandably negative and seriously impacted sales.

2. Differences in laws and regulations

Laws and regulations don’t just have an impact on your market research methods. They can affect every part of your market entry process and how you conduct your business in your new market.

If you enter a new market without a comprehensive understanding of the law and its relation to your activities, you risk ending up in legal trouble.

There are many different potential legal pitfalls to consider when entering a new market. Some examples are environmental regulations, tax laws, and laws that pertain to hiring new staff. On top of this, rules can change quickly, and what was completely legal five years ago might be a huge no-go today. This is one area where one-off research isn’t enough — you’ll have to conduct regular and ongoing research and work with legal experts in your target market.

3. Differences in customer preferences

Customers in one country may have completely different preferences to those in another. This can be due to the cultural issues mentioned earlier, but it can also result from other factors.

When China began allowing its citizens to buy and own homes a few decades ago, US DIY chain Home Depot quickly capitalised on this new opportunity. Six years later, they closed all their Chinese stores, never to return.

The reason — they opened all their stores in the suburbs, but most middle-class Chinese citizens tend to live in apartment blocks in the cities, homes that don’t require or allow much renovation. This simple misunderstanding due to incomplete research led to the complete failure of Home Depot’s market entry attempt.

4. Understand competition

When you enter a new market, you’ll need to compete with the brands that are already there. This is not easy — you’re already at a significant disadvantage compared to companies who have been established in that region for a long time and are well-known to the local consumers.

It’s essential to understand who you are competing against, and — more importantly — how they have been able to succeed. What exactly is it that customers like about your competitors? What keeps them coming back? What has allowed them to gain and maintain a hold in your target market?

Answering these questions through research will give you valuable direction on what your brand has to do to succeed. It will also highlight weaknesses in your competitors that you can address in your marketing.

5. Mitigate risk

Entering any new market is a risky venture, and that risk increases when you expand abroad. According to research by the Harvard Business Review, companies operating abroad faced far lower Return on Assets compared to those in domestic markets. Many of these companies do not survive the attempt.

Market research allows you to mitigate your risk by being as prepared as possible for the myriad challenges involved in entering a foreign market. You’ll better understand your customers and what they want, be more prepared to take on your competition, avoid legal issues, and have a more viable strategy. Entering a new market overseas will never be risk-free, but research allows you to minimise that risk.

6. Logistical challenges

The logistical challenges involved in entering a foreign market can be enormous. You’ll need to do things like select and evaluate suppliers, hire new staff, find appropriate premises, learn about payment procedures and financial infrastructure, find ways to transport your products around your new market, comply with import and export regulations, and much more.

When entering a market in the developing world, these challenges become compounded. Regions without well-established transport infrastructure, financial systems, labour laws, government, and so on can create an endless series of logistical challenges.

To prepare for this, you’ll need to research your new market rigorously. Understand all the potential issues facing you so you have time to prepare and aren’t caught unawares by a problem that might set back your operations by a significant amount.

7. Prepare a solid strategy and budget

A well-established strategy and budget plan is an essential starting point for any market entry process. The only way to do this effectively is through diligent market research.

Market research allows you to understand the costs of your new market, including unexpected costs. It also helps you anticipate obstacles and challenges, and flesh out your strategy in a way that boosts your chances of success.

Suppose you need to win the support of high-level stakeholders in your organisation. In that case, a well-prepared and financed strategy is an excellent way to convince them that your market entry attempt is well-placed to go ahead.

8. Find available marketing channels

Marketing your product in a foreign market comes with a unique set of challenges and considerations. Channels that work well in your home country may fail abroad — for example, digital marketing in a country with poor internet access.

On top of that, your messaging will need to take into account all the cultural and linguistic characteristics of your target market. An advertising campaign that works well at home may very well perform terribly on the other side of the world.

Market research is a great way to identify the marketing channels and approaches that typically work well for similar products in your target market, helping you plan an effective marketing strategy and boost your chances of success from the start.

Market research is an essential and unavoidable task if you want to enter a foreign market successfully. Done right, it can help reduce the many risks involved and give your product the best possible chances of succeeding in a market that may be radically different from the ones you currently operate in.

Contact Kadence to learn more about how we can help you with international market research, along with all other kinds.

Considering expanding into an overseas market? If so, you’ll need to do international market research, and there are many different methods involved.

The difference between good and bad market research can make the difference between the success and failure of your product, and this is even more true when launching in foreign markets.

All the various challenges and obstacles of market entry are compounded when you enter a market with different cultures, customs, languages, laws, and infrastructure to what you’re used to dealing with in your domestic market. Without conducting rigorous research beforehand, you risk being poorly prepared for an already challenging process.

This article will look at some of the most effective methods for international market research, the things you’ll need to consider compared to domestic research, and some tips on how to make each one work.

The three main types of data

Before we explore the methods available to researchers, it’s important to look at the three main types of data you will be aiming to collect:

Secondary data

This refers to data that was not collected specifically for the task at hand (in contrast with primary data). It can involve things like government records, business reports, information from NGOs, and scientific publications. 

Secondary data is usually the easiest to collect and makes a good starting point for your international market research. When researching in a foreign market, it’s important to consider linguistic differences and the fact that certain data may be less accessible for political reasons.

Survey data

This is a blanket term for all the data you gather through speaking to real people in your target market. There are many ways to collect it, including face-to-face surveys and interviews, electronic methods like email surveys, via telephone, and more.

When dealing with an international market, surveys can be extremely effective as they offer a direct connection with your target customers in your new market. However, there are challenges to overcome around language barriers and cultural differences.

Experimental data

Experimental data is gathered through an experiment. In market research, this can take many forms. For example, you could divide customers into groups and offer one a full-price product and the other a discounted product, then measure which has more uptake.

Once again, experimental data is a useful tool when researching an international market, since it yields real-world findings and allows you to draw concrete insights about how your product will be received.

It’s worth noting that primary data simply refers to any information collected solely for the task at hand, so survey data and experimental data can be considered primary or secondary depending on the source.

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9 of the most effective methods in international market research

Now, let’s explore some of the most effective methods available to market researchers when getting started in a new, overseas market.

1. Overseas business research

The research conducted by other businesses can be an extremely useful starting point for your market research. This data may have been collected by businesses in your space, or not. It may have been collected by businesses based in your target market or some other location.

Business research is valuable because it’s an example of another organization that has done some of its work for you. You can learn a lot about the business trends, cultural differences, market, laws, and more from the research of other companies.

However, this is always just a starting point. No business in the world will have exactly the same set of questions, challenges, and needs as yours, and nobody will have the same product and audience for it. For effective market research, you’ll have to do your own work too.

2. Collecting foreign government information

Governments collect a tremendous amount of information about their populations and the business within their borders. This includes demographics, geography, and culture, which can be extremely useful when planning your marketing and choosing where to sell your product.

In addition, government data can provide valuable insights on the legal challenges you might face when entering a new market, and the various regulations you’ll be required to comply with as you market and launch your product. Much of this information is readily available on government websites.

3. Collecting information from NGOs

Non-governmental organizations like charities can be excellent sources of data due to their work in research. NGOs may provide more accurate and up-to-date data than governments in developing regions of the world, which can lack the infrastructure to collect information properly.

4. Face-to-face research

One-to-one interviews and focus groups can both be highly effective market research methods. They afford you a direct insight into what your customers think, what they want, what they worry about, what their pain points are, and how they feel about your competitors, among many other things.

However, doing face-to-face research in an international market comes with a unique set of challenges. The logistical demands are higher — you’ll need to locate and hire venues and work with interviewers on the ground, which may be harder than doing so back home. You’ll also need to consider linguistic differences, which means hiring interpreters or locally-based staff.

Another challenge here is cultural differences. For example, some Middle Eastern cultures treat interviews with suspicion and it may be difficult to gather a meaningful sample group. 

5. Attitude scales

Attitude scales — like the Likert scale — allow respondents to give a score on how they feel about a question or statement, usually on a scale of “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”.

There are many benefits to using this type of research method in international markets. It tends to transcend language and questions can be easily translated. It’s also easy to distribute and can easily be done either in person or electronically.

However, there are still challenges. Some cultures, such as Japan, may be unwilling to give strong responses, leading to many neutral answers and no meaningful takeaway.

6. Text message (SMS) survey

Text message surveys involve sending out a series of questions to a group of respondents via SMS. It’s quick, easy, cheap, and allows you to reach a large number of people. You won’t get detailed responses from this kind of survey, and it tends to miss out on nuances, but it’s potentially a good way to get lots of feedback with minimal effort.

The drawbacks are that it’s dependent on mobile access. Many countries around the world lack this — Laos, for example, has a mobile phone penetration of just 53.4%. This makes it harder to distribute your surveys to a significant number of people.

7. Online survey

There are many different types of online surveys available to you when conducting international market research. Email, social media, and web forums are just a few examples of places you can connect with respondents and distribute surveys and questionnaires.

Online surveys are one of the cheapest and easiest ways to gather information and can be done from anywhere in the world with no need to hire additional staff or deal with logistics in your target market. You’ll get fast responses, and surveys are also easy to translate into multiple languages.

There are some challenges involved, however. Anything involving the internet is dependent on internet access in your target market, which may be very low in some parts of the world. This method works well in areas like North America and Europe but is poorly suited to countries like Eritrea, where only 14% of the population uses the internet.

8. Mobile web survey

This method involves distributing surveys via smartphones through applications or some of the other online methods mentioned above. In many countries, smartphone ownership exceeds computer ownership, making this a valid alternative.

In other countries, however, very few people own smartphones. Pakistan is one example — smartphone penetration here is just 18.4%. However, if your target market has a high smartphone penetration, this can be a very reliable research channel.

9. Remote Face-to-Face

In recent years, we’ve all seen an explosion in the use of video chat software like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Today, this is used regularly to communicate with friends and family, attend work meetings, and even see your doctor. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend and forced us to rely on remote communication for almost all of our social interactions.

This technology applies to market research and is ideally suited to researching foreign markets. Now, face-to-face interviews and focus groups can take place entirely digitally, removing the need to send team members abroad or hire people in your target market.

There are still limitations, of course — it relies on your audience having access to electronic devices which can lead to skewed results (for example, you end up interviewing only younger and more affluent people). It should be combined with other methods for best results.

Market research is an essential but often challenging process, and it becomes harder when you try to do it in a completely new market far from home. Fortunately, market researchers today have access to a wealth of methods and tools, many of which did not exist even in the recent past.
Get in touch to learn how Kadence can help you conduct international market research as effectively as possible, allowing you to mount a confident and informed market entry.

One of the most important tasks for any business is making sure your customers are satisfied. Without customers, your business is nothing, and dissatisfied customers are unlikely to stay customers for long.

There are many ways to measure how satisfied your customers are with your current products, service, and brand. This article will take a look at why it’s so important to measure customer satisfaction, some of the methods available for doing it, and finally we’ll explore 5 of the top metrics to pay attention to.

Why it’s important to measure customer satisfaction

Today’s customers have more choices than ever before. The internet has made it possible to find dozens of competitors to a product or brand at the click of a button. If a customer has an unpleasant experience with a product or service, it’s never been easier for them to move on.

Here are some of the reasons it’s so important to prioritise customer satisfaction.

Bad news spreads

But losing a customer isn’t the worst outcome of poor customer satisfaction — they might also tell their friends. When products or services fall short, almost 13% of customers spread the bad news to over 20 people. If you fail to prioritise customer satisfaction, the ripples could spread out much farther than one unhappy person, and in the age of the internet, they could spread very far and fast indeed.

Learn how happy you are making your customers

Measuring customer satisfaction allows you to gain insights into how happy your customers are and any specific areas they like or dislike. By following up on this feedback, you can identify any concerning areas, talk to dissatisfied customers, and find out what you need to fix to improve your customers’ experience.

Identify loyal customers and promoters

Loyal customers are the lifeblood of any business. Those who keep coming back and spending money with your brand are incredibly valuable and should be treated as such. By measuring customer satisfaction you can locate the customers who like your brand and reward them with things like discounts, loyalty points, and other treats.

There’s one group that’s even more valuable than your loyal customers — promoters. These are the people who not only use your brand regularly but also tell their friends and others about you, essentially growing your business for you, for free. Your promoters should be rewarded especially highly and incentivised to keep spreading the word.

Improve revenue

It’s a simple equation: the more customers you retain, the more money you make. If your customers are constantly satisfied with your brand, it’s much more likely they will stick around, keep making purchases, and contribute to your revenue growth. Measuring customer satisfaction helps you take concrete steps to keep your customers happy and your company growing.

Compete with other businesses

Many brands fail to prioritise customer satisfaction, and many don’t measure it at all. This means that by getting to know your customers and their concerns, you can go beyond what your competitors are doing and gain a valuable edge.

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How to measure customer satisfaction

Focusing on customer satisfaction helps you deliver better customer experiences, attend to your customers’ needs and concerns, and ensure you retain more customers and continue to grow your business. But how do you measure it?

Face-to-face interviews

Talking to your customers face-to-face is one of the most effective ways to measure customer satisfaction (and almost anything else). You’ll get direct answers in real-time, with the option to follow up immediately. 

In face-to-face discussions like interviews and focus groups, you’ll also be able to see body language and take note of the quirks that get lost in less personal forms of communication. The challenge is finding a physical space to host these discussions, and incentivising your respondents to take the time out of their day.

Web app surveys

Whether on desktop browsers or mobile apps, online surveys are a quick and easy way to get feedback from your customers. You’ll likely get much more of a response compared to face-to-face interviews, and at a much lower cost to you. However, these surveys are much simpler by nature, and you’ll need to offer some kind of reward for participation (which can be as simple as a small discount code).

Email surveys

Almost everyone has an email account today, and it’s easy to collect email addresses from your customers during the sign-up process. This makes it easy to send quick surveys and questionnaires to your subscribers to measure customer satisfaction.

Telephone surveys

Telephone surveys used to be one of the most common ways to contact customers and get feedback. Today, they have to compete with newer media like email and mobile apps, but they’re still a popular choice for many brands and work especially well with older demographics.

Postal surveys

Postal surveys are one of the slower ways to get customer feedback and tend to result in low response rates, but they are cheap and allow you to contact a very wide pool of respondents.

Top 5 metrics for measuring customer satisfaction

Whatever method you use to contact your customers, you’ll still want to focus on measuring the same metrics. Here are 5 of the most important metrics to focus on when measuring customer satisfaction.

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

Perhaps the most straightforward metric to measure, Customer Satisfaction Score involves simply asking your customers to rate their level of satisfaction with your brand, product, or service.

It typically involves a scale, usually 1-5 or 1-10, and customers are asked to give a score in a number of areas like ease of use, value for money, and customer service. In addition to a numerical scale, you can also use words like “very satisfied” and “somewhat dissatisfied”.

This metric is simple, direct, and easy to compare with other brands’ results. However, it’s also subjective and easily influenced by lots of factors, not least your choice of wording in the survey itself. It may also be biased towards positive responses over negative and neutral ones.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score is a measure of how likely customers would be to refer you to another person. Usually, it involves an index ranging from -100 to 100, and it can be highly impactful.

Measuring NPS allows us to find out how likely customers are to recommend us to their friends and hone in on specific promoters who we can then reward and ask further questions to determine why they are so keen to spread the word.

The results can be powerful. American Express used an NPS survey to understand their customers better. The insights they gained from the survey led them to implement changes which resulted in a 10-15% increase in customer spending and a 4 to 5 times higher retention rate.

Customer Effort Score

Customer Effort Score measures how much effort a customer felt they had to put in to achieve a given desired outcome. It’s calculated similarly to the other metrics here by asking customers to provide a score on a scale.

CES is a valuable metric because the level of effort customers have to put in is strongly related to their loyalty. In the book The Effortless Experience by Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman and Rick DeLisi, we learn that 96% of customers who invested a lot of effort to resolve issues are more disloyal. In contrast, only 9% of those who did not invest high effort were disloyal.

Customer Churn Rate

This metric measures how many customers you lost over a given period. To calculate, you define the period you wish to measure (like a month, quarter, or year). Take the number of customers at the end of that period and subtract it from the number at the start. Then, divide the result by the number at the start.

This is one way to find out how many customers are happy with your brand — happy customers tend not to leave. Of course, there could be other factors at play like a poor marketing strategy that fails to stay connected with customers. Like all the other metrics on the list, CCR is just one piece of the overall puzzle.

Customer Retention Rate

On the other side of the coin to Churn Rate is Customer Retention Rate. Of all the customers you acquire, how many are you actually retaining? 

You calculate this by taking the number of new customers acquired during a period (weekly, quarterly, monthly, etc) and subtracting it from the total number of customers you had at the end of that period. Then, divide the result by the number of customers you had at the beginning of that period to find the CRR.

Customer Retention Rate is an important metric because it costs 5-25 times more to procure a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. Keeping hold of your customers is always much better than finding new ones (although you should of course be doing both). CRR also gives a good indication of how satisfied your existing customers are.

Measuring Customer Satisfaction is an essential activity for companies. Choosing the right metrics to track is a crucial component of this, and can make the difference between an accurate understanding of your customers and confusion. Doing this job right can be a major factor in the growth and success of your business.

Contact us to learn more about how Kadence can help you better understand your customers and conduct important research in a range of areas.

The market research industry in India is thriving, but it is not without its’ own challenges and complexities.

Size of the Market Research industry in India

According to Statista, the size of the market research industry globally is around US$74 billion, with more than half (US$47 billion) coming from within the U.S. At roughly Rs.1500 crore or US$15 billion (2017-18), the Market Research industry in India may be smaller in comparison. Still, it is the fastest-growing market globally, growing by an average of 10 per cent per year, compared to the industry’s global growth of just over 2 per cent in recent years. Most of India’s market research comes from overseas brands.

What makes India a favourable outsourcing destination for Market Research firms?

The overseas demand is mainly due to the enormous cost advantages of conducting market research in India. The processing of data is about 50% cheaper in India than in developed nations. Therefore, the outsourcing business is doubling in value every year.

The rising middle class comprises young people who are very familiar with U.S. brands. India has the second-largest population of English speakers globally, coupled with a relatively stable political backdrop. These factors make India an attractive country for international companies.

India has also developed a pool of trained market research professionals who can provide companies with superior study methodologies, data processing, analysis, and reporting, making India an attractive outsourcing destination. 

What are the high-growth sectors in Market Research in India?

India is evolving into a ‘Service Economy’ with telecom, retail, and financial services as the high-growth market research sectors. Marketing research in India has been focused more on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Besides these, India’s most significant growth area for the market research industry is the media measurement business, followed by the auto, telecom, healthcare sectors, durable goods industries, and the public sector. Market research is mainly focused on customer insights and satisfaction in all industry sectors. 

What are the challenges of conducting Market Research in India?

India faces unique, complex challenges because it can be viewed more as a continent than a country. This is because of many diverse cultures, customs, behaviour, languages, and even regional dialects. 

In India, one size does not fit all. Researchers need to understand the cultural nuances peculiar to different parts of the country when designing surveys and studies and selecting local markets. 

To obtain data for nationwide studies, market research firms in India have to target multiple cities, each with its language and cultural nuances. While Indian market researchers understand and know how to work within the complexities, it becomes challenging to warrant the high costs of conducting national studies to clients. 

On the plus side, this has helped Indian researchers attain higher standards of conducting studies. However, it is also true that it is difficult to attract high-quality research talent in India due to relatively lower salaries. While Indian companies understand the importance of Market Research and use it effectively, they are amongst the most demanding but lowest paying countries for market research.

One of the biggest challenges is the size of the country. In the past, with fewer households having access to phones, it was challenging to conduct market research. In 1997, less than one percent of the population had access to a telephone, and with low literacy rates, telephone and mail surveys were non-existent. However, in recent years, technology has lifted many barriers to market research in India.  

India’s digital journey has been remarkable. The number of internet users grew from 0.62 million in 2010 to 843.06 million in 2021 (the second-largest in the world). Estimates suggest that this figure would reach over 1.5 billion by 2040, and Smartphone usage far surpasses desktop and laptop usage. Today, smartphones are present in 84% of households. (Source: Statista)

These developments are a massive advantage in a country the size of India because the cost savings from using the internet or phone over face-to-face interactions are enormous. The rise in social media usage has also immensely helped the growth of market research in India. 

Face-to-face research was dominant before the pandemic; however, the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown helped speed up digitization, making it easier to use technology and social media for research studies.

beverage-trends-report
What is the state of market research in Rural India?

Nearly 70% of India’s population lives in rural areas, and the rural market has been growing five times as much as the urban market. However, doing market research in the rural areas of India remains cost-prohibitive due to the size of the country and its hugely diverse population. Additionally, largely rural population groups have not seen the technological breakthroughs and are beyond reach in many ways. 

During the pandemic, there has been an upsurge in digitizing rural India. The government has been pushing the adoption of digital technology in rural areas for many years now, but during the lockdown, it gained momentum. 

During the first pandemic wave, many jobless migrant workers had to go back to their villages from the cities, which triggered a rise in rural digitization. 

Still, market research firms face many challenges when it comes to the evolving, post-pandemic rural population. Furthermore, the complexities of hyper localization in languages, dialects, and traditions are even more pronounced in rural areas than urban centres. 

How did the sudden spike in mobile internet penetration further help the growth of the market research industry in India?

The availability of cheap smartphones in India since 2010 laid the foundation for digital literacy and adoption. Furthermore, the Indian government understood the importance of investments in its telecommunications sector and further deregulated the industry. 

In 2016, Reliance Jio disrupted the Indian telecommunications market by offering cheap 4G, high-speed data plans with free voice calling. This competitive data pricing pushed other telecom providers to drive down their pricing and led to a cumulative growth in affordable mobile internet accessibility amongst the Indian masses. 

What challenges do Indian Market Research companies (in particular) face?

In India, market research firms deal with the most demanding but lowest-paying clients in the industry. This makes it very difficult to attract top talent of market research professionals as the salaries are relatively lower. Industry attrition in Indian market research firms is high at about 30%, and people leave due to low salaries. 

The Future of Market Research In India

The growth of Market Research in India is clearly on the rise and shows no signs of stopping, despite the challenges. The market research industry in India is over three decades old. In recent years, there has been a rapid rise in the number of Indian Market Research firms and the interest of U.S. and European firms in outsourcing market research work to India. Companies in developed nations have 40-60% cost savings when they outsource market research to India. 

Telecommunication disruptions, technological developments, the rising middle class, a young country familiar with International brands, and lower research costs in India have led to growth in the market research industry. 

Market research is critical to building a robust business plan, and while many companies understand this, it is costly and time-consuming to undertake market research. Market research firms are more pressed than ever to deliver accurate insights and solutions to help companies make the right decisions while keeping turnaround times shorter and costs lower. 

guide-to-product-marketing
Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, and big data are changing how Market Research is carried out.

Organizations use many traditional market research techniques to learn more about their customers. Traditionally, these include interviews, surveys, focus groups, and market reports, which are costly and time-consuming. The Market Research industry in India now has access to and is adopting new technologies to collect, analyze, and present data faster yet accurately. 

Indian market researchers are using social media, advanced analytics, and data collection. 

New developments like Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and ‘big data‘ offer a viable solution. This also means expanding the skill set of the researchers so they can effectively employ these market research methodologies for streamlining and automating data collection and analysis. AI can also scan market data in any language, which can be invaluable in a multilingual country like India. 

The rapid rise in the number of Indian Market Research firms and the growing demand from international agencies in outsourcing to India show promising potential for the future growth of Market Research in India.

Although many challenges lay ahead, there will always be a need for high-quality, flexible market researchers. While technology and automation may be invading the market researcher’s territory, you still need people to uncover data and insights. The best market research teams of the future will combine techies and problem solvers, who will use technology to streamline and speed up their studies. A good quality, accurate, fast, and lower-cost research workforce will ensure India’s future growth as a market research provider to the western world. 

With the growing global demand for cost-effective and high-quality market research, the rising trust in Indian researchers, and the value of the Indian market, the future of market research in India looks promising.

Selecting an Indian Market Research Agency 
Kadence India

With many providers to choose from, appointing an agency for your next market research project that understands your unique research needs is crucial. If you are looking to conduct market research, selecting an agency with national expertise is a must. 

At Kadence International, we have offices in 10 countries, including India. Our office in India is recognized as one of the leading market research companies in the country.

With a Head Office in New Delhi, our diverse team has hundreds of years of collective market research expertise and speaks 12 different dialects.

We would welcome the chance to discuss your next market research project. Learn more about our Indian Office here or submit your market research project here.

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