Before launching a product, writing a campaign, or even planning a business strategy, one thing should come first: research. Among the most valuable forms of research for businesses is market research—a crucial starting point that helps you understand your audience, assess opportunities, and make confident, data-driven decisions.
But what exactly is market research? What does it involve, and how can you use it effectively? In this article, we’ll explore the essentials: from definitions and types to practical methods, real-world applications, and why it’s key to business success.
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What Is Market Research?
Market Research Definition
Market research involves gathering, analysing, and interpreting information about a market, including a product or service and its target audience. It typically focuses on two main components: the offering (product or service) and the potential customers. In other words, it helps businesses understand market demand, customer behaviour, industry trends, and competitive positioning.
This process provides valuable insights into customer habits, preferences, purchasing power, pain points, and geographic distribution. It enables businesses to make informed decisions and reduce risks.
After conducting market research, you should be able to answer questions such as:
- What is the market size?
- Who are my primary and secondary competitors?
- Which market is best suited for my product or service?
- How much are customers willing to pay?
- What are the emerging trends in my industry?
Market research is primarily an external study of the target market and its conditions, helping businesses understand their environment before making strategic decisions.
What Are the Types of Market Research?
There are two main ways to categorise market research: by method and by focus.
- Method-based research looks at how the data is collected. This includes approaches like primary vs. secondary research, or qualitative vs. quantitative research.
- Focus-based research is about what you’re trying to learn. This includes types like customer research, product research, competitor research, and brand research.
Understanding both perspectives helps businesses choose the right type of research for their goals—whether it’s exploring a new market, testing a product, or analysing customer feedback.
Key Types of Market Research Explained
Method-Based Market Research
Primary Research
This involves collecting new data directly from your target audience. It’s done through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observations. The main advantage is that the data is specific to your business and up to date.
Secondary Research
Here, you use existing data that has already been collected by others—such as reports, studies, or government statistics. It’s a useful starting point to understand the market landscape and identify trends without starting from scratch.
Qualitative Research
This type focuses on exploring opinions, motivations, and feelings. It’s usually done through open-ended methods like interviews or discussion groups, and is helpful for understanding the “why” behind consumer behaviour.
Quantitative Research
This research gathers numerical data that can be measured and analysed statistically. It often involves larger samples and structured surveys, helping businesses track patterns, test ideas, or validate decisions.
Exploratory, Descriptive, and Causal Research
These are specific research designs:
- Exploratory research helps define a problem or direction when little is known.
- Descriptive research aims to describe characteristics or behaviours of a group.
- Causal research looks at cause-and-effect relationships, often using experiments.
Focus-Based Market Research
- Customer Research
This research dives into customer needs, satisfaction, preferences, and behaviour. It helps you better understand your audience and how to meet their expectations.
- Product Research
This focuses on how a product is received by the market. It may involve concept testing, feature feedback, or usage insights to guide product development or improvements.
- Competitor Research
Here, the goal is to analyse your competitors—what they offer, how they price, who they target, and how they position themselves. This can reveal opportunities to stand out or improve.
- Branding Research
Branding research assesses how your brand is perceived. It looks at awareness, trust, associations, and loyalty, helping you measure and refine your brand strategy.
Market Research Methods
Market research helps businesses make informed decisions by understanding customer needs, market trends, and competitive dynamics. There are several methods used to collect insights, each offering different advantages depending on the goal. Below are four of the most common and widely used methods in market research.
What Are 4 Methods of Market Research?
1. Surveys
Surveys involve asking a series of questions to a large group of people. They are useful for collecting measurable data and identifying trends across customer groups.
2. Interviews
Interviews are one-on-one conversations that dive deeper into personal opinions, motivations, and experiences. They’re ideal for gathering rich, qualitative insights.
3. Focus Groups
This method brings together a small group of participants to discuss a specific topic, such as a product or brand. It reveals group dynamics and shared perceptions.
4. Observation
Observation involves watching how people behave naturally, either in-person or through digital tools. This method helps capture actions and habits that may not be revealed through direct questions.
Additional Market Research Methods
While surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observation are the core methods, other valuable approaches are also widely used:
- Field Trials or Experiments
This method involves testing a product, service, or marketing strategy in a real or simulated environment. It allows businesses to observe outcomes and customer reactions under specific conditions. This is particularly useful for testing cause-and-effect scenarios, such as how a new feature influences buying behaviour. - Use of Existing Data (Desk Research)
Also known as secondary research, this method involves analysing data that already exists. It includes reports, academic studies, market analyses, and publicly available statistics. Desk research is especially helpful for gaining context, identifying industry trends, and supporting decisions without the need to collect new data.
Getting Started with Market Research
How to Do Market Research for Beginners
If you’re new to market research, the best way to start is by keeping it simple and focused. Begin with a clear question you want answered—such as who your ideal customer is or how people feel about your product idea. Use free tools like online surveys, social media polls, or existing articles and reports to gather insights. You don’t need advanced tools or large datasets at the start. What matters most is listening to your audience and using what you learn to make better decisions. As your confidence grows, you can explore more structured research methods.
How to Do Customer Research
Customer research focuses on understanding your target audience—what they want, how they behave, and what influences their decisions. To get started, define your ideal customer profile, then choose methods like interviews, surveys, or customer feedback forms. Ask questions about needs, challenges, preferences, and motivations.
You can also use tools like Google Analytics or CRM data to study behaviour over time. The goal is to build a clear, data-backed picture of who your customers are and how to serve them better.
Tip: Customer research is a key part of market research, but it focuses specifically on the people you want to reach.
How to Conduct Market Research
Using a Simple Market Research Template
Conducting market research involves a clear, step-by-step process that helps turn questions into actionable insights. Whether you’re a startup founder, marketer, or product manager, using a market research template can help keep your work focused and organised.
Here’s a simple structure you can follow:
- Define the Objective – Identify what you want to learn (e.g. customer needs, product feedback, or market size).
- Select the Audience – Decide who you need information from, such as existing customers, potential users, or a specific demographic group.
- Choose the Research Type and Method – Pick the most suitable type (exploratory, descriptive, or causal) and the right method (surveys, interviews, desk research, etc.).
- Prepare Key Questions – Write down the questions that will guide your data collection and analysis.
- Collect the Data – Use your chosen tools or platforms to gather responses or observe behaviour.
- Analyse and Interpret – Look for patterns, trends, and meaningful insights in the data.
- Take Action – Apply your findings to improve your marketing strategy, product development, or business planning.
Tip: You can create your own market research template in a spreadsheet or document by turning the steps above into a checklist or fillable format.
Using SWOT Analysis in Market Research
Once you’ve collected your market research data, SWOT analysis is a helpful tool to make sense of it. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It allows businesses to organise insights in a way that connects internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) with external ones (opportunities and threats). This framework helps identify where a company is performing well, where it needs to improve, and how it can respond to market challenges or take advantage of emerging trends.
Tip: A SWOT analysis is most effective when backed by solid research—such as customer feedback, competitor analysis, and market data.
Market Segmentation in Market Research
Market segmentation is the process of dividing your audience into distinct groups based on shared characteristics—such as demographics, behaviours, needs, or preferences. This step helps businesses tailor their messaging, products, and strategies to better match each group.
Market research plays a key role in identifying these segments, using insights from surveys, interviews, or data analytics to define meaningful categories. Market segmentation helps businesses adapt their digital marketing efforts to different audience groups, improving campaign relevance and performance.
Tip: Segmentation can be based on criteria like age, location, lifestyle, values, or buying habits—whatever is most relevant to your goals.
How to Use Market Research
Market research supports smarter business decisions by offering a clearer picture of your market and audience. It can be used to:
- Explore new opportunities
- Test product or service ideas
- Refine branding or messaging
- Track customer satisfaction
- Understand competitor positioning
Whether you’re launching a startup or refining a mature business strategy, research helps ensure decisions are grounded in real-world insights—not assumptions.
Benefits of Market Research
The advantages of market research go far beyond just knowing your customers. Key benefits include:
- Reduced risk: Validate ideas before investing time or money
- Improved forecasting: Spot market trends and shifts early
- Better targeting: Understand what your audience truly wants
- Competitive edge: Learn from your competitors and stand out
- Stronger planning: Make data-backed decisions with confidence
Overall, research leads to better strategies, improved customer satisfaction, and long-term business growth.
What Is Market Analysis?
Market analysis is the process of examining the size, trends, and dynamics of a specific market. It helps businesses understand the overall industry landscape, customer demand, growth potential, and competitor activity. Unlike market research, which often focuses on direct feedback from customers, market analysis relies more on existing data like reports, financial indicators, and competitor positioning. It’s an essential part of strategic planning, especially when launching a product, entering a new market, or assessing risk.
Market analysis and market research often work together—analysis gives the big picture, while research provides detailed insights from real people
Choosing the Right Type of Market Research
Your choice of research type depends on what you’re trying to learn:
- Exploratory research: Great for identifying problems or opportunities when you’re unsure what direction to take
- Descriptive research: Ideal for understanding customer behaviour, preferences, or market demographics
- Causal research: Used to test cause-and-effect (e.g., whether a change in price will impact demand)
Tip: Start by defining a clear research objective—this will naturally guide you to the most suitable type.
Choosing the Right Research Method
After identifying the type of research you need, the next step is choosing the most appropriate method to collect your data.
- Surveys are ideal when you need measurable insights from a larger group of people. They help you gather statistical data on customer preferences or behaviours.
- Interviews allow for deeper, more personal insights. They’re great for exploring motivations, challenges, or detailed feedback.
- Focus groups bring people together to discuss a product, service, or idea. This method reveals emotional responses and group dynamics.
- Observation involves watching how people behave in real-life situations, such as browsing in a shop or navigating a website. It can uncover patterns that people might not mention in surveys.
- Field trials or experiments help test new ideas or strategies in a controlled environment to see what works before a full launch.
- Desk research (also known as secondary research) uses existing sources like industry reports, government data, or competitor analysis. It’s useful when time or budget is limited.
Tip: Match your method to your goal—whether it’s gathering quick feedback, testing an idea, or exploring behaviour in depth. Also, consider factors like budget, timeline, and the level of detail you need.
Tools to Use for Market Research
There are many tools—free and paid—that can support different stages of market research, from collecting data to analysing it. Here are some widely used ones, grouped by purpose:
Survey and Feedback Tools
- Google Forms – A free and easy way to create surveys.
- Typeform – Offers engaging, interactive surveys with a user-friendly interface.
- SurveyMonkey – Great for more advanced survey logic and analytics.
Audience and Social Listening Tools
- Google Trends – Shows what people are searching for and how interest changes over time.
- AnswerThePublic – Provides keyword and topic insights based on common search queries.
- BuzzSumo – Helps you see what content is performing well and what your audience is interested in.
Analytics and Reporting
- Google Analytics – Understand user behaviour on your website.
- Hotjar – Offers heatmaps and user session recordings to see how people interact with your site.
- Tableau or Microsoft Power BI – Data visualisation tools for in-depth analysis and dashboards.
Competitor and Market Insights
- Statista – A source for statistics and market data.
- Similarweb – Helps analyse traffic and online performance of competitors.
- SEMrush – For SEO-driven market research and competitor analysis.
Tip: Choose tools that match your goals and budget. For beginners, starting with free tools like Google Forms and Google Trends can go a long way.
Advanced Research Tools
- Qualtrics – A robust platform for designing surveys and managing research projects, often used in academic and enterprise settings.
- SPSS – A statistical analysis tool used by researchers to analyse complex data sets and identify patterns.
What Do Market Researchers Do?
Market researchers are professionals who collect and analyse data to help businesses make informed decisions. They design research plans, choose the right methods, and interpret results to uncover customer insights, market trends, or competitor activity. Their work supports everything from product development to strategic planning.
Market Research Jobs
Market research is a growing field that offers a wide range of career opportunities in various industries, from tech and finance to retail and healthcare. These roles are ideal for people who enjoy analysing data, spotting trends, and solving real-world problems.
Common Job Titles in Market Research:
- Market Research Analyst
Gathers and interprets data about consumers, competitors, and market conditions. - Consumer Insights Specialist
Focuses on understanding customer behaviour and translating it into actionable business recommendations. - Data Analyst (with market research focus)
Works with large datasets to uncover trends and support strategic planning. - Research Executive / Research Manager
Leads research projects, manages teams, and works closely with clients or internal stakeholders. - UX Researcher
Combines market research and user behaviour insights to improve product and service experiences.
Required Skills:
- Strong analytical and critical thinking abilities
- Experience with research tools (e.g. SPSS, Excel, Qualtrics)
- Good communication and storytelling skills
- Understanding of both qualitative and quantitative methods
Tip: Many roles don’t require a specific “market research” degree—skills in data analysis, psychology, business, or marketing are often enough to get started.
Build a Career in Market Research with Specialised Education
For those looking to build or accelerate a career in market research, pursuing a specialised degree can provide both strategic insights and practical skills. Programs like the Online MSc in Strategic Marketing at EDHEC equip participants with in-demand expertise in data-driven marketing, consumer behaviour, and brand strategy—all of which are essential for modern market researchers. Similarly, the Online MSc in International Business Management offers a global business perspective that’s especially valuable for those aiming to work in research roles within international or cross-cultural contexts.
With flexible online learning and a hands-on approach, these programs help learners develop the skills to interpret complex data, understand diverse markets, and make informed, strategic decisions.
