Market Research encompasses different areas of study

Many of us are aware of this fact and many of us are also aware of who said this - Internet usage was growing at a whopping rate of 2300% in 1994. Yes. Jeff Bezos wanted to capitalize this new area of rapid growth potential and he and his wife started Amazon starting to sell books in the Internet. This is a good example of Market Analytics, studying market trends and secondary research used in Market Research.

This is from another successful businessman known for bringing innovative, needful, sleek, high-quality, high-pride-association products to the market - Steve Jobs. He said it is not enough to rely just on Market Research focusing on focus groups and survey results. He said it is all about reading things that are not yet on the page. His opinion is customers do not know what they want in the product until it is shown to them. An innovator has to conceive a product and by taking risk and with strong self-belief and conviction has to develop that product and bring it to the customers. Once the customers start using the product, then they will come up with feedback or we can infer from their usage to know what features should be developed and to lay out a product roadmap. This is an example of application of secondary research, primary research, understanding consumer preferences, psychology, innovation and product development in Market Research.

Back in 2010 when parallel computing, distributed cloud-storage, and less cost of ownership was showing as a rapidly evolving market trend, we started a Cloud SaaS based product company called Jooji Software Solutions in Chennai, India. We developed a cloud SaaS ERP product to manage finance and procurement. At first there was resistance from the businesses. The primary concern was that the internet is not reliable and that it would jeopardize their operations if the internet is down. There was also another concern that the data is not secure and that it is not safe to have the data in the cloud. But our in-depth study of market trends and the understanding of the underlying technology drove us to develop the product and bring it to the benefit of the businesses. Today 15 years hence everything is in the cloud and people prefer having it in the cloud. Cloud migration is a high-growth revenue-generating consulting service these days.

Let's get started with Market Research

Introduction to Market Research 

Market Research - Each word ‘Market’, ‘Research’ by itself are broad and in-depth words. Bringing together Market and Research allows us to gain insights about the needs and psychology of people. This in turn helps to bring innovative useful products and services to the market. Putting all these (needs, psychology, products, services) together is multi-faceted. It is art, science, psychology, sociology and therefore an intriguing herculean task.

I have worked in several Research and Analytics initiatives for over 20+ years and have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges and outcomes involved in Market Research. I want to share my understanding and experiences which I believe will help aspiring Market Research professionals. Market Research has a huge impact for businesses and society and a smart Market Research professional can be a game-changer for the world. 

A glimpse into Market Research and the scope 

Market Research encompasses different areas of study to name a few - studying consumer preferences, studying market trends, understanding the psychology of people, exploring new product development, market analytics and so on. All these studies have this as the primary objective - driving growth of revenue for the business. There can be secondary objectives which are bringing impactful products to the people, driving improved standard of living, making research-based data-driven strategies, bringing awareness of the products and so on. 

Businesses need Market Research services to bring new products to the market. Businesses need Market Research services to sustain those products in the market. One can argue if people like the product, then the product will speak for itself and that there is no need for Market Research services. It is true but still Market Research is required in order to proactively engage with the market if needed to course-correct and to ensure the product is still in good books in the customers’ mind.