1. Defining market research goals

2. Thinking carefully about your goals will help you design a research project that gets the accurate, useful results you need.
You need to be clear about your research objectives and how these will influence the methods you use.
It's also important to identify issues such as the time frame and budget for your project

3. When conducting research, be careful not to let your opinions and preferences, or those of your team, affect surveys or the results.
Never decide the conclusion in advance.
Be prepared to find market information that is unanticipated, as this builds a more accurate picture of your target market and will be more useful to your business

4. Establishing market research objectives
Clearly define your objectives and the outcomes you expect from your market research, as unclear objectives lead to conflicting expectations and irrelevant data.
Carefully consider and list your objectives and keep referring back to them during your research

5. Determining key objectives
List the key information you want your research to uncover.
For example, you may have questions about:
your product's performance or reputation in the market
new markets for your business
customer reactions to price increases or product changes.

6. Developing a list of questions
From your set of key objectives, you can develop a list of research questions such as:
Is there a demand for my product or service?
What sales can I expect?
Who buys my products (e.g. age, gender, income, occupation, lifestyle)?
What is the best price for my products or services?
How should my products look, feel, taste, etc.?
What is the best location for my business?
Are other businesses offering similar products or services?
Is there sufficient demand for my product to make the business viable?

7. Identifying potential research issues
Identify the issues involved in your market research.
For example:
when you need the information by - allowing your research deadlines to slip may mean your results occur too late to effectively implement certain decisions
what your research budget is
how you want to use the information
particular problems or sensitivities you need to manage
the amount of time you can afford to invest
the size of the research project - those that become too large and time-consuming may fail to give you the results you need in the time you need them.

8. Understanding issues that could impact on your market research will help you set goals that are realistic and achievable.
It will help you design a market research process that suits your needs and capacity.
Considering these issues before you carry out your market research will help ensure you get the information you need, when you need it, without stretching your budget or wasting your time

9. Market research
Researching your market helps you target your ideal customer, identify new market opportunities and improve your sales performance.
Successful businesses make regular market research the foundation of their marketing and sales planning.
You can develop strong marketing strategies based on what you find out about your products and services, your customers, your competitors, your industry and the challenges in your marketplace.

10. Market research
Market research can also help you identify areas of your business that could be updated or changed.
It's important to clearly define your market research goals so that you can give yourself the best chance of finding accurate and useful results.
This guide explains market research methods - including primary, secondary, quantitative and qualitative research - and shows you how to research your market

11. Your competitive advantage
Your competitive advantage is what sets your business apart from your competition.
It highlights the benefits a customer receives when they do business with you.
It could be your products, service, reputation, or even your location.
For example, do you offer home delivery, a money back guarantee, a 2-hour call-out service or childcare facilities

12. How to identify your competitive advantage
To identify your competitive advantage, you need to understand your competitors and your customers.
Ask yourself:
Why do customers buy from us?
Why do customers buy from our competitors and not us?
Why do some potential customers not buy at all?
What do we need to do to be successful in the future

13. Customers buy benefits
When customers buy your product or service, they are buying the benefit that it gives them.
It may be that your product makes their life simpler, or your service helps them to feel better about themselves.
Think about how your competitive advantage benefits your customers.
For example, the competitive advantage for a sandwich shop may be: 
We use fresh, local ingredients to make-to-order the highest quality gourmet sandwiches in the local area

14. Different customers may see different benefits
customers with allergies or particular dislikes will enjoy the convenience of ordering a sandwich with their preferred ingredients
customers who want to treat themselves will be attracted by the fresh, high-quality ingredients, and the fact that the sandwiches are gourmet
customers who want to support local businesses will appreciate that you use only local ingredients

15. Thinking about how your business can benefit your customers will help you to pinpoint your competitive advantage. A strong competitive advantage
reflects the competitive strength of your business (e.g. quality of service)
is preferably, but not necessarily, unique
is clear and simple
may change over time as competitors try to cash in on your idea
must be supported by honest and ongoing market research
must highlight the benefits to customers rather than boast of your business itself

16. Competitor profile chart
Profiling your competitors allows you to understand a range of key information about their business - including what prices they charge for their products, where they find their customers and how they advertise
Create a profile for each of the competitors to your business by reading the questions below and typing your answers into the competitor profile chart

17. Competitor 1
Competitor 2
Competitor 3
What is their business name?
Where is their business located?
How would you rank their location and why? (e.g. exposure, traffic flow, access, parking, other businesses)
How many customers do they have in a particular time period? (You could observe their office or store to determine this.)
How many employees do they have?
How effective are their employees at doing their job?
What do they charge for their products and services?
What is their refund policy?
Which customers are they targeting? (e.g. young male professionals, families with teenage children)
How do they advertise or market themselves?
Do they have an online presence (e.g. website, social media)?
What is their competitive advantage?

18. Researching customers
Successful businesses make profits by understanding their customers and identifying their needs.
Good customer research helps you choose products, tailor your marketing, and develop sales tactics for the people in your market based on reliable, accurate information.
Customer research should be part of your overall market research and should be conducted regularly.
While your market research looks broadly at your customers, competition and industry to identify who you will market to, customer research provides more in-depth information on the needs, wants, expectations and behaviours of your customers

19. By identifying information about your consumers such as where they work, what they read and where they look at advertising, you can improve the strategies you use to attract them.
It is also important to understand their purchasing behaviour and attitudes with regards to brands and products.Testing new product or marketing concepts with potential customers
is also a good way to prepare for a launch to see if your work has potential to translate to success.

20. Identifying your customers' needs and preferences allows you to tailor the strategies and tactics you use in your marketing plan.
This will help you to
attract more customers
set the best price for your products
create the right marketing message
increase how much your customers spend
increase how often your customers spend
increase your sales
decrease your costs
refine your approach to customer service

21. Surveys, focus groups and interviews
Focus groups, interviews and surveys are referred to as primary research tools.
They help you collect new or original information.
The benefit of conducting your own research, rather than using secondary information (e.g. from internet sources and trade publications) is that you can tailor your questions specifically to your business and you can gather more in-depth information

22. Questions in surveys are usually:
Surveys are fixed sets of questions, which are usually used to collect quantifiable information (e.g. the percentage of people happy with a particular product).
Questions in surveys are usually:
multiple choice
true/false or yes/no
rankings or ratings (e.g. 1-5, or strongly agree/disagree scales)

23. You can also include open-ended questions that give people the chance to answer a question with a statement; however, these tend to be better suited to qualitative research methods such as focus groups and interviews where you can ask follow-up questions to get more information
Surveys are usually most effective when carried out face-to-face, but can also be completed over the phone, online, or through the post. Postal surveys are generally better suited to existing customers as they have an affinity with your business and are  more likely to respond

24. Keep your surveys short by not asking too many questions.
Make sure your questions are clear and easy to understand.
This will help you get more useful information and reduce the chances of participants losing interest or giving misleading answers.
Test your questions on friends or family to make sure they are easy to answe

25. Focus groups and interviews
Focus groups and interviews are based on a set of questions or discussion points.
Sometimes they might include visual concepts and even product samples to trial.
They are most effective for qualitative research, as they let you explore people's opinions and attitudes (e.g. how they feel about your products and what improvements they would like to see in your business

26. When preparing for focus groups and interviews, you need to develop a list of questions and key points so that you can have a productive conversation with your participants.
To get the most out of a focus group or interview:
ask open-ended questions - ones that can't be answered with 'yes', 'no' or another single word (e.g. rather than ask 'are you happy with our products?' ask 'which of our products are you happy with and why?')
repeat participants' answers to make sure you understand what they are saying
ask follow-up questions if you need more information about a participant's answer

27. Plan where and when you will conduct focus groups or interviews and think about who will conduct them.
You may decide to use a professional market research company to help if you are unfamiliar with the process.
Make sure you record the answers from the interview and conversations in the focus group. You might do this with a sound recorder or take written notes.
Typically focus groups last 1-3 hours and focus group participants are usually paid to attend.

28. Selecting participants
The number of participants in your surveys, focus groups or interviews is called the sample size.
A large sample size will give you a clearer picture of your customers than a small one.
While there is no set method for deciding how large or small your sample should be, it will depend on what type of primary research you are conducting (focus groups, interviews or surveys) and the time and budget you can allocate to your research.
As focus groups and interviews are generally more in-depth than surveys, you may not need a large sample size to get useful information.
A typical focus group may consist of 6-8 people but you may need to conduct a number of focus groups to get the ideal mix of information you are after.
For surveys, a larger sample size will help you draw more reliable conclusions from the data you collect

29. Selecting participants
The participants you select for your research must be able to answer your questions.
Make sure they are familiar with the topic you are discussing, as targeting the wrong population can result in inconclusive or misleading data.
Usually you select focus group participants based on criteria relevant to your customer profile e.g. women, aged 35-45, with children in primary school.
Your participants might be existing or potential customers, depending on what you are trying to find out with your research. Before you conduct any research with your participants, make sure they agree to participate and outline any potential issues, such as confidentiality.
Explain to them how you will use their information, and give them the opportunity to opt out at any time if they want.

30. A SWOT analysis helps you:
A SWOT analysis is a simple tool to help you work out the internal and external factors affecting your business. It is one of the most commonly used business analysis and decision-making tools.
A SWOT analysis helps you:
build on strengths (S)
minimise weakness (W)
seize opportunities (O)
counteract threats (T)

31. To get the most out of a SWOT analysis, you need to conduct it with a particular business objective in mind.
For example, a SWOT analysis can help you decide if you should introduce a new product or service or change your processes

32. A SWOT analysis is often part of strategic planning.
It can help you better understand your business and work out what areas need improving.
It can also help you understand your market, including your competitors, and predict changes that you will need to address to make sure your business is successful.
It is also a particularly useful step in your marketing planning process.