Table of Contents
- 🧠 A guide to market research for marketers with Dana DiGregorio
- 🔎 What is the difference between market research and marketing research?
- 🧠 What is the purpose of market research and why is it important?
- 🏁 How should you set up your market research?
- 🧠 The main takeaway
🧠 A guide to market research for marketers with Dana DiGregorio
Read time: 3 minutes
Team TMM were scouring LinkedIn for the most accomplished market researcher in town and Dana DiGregorio’s name just kept on coming up. She’s been working in research for over 15 years, digging into data to uncover truths to help marketers and businesses grow.
In this webinar Dana covered:
🔎 The difference between market research and marketing research
🏁 Where to start with your research
⏰ Why there has never been a better time to properly understand how to measure your marketing effectiveness
🔎 What is the difference between market research and marketing research?
Market research refers to the study of an entire market and the consumer behaviour within that market. It is the process of gathering and analysing information about a market, product, or service in order to gain insight into customers, competitors, and the market itself.
Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The goal is to identify and assess how changing elements of the marketing mix impacts customer behaviour.
When you think about market research, you’re thinking about the broader perspective, and when you think about marketing research you’re generally thinking about things relating to your marketing efforts.
🧠 What is the purpose of market research and why is it important?
When you have worked as a marketer for a long time, it is easy to think that you know best. But, when you don’t include your customers’ voice at the heart of business decisions, you can end up taking risks that otherwise could be mitigated. When you make decisions based on your opinion as the marketer/business owner, they may not be right for long-term brand growth. It’s important then, that you consider how you’re going to go about research.
🏁 How should you set up your market research?
When it comes to research, there are so many variations and recipes to be played with, but it all needs to start with what you are trying to learn.
There are two different objectives to keep in mind: business and research. These two approaches seem very similar, but you need to look closely at your goals to identify the differences.
- Business objectives are more strategic and generally broader, longer-term goals concerning the direction of the business.
- Research objectives are more tactical, and related to the specific goals and outcomes of the research. These will typically feed into the business objectives.
Dana explains how often, businesses come with either one or the other type of objectives. They may have an idea of what they want to learn but they don’t really know how to tie that back to business outcomes. Having a really great research consultant or partner will help drive your research question back to the business goals and ultimately make sure the work has a positive ROI.
Once you’ve got the right questions, it’s time to begin your research. Dana broke down market research into three tiers:
- Keeping things research simple and on a budget
Dana explained that there are an abundance of DIY data feeds and tools at your fingertips that should not be overlooked, but that often the very best place to start is to just ask questions. Find customers who are happy to talk to you and ask them questions.
The kindergarten rule
For every conversation you have, ask 5 whys. This is a great way to encourage a conversation so that you can actually uncover relevant insights. Generally the first thing that somebody says to you is not going to be their truest answer. Being inquisitive and asking really good questions is the best way to conduct really simple research with a low to no budget.
- Expanding your expertise in research methods
Next up, it’s time to expand your expertise in research methods. This might look like implementing a low-level brand tracking solution. You’ve moved on from your DIY tool, and you’re maybe now engaging with a research partner. You’re creating plans for research measurement for the execution of a product or understanding a market.
Generally, the most expensive parts of conducting a research project are:
- The data collection
- The time that the research consultants spend on reporting and analytics
But, the benefits of working with a research partner are worth the investment. Partners usually have long standing relationships with research tool providers and will have a world of information to share with you.
- Taking things to the next level
For those marketers who are no stranger to the world of market research, Dana suggests that the key to taking things to the next level is to firmly master the art of measurement. This will allow you to leverage insights to share with key decision makers and ultimately, to make smarter marketing decisions.
In 2023, it has been found that 70% of marketing efforts are wasted because they cannot be properly measured. And that is in no small part down to marketers and businesses chasing the wrong things, and building tools which are not rooted in actual consumer interaction with marketing and brand experiences. There are an abundance of marketing channels so it is more important than ever that you truly understand what you’re trying to measure and how you can execute your plans.
🧠 The main takeaway
Now, more than ever, you have to think holistically about how you measure your marketing and how you engage research and analytics to help elevate your marketing game. True marketing effectiveness needs to capture the whole customer experience. Move away from just focusing on what you ‘push out’ in terms of marketing activity, to more deeply understand what people actually ‘pick up’ so that you can make better decisions.