Thinking carefully about your goals will help you design a research project that gets the accurate, useful results to support your business decisions. Try to be clear about your research objectives because these will influence the methods you use. It's also important to consider the time frame and budget for your project, especially if you are seeking third party support.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Understanding issues that could impact on your market research will enable you to set goals that are realistic and achievable. Consider the design of your market research process or methodology carefully so that it suits your needs and capacity. Considering these issues before you carry out your market research will help you get the information you need, when you need it, without stretching your budget or wasting your time.
Also consider...
- Use our market research kit to find key economic, demographic and statistical information about your industry.
A variety of problems can arise if research objectives are not clearly defined at the beginning stages of the survey research project. The very first thing the researcher should do is work with the research team or clients to clearly identify each research objective.
Research objectives consist of general descriptions describing the types and categories of information the researcher wants to obtain from the survey; from what target population; and an explanation of possible comparisons. Throughout the survey project plan, the main objectives inform and steer the research team in the right direction.
Measure: Research objectives should contain a measurement objective, specifying what your research team is trying to measure. If your company is planning to make a large, expensive, or risky business decision, it is quite important to quantify market data in order to minimize risk.
Categorize: Research objectives are essentially summary statements detailing the categories of data you want to acquire. Some examples of objectives for market research purposes could include: brand awareness, brand image, consumer perception, consumer attitudes, buyer behavior, product satisfaction, consumer experience [good and bad], and intent to purchase behavior. Objectives should be tailored to each specific project.
Target: It is evident that you need to choose a target population that will provide the data you need. It is possible for a survey research project to target multiple target populations in order to acquire the necessary data for a successful project. If you are targeting multiple populations, ensure that the survey questions are tailored to those groups. For example, if you are administering a technology study, you don’t want to ask technical questions to a non-technical population.
Compare: In many cases, you will want to compare data from previous years, compare certain segments of a population to each other, or benchmark data against existing market data.
You should have a clear idea in mind of how the survey data will be used. Important business decisions are based on the findings of the research. Defining survey research objectives at the start of your survey project plan can serve as a guide throughout the entire research process, making certain that the right questions are asked to the right target audience, and making certain that your clients and stakeholders are satisfied with the overall outcomes of the survey, and more importantly, the accuracy and validity of the data you provide.
Related blog post: 6 Areas to Consider when Developing a Survey Project Plan