Market Research Methods that Will Give You Proven Results

Most companies implement professional marketing campaigns and pay a lot of money to agencies. They also build websites and try to increase traffic to up their sales. However, even after all of the money spent and the effort made, their products may fail miserably. This is because they can ignore market research. It is a crucial step before launching any product because even if you have the highest quality and best idea, it won't succeed if that is not what the consumers want. To help you perform successful user-research, we have gathered some tried and tested methods that will give you accurate results. 

A popular research method that is cheap and accessible is card sorting. It doesn't take much effort to write some phrases on cards and give them to the consumers. You will ask them to put the cards in categories or label them the way they see fit. The cards that will catch their attention first or prioritized over the others should be used as keywords on the website. That way, you will gain insights into the users' preferences and how their thoughts work when deciding to buy a certain product.

Even though it is an easy method to understand, it has its downsides. If you perform it on too many people, you may get negative results. That's why the preferred number of participants is fifteen as a maximum. It can also be performed online remotely through your website. 

Before launching any product, you will often wonder what the customers' responses will be. Instead of being anxious, you can form a focus group that contains a small number of people. Specialized researchers should study the response of these individuals who are trying your product. The people interested in joining a focus group can also make money from their time, which is a motivator to give honest and open feedback. You should limit the applicants by setting certain criteria that fit your target audience. This will help get more accurate results and give you an idea about people's responses in the market. 

Field studies are the umbrella term for several techniques that involve going out into the world and measuring users' behaviors. For instance, conducting surveys, interviewing random customers, and ethnographic research. These studies can provide the deepest insights into consumers' issues and ideas on how they can be solved.

Sometimes you won't have the location nor the time to perform face-to-face research. That's why eye movement tracking is a trusted, remote way to gather information. When people visit your website, they will be looking at different items on the screen, and their eyes will roam all over the page. With eye movement tracking technology, you can see which content interests them enough to stare at for longer. You will also discover what items are insignificant and should be discarded. This method is not cheap, but it won't break your bank either. It will all depend on the budget for your project. 

Not all products are great at first, and they may need modifications based on users' preferences. Usability testing will let consumers test your product and inform you of any alterations that can improve upon the functionality. This would help you get direct feedback and perform the changes if multiple people agreed on them. 

Unfortunately, this method doesn't mimic the conditions surrounding the users while using your product. That's why remote usability testing is a better option since the consumers will test your item in their own environment. This will help you gather more accurate data as well as save laboratory space. You will also be able to identify users' experiences from all over the world if you want to go global. 

It is great to have feedback from real-life consumers who may buy your products in the future. However, sometimes gaining information from a professional can change how you view your product. Heuristic evaluation, or, as it is commonly known, an expert review, is a method where an expert is invited to test the product. A person with knowledge can give a better opinion and will have an eye for defects and imperfections. 

Since we are living in the digital world, much information can be gathered and analyzed effortlessly. Researchers are using this to their advantage by creating user personas, which are fictional representations of your target audience. All they have to do is gather consumers' data, including demographics, behaviors, and buying patterns, and design the personas. This will save you the effort of gathering people and determining if they fit the research or not. 

Every company should know that the customers' opinions are what matters and that the success of a certain product boils down to its usability. If consumers don't see any need to buy your product or accept your service, the marketing campaign will fail. It is important to reach many people, but it is also crucial to know your target audience and expect their responses. To guarantee accurate results, consider applying one of the above research methods.