Why Market Research?
If the market is large and growing, we can become millionaires if we just show up and only get 5% market share, right? Wrong.
One of our clients (who shall remain nameless) exhibited this “Show Up and Win” mentality and launched a series of new products without once asking their customers what they wanted or their distribution channel partners if they would sell these new products over the existing products they had sold for years. The result: even in an exponentially growing market, they could only win <1% of the overall market. Why?
Even if the product were in tune with the customer requirements that would generate the most sales (it wasn’t because they didn’t talk to any customers or channel partners before launch), even great products don’t always “win” even if they are the “best” (see Betamax vs. VHS).
You also need well thought-out pricing, a conflict-free channel to sell through, and a campaign of effective promotions. After all, your competitors have established market share for a reason and will not go quietly. You need something to differentiate your product, a reason for the channel to get behind your product (and brand), your pricing needs to make sense and be well worth it, and you need to promote the product where your target market is. It’s called the 4 Ps of Marketing (product, pricing, placement, promotions) and the way to learn how to get them right is—you guessed it—market research, best done in the development cycle before you launch your product. Oh yeah, and your customers need to love your product because it delivers what they want, and the only way to discover that is… now you’re getting the hang of this.
Conclusion
If you’re ready to see how market research can impact sales, contact us.
