Embarking on a startup journey is exhilarating but it is a path one has to tread carefully. To navigate this competitive landscape, you can choose market research as your weapon. 

Digital branding and marketing are some obvious ways to boost your business but the first step is always market research. However, the problem with startups doing research is their limited resources. But entrepreneurs are used to making do with what they have. Whether you are just starting or are looking to refine your market research strategies, here are some techniques that help conduct effective research without breaking the bank. 

Importance of Market Research

Often, startup owners tend to forget the most basic thing – you don’t have to sell your product to everyone. Without a targeted customer base, you will be left marketing your product/service to everyone you come across. This means a lot of rejections and getting ignored. 

A well-planned market research will help you identify the people who are in actual need of your product/service. Marketing your product to them promises a better conversion rate than random marketing. You might be tempted to simply copy-paste a successful marketing strategy from another company or institution but this often proves to be ineffective or expensive, and a startup cannot waste time or money. Hence, take the time to develop a marketing strategy that is unique to your business.

Low-Cost Market Research Ideas

Market research should be a part of your startup journey right from the beginning. This will help you better understand those to whom your product is aimed and will also help you recognize opportunities.

Here are some ways by which you can gather valuable insights and customer preferences – all while keeping your budget intact.

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Also Read: Developing a Strong Online Presence for Start-ups 

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Go Through the Existing Information

It helps if you start as early as possible. You will have an idea of what your product/service is going to be. With this knowledge, research the internet and grasp any relevant information that you can find.

It might be academic journal articles or even YouTube interviews. Read books that are relevant to the topic. Gathering information thoroughly will help you identify your target market. This can influence the product or service that you are going to develop.

Talk with Your Target Audience

Sometimes, you will need more direct answers even after gathering information. In that case, you can interview people whom you believe will be the target audience of your product. When you talk with people on a personal level, you gain more information that can help with what you create and you will also identify your competition in the market.

Phone Calls Work as Well

Though talking face-to-face has its perks, we know that it is hard to meet with people. In that case, you can choose the old-fashioned method of phone calls.

Call your target audience and request them to answer some of your market research questions. With phone calls, you can reach a large number of people within a short time. Also, most importantly, it is much less expensive. But make sure that you have a polite approach and respect the privacy and time of the people you call.

Connect with Your Audience on Social Media

Social media is free and people spend a lot of their time there. You can create accounts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram which can propel your business’s success.

For example, you can find Facebook groups or Instagram accounts that are relevant to your product or business. There you will find people who might be interested in your product and you will also find your potential competitors. Leverage this space to gain information that could help with your research.

You can also engage with the audience through conversations, Q&A sessions, and surveys. The data you collect will showcase the audience’s preferences and pain points.

Conduct Online Surveys

If neither meeting people nor calling them is possible, then you can create surveys with questions that you need answers to. Politely ask the people to answer these questions. People usually spare some time to answer surveys.

Keep the questions simple and precise. There is a high chance of people abandoning complicated and long surveys halfway.

Instead of making people write an answer, create questions with multiple-choice answers since it encourages them to take the survey. Use survey apps like Google Forms which will interpret the data and save you time.

Do Keyword Research

This is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways of learning about the trends in the target market. By finding the trending keywords that are relevant to your product, you can understand what people need. You can also check if the industry you want to be a part of is growing or dying.

Find Your Competitors

Competitor research is a vital part of market research. Knowing how your competitor is doing will help you know whether the need for the product is increasing or dwindling. 

To find your competitors, you can search on the web. The top-ranking businesses in the web pages are your competitors.

Another choice would be to go to local citation sites or niche citation sites. You can find the list of potential competitors in your area by sifting through the businesses in local profile directories.

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Also Read: What Are the Key Things to Do after Setting up a New Business? 

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