For those looking for techniques for attracting customers and promoting sales, terms such as market research and marketing research are probably familiar to you.
Both are essential strategies for management.
On the other hand, many people confuse the meanings of market research and marketing research.
In order to attract customers efficiently in the future, let’s learn the difference between the two and use it for sales promotion.
Difference between market research and marketing research
There is a big difference between market research and marketing.
Market research has the meaning of “understanding past trends,” while
marketing research
has the meaning of “exploring customer thoughts and understanding future needs.”
Therefore, it is necessary to use them properly depending on the purpose, such as market research if you want to check the past trends and current situation, and marketing if you want to predict future trends and developments.
Also, while market research basically converts information into numbers, marketing research collects the words of customers and prospective customers as their thoughts.
Since the results that come out are completely different, it will be easier to use the results to attract customers and promote sales if you request an analysis from an expert who is familiar with each.
How to proceed with market research and marketing research
Market research and marketing are extremely useful for stabilizing future management when entering a new industry or introducing new services.
But if you’ve never done any of this research before, you may be confused as to where to start.
For those who have no experience with such surveys or research, we will introduce how to proceed with general market research and marketing research.
<How to proceed with market research>
There are six main types of market research methods.
These are “Internet survey”, “Questionnaire survey”, “Face-to-face interview survey”, “Telephone survey”, “Mail survey”, and “On-site survey”.
The accuracy of the results and cost will vary greatly depending on which method you choose, so please make your decision carefully.
Particularly in face-to-face surveys, the level of the researcher greatly affects the results, so when commissioning market research to a specialist company, it is important to determine whether the company is reliable.
If you don’t have to spend a lot of money, you can create your own questionnaire or conduct the survey by mail or phone.
However, for people who are not used to market research, the content of surveys and interviews may be lacking.
If you are a complete beginner, leaving it to an outside professional who is experienced in market research will help you obtain smoother and more detailed research results.
<How to proceed with marketing research>
In the case of marketing research, the main types of research are the same as market research.
In some cases, in addition to standard surveys, we may also conduct undercover surveys that allow us to hear the real opinions of consumers, surveys that provide free samples, and panel surveys that seek long-term opinions.
Marketing research is an important opinion that we will refer to in the future.
If you want to hear customer opinions about things that can be perceived with all five senses, such as taste, aroma, and feel, it’s best to avoid face-to-face methods such as the Internet, telephone, and mail.
When conducting marketing research, simply surveying the points you are concerned about will result in results that are no different from market research.
In order to promote products you want to sell in the future, services you want to renew, etc. to the world, be selective about the opinions you need to seek.
When thinking about research within the company, it is said that it is important to ask questions such as “why?” and “maybe?”.
Instead of thinking, “We’ve created a great product or service! It’s great!”, think in advance of all possibilities, such as “What will customers think when they see this product?” and “Maybe the packaging will be unpopular with women.” By doing so, you will be able to create good research content.
As with market research, if you are unable to decide on the content yourself, ask a company specializing in research to gather information.
We also recommend checking out actual marketing research success stories.
How to use market research and marketing research
How should market research and marketing research be used differently?
When I look at several examples of people who have actually conducted market research and marketing research to get their businesses back on track, I notice one thing in common.
The point is that after conducting market research, we use marketing research to supplement information about areas that cannot be seen in numbers.
By conducting market research first and understanding the overall structure, you will be able to narrow down the survey content that should be collected during marketing research.
Another important thing to remember is that market research and marketing research are just a way to learn about customer trends and needs.
Suppose a person who runs a restaurant conducts market research and marketing and realizes that customers are looking for a stylish atmosphere.
However, if you change the interior decoration or standard menu too easily, you may lose your regular customers.
Rather than making such obvious changes, there are cases in which changing some aspects, such as introducing high-class tableware and uniforms, providing more attentive customer service than anywhere else, and proposing limited menus that are Instagrammable, creates a stylish image and attracts more customers. It’s possible.
If you are once again having trouble deciding on the direction to take, you may be able to narrow down your options and conduct marketing research again, which will help you decide on the path you should take.
The results of market research and marketing research are essential for stable management.
However, we need to carefully examine what kind of needs are hidden behind those voices and repeat various experiments.
Points to note when conducting market research and marketing research
When incorporating market research and marketing into your management, be sure to clarify your budget in advance.
If you didn’t get a good idea after one investigation, you’ll have to use another method next time… No matter how much it costs, it won’t be enough.
Be sure to pay attention to how much information you need in order to obtain the necessary information, and which research method is most suitable for your company, and ensure that you get results with each survey.
The results of market research and marketing research change depending on social conditions and trends.
By regularly listening to customer opinions rather than being satisfied with just one data collection, you will be able to provide products that customers will never get tired of and continue to love.
summary
You can use it wisely depending on your purpose, such as market research if you want to check the past trends and current situation, or marketing if you want to predict future trends and developments.
It is necessary to carefully examine the results of market surveys and marketing research to find out what kind of needs are hidden behind the voices and repeat various experiments.
Market research and marketing research are essential if you want your business to succeed. The many new ideas that I had never thought of within my family will become a powerful force that will support my future management.