What is Market Research and What Does it Look Like for a Consumer Product?

Your business has an idea for what you believe is a great product. You want to take the world by storm, but you don’t want to put your company in the red or pursue a crowdfunding campaign that will fail. To provide your product with the best chance for success, you need to do market research. Market research is the way information is gathered about target markets and customers. Failure to do market research is like taking a road trip into unfamiliar territory with no navigation system. Expenditures of time, energy and money will just lead you to blind alleys and dead ends. The introduction of a new product requires two types of market research: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research deals with the “what?” while quantitative research determines “how much?”

Qualitative Considerations

Do Great Minds Think Alike?

The first and most important thing market research must determine is whether or not similar products to yours are already on the market. A search must encompass not only products that look or perform similarly but those that might serve the same purpose and appeal to the same consumers. For a market researcher at Enventys Partners, a session in front of a search engine, or an online survey will just be the beginning. When Enventys Partners identifies a similar product, we investigate where it is being sold, and to whom. We also deconstruct it to determine how it works and how its functions could be improved. We explore every relevant aspect of the product.

Unmet Needs

Most consumers act according to the maxim, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If they feel their needs are being satisfied, they are unlikely to invest in or make the jump to a new product. It is the job of the market researcher to determine what unfulfilled needs your product will satisfy. For example, a can opener that stutters and stalls on an uneven rim would easily be eclipsed by one that runs smoothly regardless of dents or dings. Household appliances with superior safety features would ease the minds of parents with small or curious children.

Quantitative Analysis

What is the Demand for Your Product?

Once a unique need for your product has been determined, the numerical nuts and bolts for filling it must be established. Even if your product is more appealing than a competing one, if total demand for products like it is weak, it will be difficult to turn a profit. Price ranges for competing products will be studied, to determine the optimal price points to induce customers to purchase your product. Other factors we examine include how long a product similar to yours can be offered before a consumer loses interest, what types of modifications to a product can reinvigorate sales and what those changes will cost.

We employ a variety of methods to determine demand. One method we often turn to involves using Facebook ads to to test different audiences in order to fine-tune and confirm the product’s target audience.

Expert Services

Researching and bringing a new product to market may seem daunting, but Enventys Partners has helped launch hundreds of new businesses. Contact us today for further information or to request a quote.