As the state of technology moves forward, entrepreneurs are capitalising on these advances by building more and more startups! The constant evolution of innovation has made it much easier to launch and grow your own business. We believe that startups and market research are a match made in heaven for two main reasons – growth and sustainability. Market research will give your business the edge in the marketplace, to ensure continuing growth and ongoing success.

Growth

It’s a dog eat dog world out there, especially in the startup space. With so many new companies popping up left and right, most startups find themselves with many competitors. Everyone is fighting to prove that they’re the better player and capture the biggest piece of the market. Time is an essential factor because these companies need to achieve growth faster than the others. So that means no time for market research, right? Wrong! Market research is the difference between an ad campaign that flops and one that launches a company into the big leagues, it is the difference between a company that’s giving customers an okay experience versus one that’s giving them a truly ‘wow’ experience. Furthermore, market research methods have gotten speedier. The ability to test in stages allows for a quick turnaround of projects so you get the key insights you need at each step.

1) The idea stage – a quick survey can determine whether there is a market for your idea

2) The branding stage – qualitative research such as focus groups can be used to find the niche where your company’s brand identity should sit.

3) Early growth – a segmentation project to determine the core customer groups you want to attract can help structure your marketing strategies

4) Advertising – both qualitative and quantitative methods can be used to test concepts, storyboards, animatics, and then eventually assess the effectiveness of the ad that was released

Market research is what will set you apart from other grow-or-die companies that push for high growth at the expense of customer satisfaction. It will give you the edge you need to truly succeed in the marketplace. This leads us to the next point, sustainability.

Sustainability

Many startups are focusing on growth as a primary objective, but sustainability is a close second! As you grow you need to make sure that your customers will keep coming back to you 5 years down the line. The most successful companies have managed to establish this “can’t live without it” connection with their customers and are therefore reaping the benefits many years later. Prominent examples are Snapchat and Uber which have transformed social interactions and transport respectively. As you’re growing your company, market research is a key tool for maintaining a stable customer base. Testing marketing and brand strategies with qualitative and quantitative methods can make sure that customers remember your brand for years to come.

As technology has changed to give startups an edge, it has also allowed market research to advance beyond the old-fashioned methods. With online communities, eye tracking technology, social media qualitative testing, use of cookies to track consumer behaviour, and new quantitative approaches such as geofencing for mobile surveys, market research remains indispensable to companies who want to remain ahead of the game.