Within every company’s lifecycle, there will likely come a point at which market research can play a key role in improving the status quo. For some clients, this might be soon after they launch, while for others it might only come after a sizeable customer base has been established and other marketing strategies have been undertaken. Deciding whether now is the right time to conduct market research typically depends on four variables.

 

Time:

A market research project typically takes between two and four weeks to complete, so sufficient time should be available for this process to run its course before internal decisions and strategies need to be made.

 

Management's attitudes:

In order to ensure that the project is successful and that its findings have a tangible impact, management has to be on board and support the notion of integrating consumers’ attitudes and perceptions into its marketing decisions.

 

Answers from consumers:

Market research is an excellent means of understanding the consumer perspective, but this is all that it provides. Before initiating a project, it is important to be sure that a better understanding of the consumer reality is the missing piece that will lead to improvement down the road.

 

Benefits vs. costs:

Although market research can be tailored to meet the needs of most budgets, undertaking a customized research project is still a notable investment, and clients should be sure that the subject of the research is valuable enough that the eventual results will be able to provide an adequate ROI.

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If you are considering a market research study and would like more specific advice before making this decision, please contact Tom Rigby (tom.rigby@callosum.ca) for further information.