Awards, titles, positive reviews, and social shares are common indicators that a business is doing well. While those are great forms of recognition, here at Drive Research, we use market research to measure progress through data and fact-based evidence.
Data is important when it comes to measuring a business’ progress because without it, everything is simply based on assumptions. Collecting data allows a business to not only measure progress, but make successful and powerful decisions.
In this blog post, Drive Research will explore several ways businesses can use market research to measure progress and success.
The data collected from various forms of market research provides key insight into what your business is doing right and what your business can be doing better. No more assumptions, just fact-based evidence.
Establish a Benchmark
First, it is critical to establish one or multiple benchmarks. In market research, a benchmark is an initial research study that sets a standard, which can be referred back to throughout time. Benchmarks are essential because without an established starting point, it is difficult to measure growth.
Conducting market research allows a business to accomplish their goals by identifying any strengths and weaknesses. When these specific points are made clear, we are able to understand what a business is doing well and what could use some improvement. This helps you do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
Benchmarks also allow us to understand where a business stands among its competitors, which is an important step in gaining a competitive edge.
Watch as we explain 4 Benchmarks to Measure in Market Research.
Make Necessary Changes
One of the greatest benefits of conducting this initial research is being able to use the findings to better understand your target market and make any necessary adjustments that were uncovered through research.
Not only does a pre-campaign study measure progress, but it helps increase the overall effectiveness of the campaign. That’s a win-win. Specifically with advertising and marketing campaigns, it can be difficult to obtain a 360-degree view of how truly successful a paid social media advertisement or a direct mail piece performed.
Of course there are stats such as impressions, link clicks, open-rates, and so forth but this is not a true depiction of how marketing efforts impacted awareness and perception of a company.
Market research, however can. Seeing the full impact can help define what changes need to be made or improved upon for the next round of the campaign.
Continue Benchmarking
It’s important to understand what happens between benchmarks. Were your goals met? Who did it reach? Are more people aware of your brand? Was there a good ROI?
We’ll answer these questions by mirroring the initial benchmark study, which helps market researchers better understand exactly how much has changed since the initial research was conducted.
Why Should I Measure Progress?
Organizations can benchmark in a number of different ways. Customer satisfaction, event or employee surveys, and brand awareness studies are great areas to utilize market research methods to measure progress.
Benchmarking is essential when it comes to goal setting and measuring progress. In order to set goals, you need to have an understanding of where you stand with your stakeholders and competitors.
Even if your customers are satisfied and employees love their jobs, benchmarking is important to understand any areas of weakness and make any improvements that might be uncovered through market research.
Contact Drive Research
Drive Research is a market research company located in Syracuse, NY. Our team has the knowledge and tools to design a robust market research study, should it be the right fit for your business.
Interested in learning more about our market research services? Reach out through any of the four ways below.
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