3 key sources for accessible market research

A lot has happened over the last few years—social unrest, the global pandemic, and The Great Resignation being just a few of the significant recent events. Our new social reality has changed consumers’ behavior, which in turn has impacted all businesses and has made market research even more crucial than it used to be.

The good news is that staying in touch with your market today is easier than ever before. Thanks to social media and technology, if you want to quickly check the pulse of your market and see how your customers feel about your products, services, or content, you can. How? Here are three sources of customer insights that you can start utilizing right away:

Feedback Surveys

If you’re interested in what your customers think of your customer service, for example, and whether you’re leaving any of their needs unmet, you can ask them to fill out a short feedback survey. You can do this via email or on social media. Design your survey in one of the many available free survey tools online, such as SurveyMonkey, and remember to keep the list of questions short and to the point.

Given that most people enthusiastically share their experiences with businesses and brands on social media, whether positive or negative, all that businesses need to do is listen. Paying attention to the social media chatter can be a springboard for ideas and improvements – from new products, to better website functionalities, to more refined brand positioning.

The first step is to monitor your social media channels to get an understanding of your customers’ experiences with your products and services. The next step is to understand the feeling behind the comment – is it delight, surprise, disappointment, or frustration. Next, you may choose to engage but do so thoughtfully and strategically. Finally, it’s important to listen consistently and document your learning. Sprout Social and Falcon.io are two excellent tools that help businesses make the most of the insights that accumulate in their social media channels.

Content Analytics

Have you ever thought of your content analytics as a market research tool? Probably not. It kind of is, though. The way your customers interact with your content reveals important facts about their preferences, and can enable you to make better informed decisions in your business.

Choosing what content data to turn to depends on the question you want to answer. Your website analytics help you understand which content is most popular, and which pages and prompts convert the most visitors. Your social media analytics give insight into your audience’s response to the different content you share, and empowers you to increase the engagement and conversion of your social media pages. While Google Analytics is often the go-to choice, another great content analytics tool you may want to try is Clicky.

Not surprisingly, in today’s dynamic world, market research and customer insights continue to be at the heart of sound business decisions. Luckily, businesses can stay in tune with their market by utilizing the power of technology. And in the cases when you will need to involve market research professionals to design a sophisticated market research study, the customer insights that you have already collected and analyzed on your own will serve as a great jumping-off point and will set you up for success.