Importance Of Consumer Research

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Consumer research first of all is about people. What they see, what they do, what they buy. What they eat, what they drink. What they think, what they choose, what they aspire to. How they act, how they react, how they spend.

And behind what’s and the how’s, it’s always about the whys.

Everyone needs insights to inform their business decision; marketing, brand, communications, product development, innovation and research.

Knowing the consumer and the choices they make is critical for you and your business.

Understanding the implications of behavioral change can be the difference between success and failure in your market.

Consumer market research is the systematic collection of data regarding customers' preferences for actual

Data can be collected using many types of surveys but most important are: censuses, sample surveys, and administrative data. Each has advantages and disadvantages.

Census

A census refers to data collection about every unit in a group or population. If you collected data about the height of everyone in your class, that would be regarded as a class census. There are various reasons why a census may or may not be chosen as the method of data collection:

Advantages (+)

Detailed information about small sub-groups of the population can be made available.

Disadvantages (–)

Cost: In terms of money and Time

A census of a large population is such a huge undertaking that it makes it difficult to keep every single operation under the same level of scrutiny and control.

Sample survey

In a sample survey, only part of the total population is approached for data. If you collected data about the height of 10 students in a class of 30, that would be a sample survey of the class rather than a census. Reasons one may or may not choose to use a sample survey

For example, income definitions may not include everything a user expects to see.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY COLLECTING DATA?

Essentially, collecting data means putting your design for collecting information into operation. You’ve decided how you’re going to get information – whether by direct observation, interviews, surveys, experiments and testing, or other methods – and now you and/or other observers have to implement your plan. There’s a bit more to collecting data, however. If you are conducting observations, for example, you’ll have to define what you’re observing and arrange to make observations at the right times, so you actually observe what you need to. You’ll have to record the observations in appropriate ways and organize them so they’re optimally useful.

Recording and organizing data may take different forms, depending on the kind of information you’re collecting. The way you collect your data should relate to how you’re planning to analyze and use it. Regardless of what method you decide to use, recording should be done concurrent with data collection if possible, or soon afterwards, so that nothing gets lost and memory doesn’t fade.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ANALYZING