{"id":54523,"date":"2022-08-30T09:49:12","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T13:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=54523"},"modified":"2022-12-02T05:38:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T10:38:53","slug":"7-market-research-pitfalls-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/7-market-research-pitfalls-to-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Market Research Pitfalls to Avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Getting to know your clients\u2019 and potential customers\u2019 preferences and buying patterns requires market research. You also need to get to know your target market to drive sales and product innovation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/austin-distel-jpHw8ndwJ_Q-unsplash.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-54605\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/austin-distel-jpHw8ndwJ_Q-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Two employees performing market research\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/austin-distel-jpHw8ndwJ_Q-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/austin-distel-jpHw8ndwJ_Q-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/austin-distel-jpHw8ndwJ_Q-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/austin-distel-jpHw8ndwJ_Q-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/austin-distel-jpHw8ndwJ_Q-unsplash-50x33.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Think of the <a href=\"https:\/\/business.tutsplus.com\/articles\/why-is-marketing-research-important--cms-31593\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">objectives<\/a> behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogosurvey.com\/blog\/a-new-dimension-to-your-market-research-surveys-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">market research analysis<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify opportunities<\/li>\n<li>Lower risk<\/li>\n<li>Target marketing<\/li>\n<li>Manage budget<\/li>\n<li>Focus business goals<\/li>\n<li>Improve decision making<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In order to get the full benefit of your efforts, you need <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogosurvey.com\/blog\/research-design-and-marketing-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">intentional research design<\/a>. You\u2019ll want to also steer clear of these seven market research pitfalls.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>1. Asking too much<\/h2>\n<p>You want to understand your audience. You have so many questions! But you can\u2019t ask them all at once. No one likes to feel as if they\u2019re on the hot seat. Plus, the customer or client\u2019s time is valuable. If you ask them to participate in bloated market research, they may opt out midway through.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>The solution? Take the time to home in on your priorities. What do you really want to know now? Craft concise questions that target exactly the information you are looking to learn.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>A short, to-the-point survey will get you more responses. That can help with the overall <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogosurvey.com\/blog\/the-ins-outs-of-market-research-in-a-competitive-environment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">accuracy of your findings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>2. Poorly written questions<\/h2>\n<p>You know what you want to know. But that doesn\u2019t mean that the person on the other end of your market research does. Sometimes you can be so close to the topic that you don\u2019t see that your inquiries are vague, too broad, or don\u2019t make sense to the external audience. Even when doing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogosurvey.com\/blog\/internal-vs-external-market-research-is-there-a-best-approach\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">internal research<\/a>, you can\u2019t assume that everyone shares your same perspective.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>To avoid this pitfall, you\u2019ll want to get an objective party to take a fresh look at your research plan. Get an outsider\u2019s view before going live with your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogosurvey.com\/blog\/why-conduct-online-marketing-research-surveys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">online survey<\/a> or another research tool. That way you can make sure you\u2019re going to get useful results from the effort and budget expenditure.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>3. Skewed sample<\/h2>\n<p>In today\u2019s global market, your customers can be anywhere. Market research keeps you from relying on guesswork about what people need or want. Still, you can\u2019t simply assume that what you learn from one small demographic is representative of the global customer base.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Segmentation is critical in communicating with customers today. To support that personalization, you\u2019ll also need to segment your market research. There are many types of market segmentation to consider, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogosurvey.com\/blog\/geographic-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">geographic<\/a>, psychographic, and demographic. Make sure you know what representative population you are trying to understand and then make a targeted effort to collect data from that group.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>4. Making last-minute changes<\/h2>\n<p>You may have many stakeholders offering input in your market research. Everyone has a point of view. Still, avoid making last-minute changes to the questions that you ask.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Yes, you need to be able to adapt and change your research project. But doing so close to the deadline (after already receiving lots of responses) can lead to mistakes. You could tweak a question to suit someone\u2019s comments without noticing how that change undermines the overall coherence of the research questions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-54606\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"An employee experiencing frustration as she performs market research\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-50x33.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>5. Using the wrong tool<\/h2>\n<p>Just because your business has always done phone surveys in the past, or focus groups, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that option is the best market research tool for all of your needs. Again, it goes back to knowing what your specific goals are (and also your budget).<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Identifying your priorities before embarking on a market research project can help you decide on the tool that works best.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>6. Biased analysis<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogosurvey.com\/blog\/market-research-bias-and-the-customer-experience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bias is any distortion<\/a> that skews the research results. If you&#8217;re not careful, you can set up your research in a biased way. You can also view your research findings through a specific, slanted lens. This is particularly difficult when it comes to analyzing qualitative data. It\u2019s not as black and white as the data you get from quantitative research.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>To combat bias in your market research analysis, it\u2019s a good idea to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Take stock of your own assumptions<\/li>\n<li>Try to challenge and overcome your assumptions and hypotheses<\/li>\n<li>Check for unsupported or unsubstantiated claims<\/li>\n<li>Learn more about the biases that can sneak into your work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>7. Not doing anything with the results<\/h2>\n<p>Market research is only useful if you do something with what you learn. Don\u2019t make the findings so difficult to understand that no one can find value in the results. Also, have a plan for distributing the results to the right stakeholders.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Plan to communicate the key findings, and establish a process for following up to see how the information has been incorporated internally.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Writing a good market research analysis report can go a long way, too. We\u2019ll talk about how to do that in the next article in this series, which will be focused on market research analysis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getting to know your clients\u2019 and potential customers\u2019 preferences and buying patterns requires market research. You also need to get to know your target market to drive sales and product innovation. Think of the objectives behind market research analysis: Identify opportunities Lower risk Target marketing Manage budget Focus business goals Improve decision making In order to get the full benefit of your efforts, you need intentional research design. You\u2019ll want to also steer clear of these seven market research pitfalls. 1. Asking too much You want to understand your audience. You have so many questions! But you can\u2019t ask them all at once. No one likes to feel as if they\u2019re on the hot seat. Plus, the customer or client\u2019s time is valuable. If you ask them to participate in bloated market research, they may opt out midway through. The solution? Take the time to home in on your priorities. What do you really want to know now? Craft concise questions that target exactly the information you are looking to learn. A short, to-the-point survey will get you more responses. That can help with the overall accuracy of your findings. 2. Poorly written questions You know what you want to know. But that doesn\u2019t mean that the person on the other end of your market research does. Sometimes you can be so close to the topic that you don\u2019t see that your inquiries are vague, too broad, or don\u2019t make sense to the external audience. Even when doing internal research, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":49238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,865,194],"tags":[198,866,30],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>7 Market Research Pitfalls to Avoid - Sogolytics Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Market research helps you understand potential and existing client preferences. To get the most from findings, avoid these common market research pitfalls.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/7-market-research-pitfalls-to-avoid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Market Research Pitfalls to Avoid - Sogolytics Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Market research helps you understand potential and existing client preferences. 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