How to Use Market Research to Develop a New Product or Service

Launching a new product or service can be a great way for your business to keep customers excited about your offering. An effective launch can also increase revenue, raise your company's profile, and attract new customers. To maximize the success of a new launch, it's important to do your research first. By gaining an understanding of your ideal customer's needs and wants, you'll be able to better serve them. Below, discover how you can leverage market research to create new products or services that consumers love.

Define your target market

Your target market is basically your ideal audience. Who is your new product or service intended for? By creating a fake profile of this person, you can better understand their needs. To define this person, start by compiling data on your current customers. You can also look at the customers of your competitors. HootSuite recommends looking at details like age, language, interests, life stage, and spending patterns.

Talk to your audience to understand their needs

Your new product or service will ideally meet your customers' needs. One great way to make sure this happens is to ask your customers directly what they're looking for. This can be accomplished by running online surveys or organizing focus groups. You can also post a link to a survey via social media or in customer newsletters. Use multiple channels to expand your reach.

Incentivize customers to provide feedback

If you're planning to rely on customers for data, beware that they may not always be eager to participate and give you their opinions. After all, it's their time on the line. There are tricks you can try to get people on board. For example, you can include a pop-up survey on your website, collect feedback at a fun event, or provide desirable incentives. You might give customers a discount when they participate in a digital survey, for instance.

Look at what the competition is doing

Your customers aren't your only source of data when it comes to researching for new products and services. You can also scope out the competition. Competitor research can be done by going to exhibitions, for example, or looking at competitor websites. You can also take the time to scan your competition's social media platforms. Make notes about what they're doing that customers like — and what they're doing that's turning customers off.

Adapt existing products using 3D modeling tools

Product development can be costly and time consuming, but technology can help. A 3D modeling tool allows you to create digital models so you can compare details like texture, shape, and color — all in a virtual world. This saves you on material costs and cuts production time. A 3D model maker lets you accurately test different designs based on the feedback from your market research.

Compile, organize, and analyze your data

Once you get data from competitors, customers, and your personal research, organize it. This will make it easier to analyze the data. Zeta offers tips for analyzing customer data in a way that will give you actionable insights. For example, you might do a cluster analysis, putting together customers according to similarities. Another option is a predictive analysis, which looks at past buying behavior to forecast future buying behavior.

Launching a new product or service is an exciting time for your business. Make the most of the opportunity by doing some market research beforehand. Follow the best practices above, like using a 3D modeling tool and surveying customers, for greater success.