A3 Benefits of Market Research
Customer wants and needs can be better understood. People will only purchase goods and services that meet their needs which change over time. Firms can use market research to maintain a strong awareness of tastes, preferences, lifestyles and opinions on a firm’s offerings.
It can inform a firm’s marketing mix. By gathering feedback in advance, adaptations can be made to products, prices, promotion and place to bring the marketing mix in line with customer wants and needs.
Awareness of competitor behaviour allows firms to benchmark. This may involve comparing product features, prices and customer feedback to rivals on the market. This supports firms in finding gaps in the market to support the development of their USP. It also gives targets of prices and standards that need to be maintained to remain competitive.
Future trends can be forecasted. Customer needs change regularly and it is therefore important that businesses maintain an awareness of changing needs and gather feedback on how they may evolve over time. This allows firms to make changes to their marketing mix to meet consumer needs and remain competitive. Being aware of emerging trends can give firms a first mover advantage.
Risk is reduced by establishing the viability of a product or service before its launch or to adapt or remove them from the market before they become unprofitable. By gathering feedback in advance, firms can have a better understanding of how customers will engage with products and services before they are launched. Decisions may be made to not launch a product if it is unlikely to be successful. This can avoid incurring substantial launch costs which can be invested into more viable products and services.