Market research on a budget

Market research can be expensive; companies with the financial resources to do so often spend significant amounts of money on exploring their market. However, market research can be undertaken on a budget, meaning that it is absolutely an option for SMEs and start-ups. It’s always worth remembering that lacking understanding of the market can be far more financially damaging than putting some time and effort into researching potential consumers.

Here are five hacks to keep a tight rein on your market research spending.

1) There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there are sources of data that won’t cost you a penny. The Royal Mail, for example, has an excellent database, and a range of useful services suited to small budgets. Companies with nine or fewer employees and a turnover of under £2 million each year, for example, may be eligible for a free copy of the Postcode Address File, as their up-to-date UK address database is known (). Don’t forget that there are also a number of free tools available for analysing online interactions, including Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Twitter Analytics.

2) If you have current customers, ask them personally for their feedback. You may be surprised at the insight they provide, not only in terms of what elements of your products or services are and aren’t working for them, but also regarding which questions you should be asking as you move forward with your research. Narrowing down the questions to those which will provide useful data saves time, and improves the quality of the information you will collect.

3) Questioning customers and potential consumers can be carried out in a cost effective manner; just be sure that your questions are asking for the information you are looking for, or you’re likely to have to double your spend by carrying out your research methods a second time. It may sound obvious, but it’s worryingly easy to ask a question you think is worded so as to be easily understood, which is then misconstrued by respondents. Pilot test questions on friends and family before you start asking your market for information.

4) Surveys are wonderfully cost-efficient, particularly if you use the fantastic tools available online. Many are available at a minimal cost per month, while others are entirely free. Attest is a newcomer to the online survey game and provides some excellent options at an extremely cost efficient price.

5) Don’t just dive in head first. Consider your options for data collection before you start dedicating time, money and effort to researching your market. Don’t forget that market research is an investment, of sorts, and is likely to pay for itself in the future.