Saturday, September 29, 2012

Market research – Offline and Online?

With the world economy growing and business competition increasing both at domestic and international level it has become important to use various market research tools. Online market research has been one of the major tools that have seen a massive use in the last 5-6 years. Todays, most of the companies to create brand awareness have developed company websites. These sites provide the much required information to its clients. Perhaps, these set of information has made online market research a viable and scalable tool.


Being into market research, I have witness how helpful online marketing tool can be. It not just provides the right information but also saves time and money. Due to the virtual medium of market survey the research cost has gone down and allowed the small investor to take its advantage. Nevertheless, one should also consider the authenticity of the important. Many times companies put up wrong information to mislead the target consumers. Whether you are doing the research yourself or allotting it to a market survey company ensure that both online and offline information gathering is done.

 
Market research is an important part of any business venture. It provides idea about the size of the market; type and categories of the consumer; associated cost; and other valuable information to check the feasibility of the venture. Any worn information can jeopardize the business and incur heavy loss.

If you are planning to invest in a new market or expand the operations, market research is a must, especially, if the expansion is in a foreign territory. In view to my experience I can share a piece of information that may be helpful. Before allotting the work to any market survey firm gather information about them and their way of working. There are different tools through which a market survey is executed. Check whether the firm has a right mix of those tools and what has been their industry of research. Survey companies who specialize in consumer products may not be efficient in carrying out research related to finance industry. All these information are generally available on the site of these survey companies or may be collected from their offices. It is always ideal to avoid companies that completely depend on online market research as the chances of wrong information are always high.
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