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8 min

6 ways of gaining market insights

Learn how to gain market insights through 6 different methods

GrapeData
Jan 10, 2023
B2B market research
B2C market research

Introduction

Market insights are data-based observations about a market that help a business make strategic decisions. Market insights can be based on research, data analysis, or both.

Insights are vital for any business, but it can be difficult to find the best way of gaining insights. In this article, we'll look at six different ways of getting market information and deciding which one is right for you.

6 ways to gather market insights for your business

Market insight is a term used in the marketing industry to refer to an understanding of what customers want and how they behave. Market insights are used in the development of new products, services, or marketing strategies. In order to develop market insights, marketers must conduct research and analyse data on the target market. Market insights can be qualitative or quantitative.

1. Surveys and interviews

Surveys and interviews are the best way to get to know your customers. They can be used to gain insight into their needs, wants preferences, and satisfaction.

Surveys are useful for:

  • Understanding customer attitudes toward specific products or services
  • Identifying areas for improvement in your business or product or service offering.
  • Gather insights into customer needs and preferences.
  • You can conduct online or offline surveys, depending on your budget and resources.

Online surveys can be used to gather feedback from customers, competitors, and the market as a whole. They are useful for gathering information about customers' preferences and behaviours, as well as competitor strengths and weaknesses. Online surveys can also help you understand what your target market thinks about your product or service offerings. This is so that you can position them accordingly in the marketplace.

Surveys come under the domain of market research.

This is a process that helps you understand your target audience's needs and wants. It can help you develop a product or service that best meets their requirements, as well as inform the way in which you communicate with them.

There are two main types of market research: primary and secondary. Primary research involves conducting original studies in order to gain information about a particular topic or area that has yet to be explored by others (for example, conducting an online survey). Secondary research involves analysing data from existing studies, such as surveys conducted by other organisations or industry bodies.

2. Use social media to collect market insights

Social media is a great way to get a feel for what people are saying about your product and your competitors. You can also use social media to collect data from users by asking them questions. Or, you could use it to just listen in on conversations that take place around your brand or industry.

Social listening tools like Sprout Social, Hootsuite, or Mention allow you to monitor conversations about any topic of interest (including yours). Use these platforms to see who's talking about the products you sell so that when it comes time for the next market research project, you'll have some ideas on where that should go next!

Use social media monitoring tools (e.g., Hootsuite) to track mentions of keywords related to your industry or business goals or objectives across multiple social networks (e.g., Facebook & Twitter). This will provide valuable insights into trends within the industry.

Reviews can also be a good source of market insights. One reason why this is the case is that they show what your customers like or dislike about your product or service. They can also help you understand how your competitors are performing in the market. This data may be useful when developing new features for your product.

Social media is a great source of information on your industry, as well as the competition. You can use it to find out what people are saying about you, your industry, and competitors. Additionally, you can monitor how those conversations are changing over time. This can help you identify trends in consumer sentiment. Additionally, it can allow you to capture trends that are not reflected by traditional market research methods such as surveys or focus groups.

Additionally, look at what people say about products similar to yours on review sites like Amazon or Yelp! These sites allow users who have purchased a product or used a service to give their honest opinions (good or bad) about them online for everyone else's benefit. So, make sure you check them regularly to gather customer service insights.

3. Analyse competitor websites

Competitors are a great source of information, and you can learn a lot from them. It's important to analyse the content, design, and structure of competitor websites. Look for trends in their marketing strategies, such as what they focus on and what they're doing differently than others in your industry. You'll also want to look at how they're using technology.

4. Look at industry events

Conferences and trade shows are great places to get industry news, learn about new products and services, and meet people who can help your business.

  • You can also get valuable insights from the exhibitors. For example, if you're a software company looking to sell to healthcare organisations (a complex market) you may want to talk with one of the many companies that specialise in serving this market. They'll be able to give you a sense of what kinds of issues they face when selling into hospitals or other large institutions.

5. Speak to customers and users

  • Interview key decision makers at your target customers, such as the CEO or marketing director. Ask about their biggest challenges and how they plan on addressing them in the future. If you're selling a product or service, ask what they would like from a solution that addresses these challenges. Speaking directly to users or customers is a great way to gather market insights.
  • Survey existing customers (or potential ones) to find out what they think about your product or service. In addition, ask whether there are ways in which it could be improved upon or made more appealing for them.

Ask them questions such as:

-What is their biggest problem with your product or service?

-How do they use it?

-Is there a better way to use it? If so, what would that be?

Let's say you're a startup selling a new kind of shoe. You want to know what features would make your shoes more desirable to consumers, so you decide to interview key decision-makers at some of your target customers' companies.

You can find these people either by calling up customer service or by doing some digging on LinkedIn. Once you've got their contact information, send them an email introducing yourself and asking if they'd be willing to talk with you about their needs as it relates to footwear products like yours. 

6. Read blogs, magazines, and newspapers

Reading blogs, magazines, and newspapers is a great way to get market insights. These sources can help you find out what the market is reading, what people are talking about, what's going on in the industry, and more.

You can gain a lot of information about your market by using these methods

The first method is to use the internet to find out what is happening in your industry, and how people feel about it. You can do this by visiting websites that are related to your business. For instance, you can look at what they say about the situation, or search for keywords on Google or other search engines. The other method involves talking directly with people who are involved in the industry. This could be employees or customers, but might also include competitors or suppliers. Another way of finding out what's going on is by asking questions directly: either via surveys or face-to-face interviews. 

Collecting market insights should be part of any research strategy, but the best way to do this depends on your business type and goals

If you're a small or medium-sized business (SMB), you might need to collect market insights for a variety of reasons. For example:

If you're a startup or small business, market insights are especially important because they can help you understand your target customers. You might want to know who they are, where they live, and what they do for work. Most importantly, you might want to know whether there's room for a new product or service in their lives. This information will help guide decisions about how much time and money to invest in marketing efforts like advertising campaigns.

If your company is growing rapidly, if it's been around awhile but needs an injection of fresh energy, market intelligence can also help determine where future growth opportunities lie within the industry at large. For instance, e-commerce companies often use this approach. This type of research helps determine which products or services should receive more attention from management teams. At the same time, it tells you which ones might need retooling due to changing consumer preferences over time. Both situations require careful analysis before deciding which strategies will lead to success.

Different types of market insights

In the next section, let's look at some of the different types of market insights that exist.

Customer insights

Customer insights are important because they help you understand your customers' needs, wants, and motivations. When you know what they like about your products or services and what they don't like, it's easier to make changes that will improve the way they experience your brand.

For example, if most of your customers select a particular product because it was on sale at the time but would prefer a different option if it were available at full price, then offering this alternate option could increase sales while still saving money in marketing costs (since less advertising would be required).

Competitor insights

Competitor analysis is a key part of any market research process. It can help you understand your competitors' strengths and weaknesses, as well as their strategies for competing in the same space.

  • Market share: How large is each competitor's market share? Is it growing or shrinking? Is one company dominating, or do several companies have equal shares of the market?
  • Market trends: What are customers looking for right now? What products or services are they buying most often? Are there any new technologies that might affect your product in the future (e.g., artificial intelligence)?

Industry insights

Industry insights are any information that helps you understand the current state of your market and how it's changing. It's usually conducted by asking customers what they want, and then analysing that information to identify patterns and trends.

Here are some tips to gather industry insights:

  • Read industry magazines, journals, and newspapers.
  • Attend industry events.
  • Speak to industry experts who are not competitors.
  • Talk with your competitors about their businesses as well as yours, as they may provide valuable insights into how you can improve your own operations or plan for the future

Conclusion

Gaining insights is a key component of any marketing strategy. It helps companies understand their target audience and competitors, as well as the market in general.

It also allows businesses to determine what products or services consumers want and need, which can lead to increased sales and profits. Marketers also use data from market research when developing new product ideas or advertisements, making sure they are relevant to consumers' needs at that time.

Market insights are important, but they can be difficult to gather. The best way to do this depends on your business type and goals. You should also consider how much time and money you have available before deciding what method is best suited for your needs.

Learn more about market insights in ‘Leveraging B2B market insights for maximum impact

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