Market research is a service that helps companies make informed decisions. It is common knowledge these days that a business can only go so far without the flambeau of market research. And for a good reason.
It’s hard to imagine a company launching and thriving in a market without at least a basic understanding of what makes that market special. It’s a bit like trying to explore a big city on your own versus with a local guide. There is simply no itinerary, route or map that can compete with first-hand insight and the tourist traps are many, especially for B2B market research in Poland and other neighboring countries where free market mechanics were embraced overnight and are somewhat haphazard.
With B2B market research being very much en vogue these days, it might be worth having a closer look at what actually makes a market research agency “good”, and why it matters. What follows is a roundup of the TOP 10 benefits a good market research report will equip your business with.
1. Highlighting growth opportunities
This one here is a no-brainer. Market research isn’t merely about providing businesses with context for their planned launches or reworks, but rather about producing outcomes and elaborating findings in a way that helps the company point resources in the right direction and tap into niches that look most promising to improve its chance at succeeding.
2. Identifying red flags
Like with most things in life, where there are opportunities, there are also risks. A company looking to gain a foothold in a new market takes a chance in doing so and expects the investment to pay off, sooner or later. A good market research agency is one that doesn’t sugarcoat and its reporting should reflect that.
That’s because, in market research, it is as important to know where your opportunities lie as it is to know what the red flags are to either address such risks early on or work around the pitfalls, depending on your long-term goals and short-term capabilities.
3. Knowing your competitors
Business implies competition. Nowadays it is no longer viable to build out brand from your strengths alone, but you will also need to devise strategies that factor in what your competitors bring to the table…and find out how to bring it better. That means both are learning from others and looking to areas that remain underexplored, which can be surprisingly many when it comes to B2B market research in Poland and other Central and Eastern Europe markets.
A good market research report will use local competition as a handy benchmark for the client and a springboard on the latter’s road towards reaching new highs.
4. Knowing your audience
Cross-border business is as rewarding as it is challenging. People, and by extension consumers, aren’t the same all over the world, and how awfully boring would it be if they were! Of course that means a good amount of headache from a business standpoint, but on the upside, that’s where a market research agency can step in and help you identify float-boats and pet peeves.
Market research in Poland won’t always perfectly overlap with, say, its British or U.S. counterpart, and it’s important for the market research agency you’re working to give you access to pristine data and ensure a high level of compatibility for your B2B market research project to truly take off.
You may want to think of your product or service as it were movie subtitles. After all, nobody likes theirs to be machine-translated. Market research reporting follows a similar spiral in that localization is what ultimately makes all the difference, separating a job well done from a mediocre (and often dangerously misleading) one.
5. Spotting trends before they become trends
If you thought market research was all about safeguarding the here and now, or at best the immediate future, think again. While no market research can realistically be labelled futureproof, it is no secret that a good market research report is anything but indifferent to what lies ahead. Every market has different dynamics which impose a certain framework for the business to operate in and a specific context for it to adjust to on an ongoing basis.
This naturally favor’s the emergence of certain trends while making others less likely to sprout. Hence the importance of knowing which are which and channeling your energy into strategies that won’t just work for the time being but that will bring fruit for years to come.
6. Taking strategic planning to a whole new level
Speaking of strategies and the future, a quality market research report doesn’t give you just standalone facts. Instead, it equips you with a rich set of tools that you can use to boost your strategic planning and successfully navigate through the choppy waters of an unfamiliar market setting.
B2B market research in Poland, for instance, will not only yield different results than other markets; it will also require a different approach to the product and its branding from the get-go.
7. Reevaluating concepts & approach
Every act of venturing into the unknown carries with it the hope of understanding yourself a little better. Small wonder that, for companies, venturing into new markets such as Poland often proves a valuable source of know-how that extends beyond the boundaries of the product or service they are probing for. And that’s because learning is a lifelong process and the most valuable lessons often lurk where we least expect them.
Every market is a world apart, governed by its own peculiar rules and laws, but if these are interpreted wisely (and accurately), they can be an opportunity for the company to permanently incorporate this new strategic data into its vision.
8. Long-term performance tracking
Every business today knows customer retention is the key. But guess what, so do market research companies! It’s time to stop thinking of B2B market research as a one-off thing that you do, report on and move on, and start looking at it as something lasting and revisit able that will provide long-term insight into how your product or service performs in a market.
9. Gauging intuition
‘Follow your gut’ is sound advice in general, but when significant resources are involved and brand reputation is at stake, you may as well double-check certain things before diving into them head-first.
After all, an idea is only as good as the public’s readiness for it, and some recipes that seem like a fine dish in the Anglosphere may quickly turn sour upon landing on foreign taste buds such as the ones in Poland or other Central and Eastern Europe markets.
Sometimes it’s less about being the best, and more about being the best fit.
10. Saving time & money
This one seems so obvious that mentioning it at the outset would have been too on the nose. Then again, no roundup of market research benefits can be complete without stating just how crucial a good market research report plays in optimising outlays.
And with that, we seem to have a full circle to confirm the famous business adage that in order to save money, you must spend money.
