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Getting the most from market research tools

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Market research tools can help one uncover insights which can direct future strategies. Technology has empowered people like never before, and this has introduced several new factors for analysts to keep in mind while conducting research. To meet these challenges effectively, there are several market research tools available which can empower researchers to glean insights from a more diverse target  and segmented audience.

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Market research can be a census, or understanding customer preferences before a product launch or feature update. Be it hardware, software or public policy: Researchers need powerful market research tools to be able to conduct surveys at scale and ensure they uncover accurate, actionable insights. 

What sort of market research tools are available?

Depending on the requirement at hand, there’s several ways to go about collecting data. Be it face to face, online or via telephone, there are several market research tools which can help researchers collect data more effectively. 

These tools can be leveraged for the following market research methodologies.

Conducting Market research using market research tools

Surveys

  • Conducting surveys is an effective methodology for market research used to collect information, ideas and opinions from consumers. Surveys are versatile and can be conducted online, telephonically or face to face.
  • Surveys have many question types. These can be multiple choice, yes/no, open-ended or even include multimedia like photos, videos and audio. 

Focus groups

  • Focus groups are an effective methodology for determining effective marketing messages to send to potential clients and for general product research. This can include testing new flavors for products, pricing strategies and changes, packaging and even help deciding names for ones’ products and services.
  • Focus groups are also employed after product launches to get feedback. This survey methodology bears similarities to one-on-one interviews, difference being the number of people involved in the process. Market research tools have made it possible to assemble and get feedback through focus groups via multiple channels, similar to surveys.

One on one interviews

  • These interviews or surveys are conducted via telephone or using web video conferencing. Researchers talk to customers and get honest feedback about all attributes including design to product pricing. One on one, or face to face interviews can also be an effective market research tool for researchers looking to get feedback on somewhat sensitive topics that respondents usually don’t feel comfortable talking about in a group setting.

Social media

  • With most of the digital world using social media in one form or the other, it has proven to be an effective medium to collect feedback. Customers can leave their feedback publicly on your social media handles, which can be an opportunity to respond and resolve their issues (if any). 
  • Social media is also an effective platform for distributing surveys. You can narrow down your target audience via your chosen parameters. 
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What features should your market research tools have for surveys?

To get the most from the methodologies listed above, businesses need to equip themselves with the right set of tools for research. Depending on the study’s requirements, researchers may need a market research tool with some or not all of the following features.

Secure and flexible hosting 

  • Respondent data and metadata is of the utmost importance. Surveys can often require respondents to divulge sensitive information. Respondents will only do so if they feel that their data and their identities are secure. Voxco’s survey software allows flexible hosting – researchers can choose to store their data securely in the cloud or on premises, tied with their existing IT infrastructure.

Analytics

  • Collecting data is one part of the research process, with gleaning insights from the data you’ve collected being another important exercise. Market research tools like Voxco’s empower researchers to get the most from their data using a comprehensive set of analytics tools.
  • This is accompanied by powerful reporting capabilities which can help create custom reports to present to different stakeholders, as not everyone needs access to the same level of information. 

Custom survey capability

  • All research studies have specific requirements unique to them. These can be different demographics, seasonal requirements etc. Meeting these requirements can require creating customized questions for their surveys. With Voxco, researchers can easily create questions that get the requisite insights from respondents. 

Omnichannel capability

  • One on one interviews, online surveys, phone surveys – all of them can fetch unique insights which can be critical for research. Voxco’s market research tools can empower researchers to gather insights across multiple channels, and synchronize results in a centralized dashboard. 
  • This allows researchers to get the bigger picture while conducting research, and gives more accurate data.

Drag and drop functionality 

  • Survey creation can seem like a daunting task, but with Voxco’s drag and drop capability, one simply has to drag their chosen question type and drop it into the survey flow. With this peace of mind, it becomes easier for researchers to create surveys allowing them to focus on other important tasks in the market research process. 

Incentivized surveys

  • Survey data accuracy can depend on how many participants you have from your target audience. Some survey tools like Voxco can help encourage participation by integrating rewards into surveys. These rewards are only presented to respondents who’ve completed the survey

Real time results

  • Voxco’s market research tools can provide researchers with feedback in real time, allowing them to make decisions on the fly. This comes in handy when testing product or feature updates which can be easily reversed.

Simplified distribution

  • Be it face to face interviews, online or phone surveys collecting feedback for census data, the accuracy of your findings depend on how many people from your target audience you’re able to survey. Voxco’s market research tools allow researchers to distribute their surveys via sms, email, push notifications and more. This ensures that your surveys get to their intended audience, resulting in better insights.

Email and App integration

  • People usually want to share feedback, but choosing the right moment can be a cause for confusion. Which is why some market research tools allow you to integrate surveys into your mobile apps or emails. This allows your target audience to leave quick feedback instead of signing on for a larger study. 

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