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Research 101

Market research in the modern business landscape

Written on:
September 10, 2024
Sonia Elicia D'Silva

In today's data-driven business landscape, staying ahead isn't just about having a great product—it's about truly understanding your market. Gone are the days when gut feelings and boardroom hunches could guide your business strategy. That’s where market research comes in, giving you the insights to make smarter moves and outpace the competition.

Let's face it: traditional market research methods often feel like trying to hit a moving target while blindfolded. Let's explore some fundamental types of market research studies and how modern research tools like Milieu's Canvas are transforming the way research is conducted.

1. Brand research studies

These studies dive into brand awareness, image, positioning, performance, trust, and loyalty—all key factors in building a stronger market presence and brand equity.

Canvas by Milieu enables businesses to:

  • Design and deploy brand tracking surveys easily
  • Measure key metrics over time
  • Access real-time analytics for immediate insights into brand health
  • Respond quickly to market shifts

2. Consumer insights research

Understanding your target market goes beyond basic demographics. It’s about uncovering who they are, their lifestyles, values, needs, and behaviours.

Milieu's Portraits excels in this area by:

  • Offering access to over 2 million unique people across Southeast Asia
  • Hosting billions of data points beyond basic demographics
  • Providing a 360-degree view of target audiences in seconds
  • Revealing preferred channels and media consumption habits
  • Exploring interests, hobbies, lifestyles, and psychographics
  • Uncovering intentions and behaviours across different sectors

Users can choose from hundreds of custom Portraits or build an outline of their ideal audience to discover distinguishing characteristics of their target audience. 

3. Customer satisfaction research

Understanding the competitive landscape is crucial for finding market gaps and identifying opportunities to stand out.

Canvas by Milieu offers:

  • Pre-built templates for common satisfaction metrics (e.g., Net Promoter Score, Customer Effort Score)
  • Easy customisation and deployment of surveys
  • Real-time results dashboards highlighting key satisfaction drivers

4. Competitor research

Understanding the competitive landscape helps businesses identify market gaps and opportunities for differentiation.

Canvas by Milieu allows for:

  • Easy creation of competitive intelligence surveys
  • Built-in statistical analysis tools
  • Quick analysis and extraction of meaningful insights
  • Significance testing, cross-market analysis, and consumer deep dives with a single click

5. Market entry research

When entering new markets, it’s important to understand the landscape, identify success factors, and anticipate challenges.

Milieu's global reach enables:

  • Easy connection with target markets and audiences
  • Gathering diverse insights from over 150 countries worldwide

Domestic vs. international markets

When planning market entry, consider the differences between domestic and international markets:

Domestic markets

  • Generally easier to enter
  • Similar culture and geography to existing markets
  • Fewer operational changes required

International markets Challenges include:

  • Cultural differences
  • Administrative variations
  • Economic disparities
  • Logistical challenges in transporting goods abroad

By leveraging these modern research tools and methodologies, businesses can gain a competitive edge in understanding and entering new markets, whether domestic or international.

6. PR surveys

PR surveys gather public opinion about a certain topic and are a useful type of market research to invest in.

A quantitative form of research, PR surveys are a fantastic way for businesses to garner publicity as they gather statistical data that can be used by news outlets for various stories.

These surveys are also referred to as:

  • Content surveys
  • Public opinion polls
  • PR polling

When working with a PR survey company, brands can administer the questionnaire to a specific demographic group or the general population. From there, the standard online survey process is followed.

Consumer research studies with Milieu

Milieu Insight is a leading all-in-one survey software platform trusted by top brands worldwide for impactful market research. Do everything from survey design and scripting to distribution, fieldwork, real-time response monitoring, analysis, and insights reporting on one platform. Canvas empowers you to dive deep into the minds of your audience and extract actionable insights with ease. Canvas is designed for experts and novices alike—you don't need to be a seasoned researcher or data scientist to run a full research project!

Why choose Canvas?

  • Connect and engage with audiences from over 150+ countries worldwide
  • Analyse and extract meaningful insights in seconds
  • Real-time monitoring and reporting
  • Award-winning research experts at your service

Milieu can help with all aspects of your research and marketing strategy. Reach out to us for a demo now!

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