What is the Market Research? The Key to Making Data-Driven Business Decisions
Market research is a systematic process of collecting and analyzing information needed to make accurate and well-founded business decisions. It aims to identify market size, structure, customer needs, competition, and potential opportunities and risks.
Simply put, market research answers key questions such as:
- Who is likely to buy your product or service?
- Where is demand higher?
- What factors influence purchasing decisions?
- What strategies are competitors using?
By understanding these, businesses can better interpret market conditions, optimize future plans, reduce risks, and identify growth opportunities early.
Content
- What is market research?
- Key objectives of market research
- Main research methods
- Core indicators of market research
- Import market research
- Industry market research
- Conclusion
Key Objectives of Market Research
The main goals of market research include:
- Determining market size – how many consumers and how much demand exists
- Understanding customer needs and buying behavior
- Assessing competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning
- Identifying market opportunities and risks
- Supporting decision-making when introducing new products or services
As a result, your business can choose the right segment to focus on, determine pricing, select distribution channels, and craft effective communication strategies.
Main research methods
Market research is classified according to data sources, purpose, and methodology. The main types are:
- Primary research
Collecting information directly from consumers (surveys, interviews, focus groups).
This data is tailored to your business and is highly valuable for decision-making. - Secondary research
Analyzing existing data from organizations, government, or international sources—such as statistical reports, industry studies, and publications. - Quantitative research
Based on measurable numerical data such as market size, share, and trends. - Qualitative research
Explores customer psychology and motivations behind purchasing behaviors. It answers questions like: “Why do they choose this product?”, “Why did they prefer a competitor?”
Core Indicators of Market Research
- Market Size
How many consumers exist and how much demand is there? - Market Growth
How is the market changing year by year—growing, stable, or declining?
- Market Segmentation
Classifying consumers by age, income, location, interests, and lifestyle to identify high-value segments. - Competitive Analysis
Evaluating the number of competitors, their strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and brand positioning. - Demand and Supply Assessment
Is demand sufficient, or is supply exceeding demand? This directly affects pricing and sales strategies.
Import Market Research
Import market research analyzes the following aspects of imported goods. This helps assess the impact of foreign products and develop strategies for domestic production and new product entry.
- Import volume and price
What products enter the market, in what quantity, and at what price levels? - Country of origin
Which countries supply the most? What advantages or quality differences exist? - Demand and usage
What product types, quality levels, and price ranges do consumers prefer? - Substitute products
Can domestic products replace imported ones? How can they compete?
Import market research is crucial for pricing, quality improvement, and brand positioning.
Industry Market Research
This focuses on the overall situation of a specific industry, identifying internal structure, growth, opportunities, risks, and market players.
- Industry demand and supply
Which products or services are in high demand? Which segments are most active? - Production
Capacity, technology level, and number of domestic manufacturers - Transportation and distribution
How products reach consumers, logistics cost, and efficiency - Sales channels
Effectiveness of online/offline sales and customer buying behavior - Legal environment
Taxation, import policies, standards, and regulations
This type of research helps identify industry trends, growth opportunities, and risks, supporting long-term strategy planning.
Conclusion
Market research forms the foundation of sound business decisions. A business backed by accurate information and real insights is always closer to success. Making decisions without research, however, involves high risk and can lead to unnecessary cost and time loss.
Before your organization launches a new product, enters a new industry, adjusts pricing, or updates brand positioning, relying on market research is the most effective step.
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