How Do I Do Market Research for a Startup?
To help startups navigate the complex world of market research, we reached out to founders, CEOs, and marketing professionals for their top tips. From utilizing Ahrefs for market insights to applying analysis frameworks, discover 14 invaluable market research strategies shared by these industry experts.
- Use Ahrefs for Market Insights
- Identify Market Gaps
- Reward Healthcare Surveys
- Invest in Keyword Studies
- Explore Your Niche
- Conduct Competitive Analysis
- Attend Industry Events
- Network Online for Insights
- Leverage Google Trends
- Target Audience Needs
- Embrace Open-Minded Conversations
- Harness AI for Research
- Conduct Consumer Insight Surveys
- Apply Analysis Frameworks
Use Ahrefs for Market Insights
If you’re a startup looking to conduct market research, consider employing the help of Ahrefs. This powerful tool offers insight into key metrics, including search engine rankings, backlinks, competitors, and top content by industry. Use this data to bolster your research and ensure that you get an accurate reading of the market climate.
With these findings in hand, you are better armed to make informed decisions about strategies such as SEO or website design changes to increase customer visibility. Research is essential for startups competing in today’s markets, so don’t overlook its importance when forming or revising your business model.
Use Ahrefs to maximize the efficacy of your research and guide meaningful conclusions that can be leveraged to give your startup the best chance at success.
Natalia Brzezinska
Marketing and Outreach Manager, ePassportPhoto
Identify Market Gaps
The best tip for effectively researching the market before launching your startup is to focus on identifying any existing market gaps. Start by scrutinizing any competitors in the niche you’d like to venture into.
Probe their products and methods and interview their customers to know what they miss. Use this data to refine your ideas and check any suppositions you’ve made to guarantee you can create a superior product that will give your startup an advantage.
Liam Liu
Co-founder and CMO, ParcelPanel
Reward Healthcare Surveys
When you are a startup in the healthcare field, the most important part of market research is getting in touch with your client base in the location you’re going to be working in. Anyone who has done market research knows the value of a survey.
But it’s hard to get people to actually do those surveys, and they are completely useless unless they can provide you with data. It doesn’t matter how well-designed your survey is if no one fills it in. So give people an incentive.
Offer a free trial of your software or a discount code for your services. Not only does this get people to fill out your survey, but it prompts them to share it with a friend. This way, you generate organic interest in your company.
It then also translates into your target market becoming consumers, because they have some sort of discount or deal to enter your clientele. This tip did wonders to boost engagement in my market research before opening my practice.
Dr. Shara Posner
Founder, Back To Health Center
Invest in Keyword Studies
Investing in keyword studies is a must for any startup doing market research. A company’s keyword strategy is absolutely critical to the success of any online marketing campaign. Effective keywords maximize the visibility of promotional materials for both ads and content, so finding those that work best ensures optimal performance all around.
Alexandre Robicquet
Co-founder and CEO, Crossing Minds
Explore Your Niche
Typically, the pull of startups is that they are filling a market gap that is not being addressed at the moment. Therefore, when doing market research for a startup, attempt to dive into a niche and really get into the depths of a small and specialized area to fully understand the ideal market.
Adam Shlomi
Founder, SoFlo Tutors
Conduct Competitive Analysis
If you can copy what other businesses are doing right, then you’ll have a better chance of finding your own success in your market. A competitive analysis allows your business to follow the strategies and trends that are the most tried and true among the successful businesses in your industry.
You can use that data to design a foundation for your marketing efforts, which you can then optimize and stylize to make your overtures to your audience unique and memorable. There’s nothing wrong with borrowing from great ideas. Competitor research will provide you with some of the best data for creating a solid marketing plan.
Max Ade
CEO, Pickleheads
Attend Industry Events
Attending industry events and trade shows can be a great way to learn about the market, connect with potential customers and partners, and gather valuable insights. Industry events bring together a wide range of stakeholders in your industry, including potential partners and investors. You can use this opportunity to build relationships, pitch your ideas, and gather feedback on your business plan.
Jeff Tse
Co-founder, CrazeCosplay
Network Online for Insights
Market research for a startup is an essential aspect of successfully launching and establishing a business. One tip for this process is to use areas of engagement—talking directly with potential customers or even competitors-—to better understand the dynamics at play within an industry.
An uncommon example of this concept would network online (i.e., on social media platforms or professional websites such as LinkedIn). By opening conversations with individuals in the same field, entrepreneurs have access to specialized insight from industry veterans that could prove invaluable.
Amy Ling Lin
CEO, sundays
Leverage Google Trends
For a comprehensive view of search trends both past and present, Google Trends serves as an excellent starting point for market research. This platform grants access to data from millions of searches, revealing popular topics and those experiencing a decline. Using this information can help you decipher industry trends, pinpoint potential growth opportunities, and strategize marketing efforts effectively.
By examining the topics and keywords people search for, you can gain insights into the language used when seeking products or services related to your offerings. This knowledge enables you to better target your audience and develop content that resonates with them, ultimately enhancing your marketing success.
Dilruba Erkan
Consultant, Morse Decoder
Target Audience Needs
To conduct effective market research for a startup, it’s important to define the target audience and gather information about their needs, preferences, and behaviors. This can include surveys, competitor research, and feedback from potential customers.
Being flexible and open-minded during the process is crucial, as assumptions may not be accurate. Regularly analyzing and updating research findings can inform decisions about product development and marketing. Good market research can reduce risk and position startups for long-term success.
Eugene Koplyk, Head of Marketing, WiserBrand
Embrace Open-Minded Conversations
The best tip on market research is something I have observed the best entrepreneurs I have worked with do repeatedly. It’s simple—have a one-on-one conversation with potential users grappling with the problem your product or service aims to solve without leading them to an answer.
But here’s the kicker, we humans have selective hearing, only listening to what we want to hear. So, it’s crucial to approach each conversation with an open mind, ready to receive unfiltered feedback.
Some smart business people go beyond normal expectations and deliberately search for issues with their plan rather than promoting it. Doing this helps them set a higher bar and avoid any confirmation biases. Embracing constructive criticism could be the difference between market feedback that creates a mediocre product and one that creates delight.
Jordan Motzkin
Co-founder, Profit Decoder
Harness AI for Research
Artificial intelligence can comprehend infinitely more data than the human brain. The predictive capabilities of consumer intelligence complement traditional means of market research. The renowned cosmetic brand, L’Oréal, uses the same to work through millions of customer conversations and deploy R&D to serve trends that may not even have surfaced yet. Tap into the goldmine of AI.
Marco Genaro Palma
Co-founder, TechNews180
Conduct Consumer Insight Surveys
One tip for startups conducting market research is to use a consumer insights survey. This type of survey includes a broad range of questions that can help gather essential information, such as what consumers consider important in products, what brands they are familiar with, which brands they use, and which product features they find most appealing.
To gain insights into the target market, it is essential to ask the right questions. Collaborate with your team and ask them which questions they want to be answered and which demographic groups they want to target.
A tool like Google Surveys can create customizable surveys targeted to specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. The tool offers a respondent panel that takes surveys for premium content access.
To ensure reliable results when using Google Surveys for consumer insights, ensure a sufficient sample size based on population size, margin of error, and confidence level.
Pete Evering
Business Development Manager, Utopia Management
Apply Analysis Frameworks
When starting a business, market research is crucial to understanding your potential customers, competitors, and market trends. One helpful tip is to use an analysis tool to structure your research and ensure you miss nothing important.
Two popular analysis frameworks are the Five Forces model and the PESTLE analysis. The Five Forces model helps identify the competitive forces in your market, including suppliers, buyers, substitutes, new entrants, and existing rivals. PESTLE analysis considers the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that may affect your business.
Lilia Koss
Community Manager, Facialteam
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