Market research is important for business growth in any year, but especially in 2024, when the world is expected to face rapid and unprecedented changes in various domains, such as technology, economy, society, and environment. According to Gartner, some of the strategic technology trends that will shape the future of business in 2024 are: AI Trust, Risk and Security Management (AI TRiSM), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM), Sustainable Technology, Platform Engineering, AI-Augmented Development, Industry Cloud Platforms, Intelligent Applications, Democratized Generative AI, Augmented Connected Workforce, and Machine Customers. These trends will have significant implications and benefits for businesses, but also pose new challenges and risks that require careful and proactive management.
Therefore, market research is essential for businesses to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to the changing needs and expectations of their customers and stakeholders. Market research can help businesses to:
1• Gain a deeper and broader understanding of their target market and customer segments, including their demographics, psychographics, behaviors, preferences, pain points, and motivations. Market research can help businesses to segment their customers based on various criteria, such as their needs, values, attitudes, lifestyles, and personalities, and to tailor their products and services accordingly. Market research can also help businesses to anticipate and respond to the emerging and evolving needs and expectations of their customers, especially in the fast-evolving age of AI, where customers will demand more personalized, convenient, and intelligent solutions.
2• Identify and evaluate new opportunities and threats in the market, such as new customer segments, new markets, new products, new competitors, new regulations, new technologies, and new trends. Market research can help businesses to scan the external environment and assess the attractiveness and feasibility of various options, as well as the potential risks and challenges involved. Market research can also help businesses to benchmark their performance and position against their competitors and industry standards, and to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis).
3• Test and improve their products and services, as well as their marketing and sales strategies, based on the feedback and insights from their customers and stakeholders. Market research can help businesses to collect and analyze data on various aspects of their products and services, such as their features, benefits, quality, usability, satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. Market research can also help businesses to measure and optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing and sales activities, such as their branding, pricing, promotion, distribution, and customer service. Market research can help businesses to validate their assumptions and hypotheses, and to make data-driven decisions and improvements.
4• Measure and optimize their impact and value for their customers and stakeholders, as well as for the society and the environment. Market research can help businesses to quantify and qualify the outcomes and outputs of their products and services, as well as their processes and inputs. Market research can also help businesses to evaluate and communicate their impact and value proposition, and to align their goals and actions with the needs and expectations of their customers and stakeholders, as well as with the global and local challenges and opportunities, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These are some of the reasons why market research is important for business growth in 2024. Market research can help businesses to gain a competitive edge and a sustainable advantage in the dynamic and complex market environment, and to create and deliver value for their customers and stakeholders, as well as for the society and the environment. Market research can be conducted using various methods and tools, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, experiments, case studies, secondary data, analytics, and AI.
Market research can also be outsourced to professional and specialized agencies such as MRTS Consulting Ltd, which provides trend forecasting and analytics for various industries. Market research is a strategic and essential investment for any business that wants to grow and succeed in 2024 and beyond.