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Is there demand for my product or service? Are my customers satisfied with our service? How can I generate more sales volume from my existing customers? How can I improve the quality of my product or service? If there is something that you would like to know about your business and industry, marketing research is the way to start researching for some answers. Marketing research comprises one of the most important and fascinating facets of marketing. We are going to focus on sharing some Internet resources that can help you to conduct online marketing research. “Marketing research is defined as the systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of information for the purpose of assisting management in decision making related to the identification and solution of problems (and opportunities) in marketing.”(Malhotra, 2004)

There are many ways in which the Internet can be useful to marketing researchers. It can be used as a source of marketing research providers, a source of secondary data, a source for marketing research software, and a source for data gathering via focus groups, surveys, etc.”(Malhotra, 2004)

Why do Market Research?

-    It helps to understand current industry and market trends.
-    Provides information about target customers.
-    Identifies market and sales potential.
-    Keeps researchers objectives.
-    Becomes a framework for creating a marketing strategy.
-    Helps business owners to examine customer satisfaction.
-    Gives a close look at their competitors strengths and weaknesses.
-    Helps marketing managers create benchmarks for future improvement.

There is perhaps no single best way to search the Web, but we recommend the following steps:

1. Pre-Searching Analysis: Think about the topic or subject you want to explore on the Web. Ask yourself some of the following questions, what unique keywords are associated with the topic or subject? Are there any organizations or associations that might have information on the subject through their web sites?

Online market research is an important tool which many of the market research companies utilize to draft the data and stats into furnished market research reports. Many of the companies don’t feel the importance of using online market survey, which we consider the most important tool to grab the market share. I can understand the recession period world is facing at this moment, and I am sure online market research and online market survey will help a lot to eat a pie of market share which might be small but important for your business. Online market research doesn’t means browsing the sites to collect the data which might not be authentic. This toll is used by market research companies with access to meaningful, authentic resources to analyze and populate the data to be completed in the form of market research reports.

Online market survey is another important tool which many of the business houses and companies don’t feel the importance of. This is what let’s you to be in touch with past clients, know what current clients needs and what potential client expects from you. A well drafted questionnaire for market research analyst will take a form of online market survey which companies can utilize to ask the customers or clients to fill up with their thoughts and feedback. The feedbacks generated from online market survey will help you understand what you good with, what you lack and what they expect more from you.  Read more...

International online testing of product concepts and brand perception requires multilingual surveys. Best practices in international market research show that your prep work needs to go beyond translation.

The survey template will need to allow for different languages. The number of words in the survey will increase when you translate it into languages like Spanish or German. Leave extra space in the design of the template, or consider using a slightly smaller font.

Brand names can differ from one market to another so make sure your questionnaire is correct for each country.

Are there any weights and measures in the survey? Double check that they are correct for the markets where the study will take place.

Use local units of currency. The use of commas and decimals in numbers can be different than in the U. S.: $1,000.00 would be written as $1.000,00 in some countries.

Some of your graphics and icons may be unfamiliar to some respondents. Look for images that are more commonly used in that region. Icons as simple as exit signs are not the same in every country.

The online survey is only one part of the translation project. Any point of contact with the participants needs to be in their languages including:

Invitation emails
Introductory text
Captions on buttons (Back, Next, etc.)
Any validation or error messages
Messages thanking respondents for their participation

If you are inviting people to participate by email, remember that greeting strangers by their first name is considered rude in some markets. Using titles and last names to address respondents can increase the number of respondents.

Participants in some markets will not provide the personal information (age, income, level of education, etc.) commonly requested in market research surveys in the U. S. Reduce the number of personal questions to increase response levels.  Read more...

Market research gives businesses essential information on customers, competitors, and market. Most businesses claim to understand the value of this research because they are using this information to sell their product to their clients.

Market research is just as important for international business. And even more so…

Your success in foreign markets will depend on your international market research. It is especially important during your business planning phase.

Reasons For International Business Planning

There are two main reasons to be very thorough when researching your international markets. During this planning phase you need to learn:

what you can hope to accomplish
what to not to do and avoid cross cultural blunders

The Difference In International Market Research

The difference between domestic and international market research is the importance of the smallest details and the differences in the smallest details can influence your success.

Different cultures respond differently to your product, your marketing, your business. This implies more than simple interest in your product. Some markets may actually use your product differently than you expect. You need to know exactly how each of your markets respond to your product, your company, your marketing.

Cross cultural communication differences will influence everything you can think of and more. If you are not intimately familiar with the cultures you are targeting plan for surprises.

Schedule More Time For International Business Planning

This is why it is essential to have a strong international market research strategy. Here is what to do:

Schedule more time researching prior to any launch.
Continue with your international market research.
Diversify your research channels.
Use web marketing to stimulate international market feedback.
Question everything possible.
… And be methodical.

Market Research For Online Businesses

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Business expansion across global limits, it becomes inevitable to study global markets in greater details and specifics. As each one of us knows it is through international market research findings and analysis crucial decisions take shape.

Most Business firms rely on International market research on for the following reasons :

Get valuable insights with regards to new market developments abroad especially in developing economies

Provide useful information with regards to diverse market environments and conditions

Take maximum advantage of technological advancements in collecting, retrieving and analyzing market findings and offer highly accurate and relevant results.

International Marketing Research is carried across all verticals ranging from social sectors, healthcare sector, financial markets, IT sector, business to business markets and many more.

With the active presence of International marketing research agencies, the availability of required market research reports can be done in a desired manner. Considering the various manners in which research is conducted, the client company could go for –

Telephone research

Focus group

Online studies

One to one face interviews

In International Market Research the areas of conducting research activities could be in reference to

Customer satisfaction

Image and awareness tracking

Brand Positioning

Product Development

Market Development

Strategy Development

Employee Satisfaction

Usage and Attitude

Most research agencies have known to conduct research on verticals such as

mobile phones, software, professional AV, consumer electronic and domestic appliances, food products, coffee, alcohol, ICT, engineering, utilities, boats, telecoms services, IT consultancy, security, radar, waste disposal to name a few prominent ones. These research reports include economies and markets across East, Western Europe, America – both North & South and even Asia.  Read more...