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Business intelligence about the market, competition and consumers helps companies make important strategic decisions. What do consumers really need? Is it worth to invest in creating a new product? Is that a good idea to expand sales to more countries? Which distribution channel should be chosen? How to construct a price list for all products and / or services? With which supplier the cooperation should be established? Which strategy to use to enter new markets?

The data and market analyses necessary in business may come from several different sources. One of them are market reports offered by numerous analysts, publishers and resellers. Some of these studies are available free of charge, and some require purchasing appropriate licenses. But when ready-made reports are not available (e.g. niche industry, specific target group), then business knowledge is provided by custom market research which is adapted to the specific needs of a given company.

Learn more about the methods of collecting market data that are used by industry leaders 

When looking for sources of market intelligence, enterprises often go to websites of publishers and resellers who, apart from a large package of ready-made reports, also offer market research customised to specific client’s needs. Unfortunately, not all of these companies can really offer reliable, tailor-made support.

There are companies that declare competences in the field of market research and business consulting but in practise their skills are sometimes limited to creating compilations of various studies (free and paid). And market research does not mean a duplication of content from existing data sources or copying and pasting information from one file to another. They require, among others, development of a certain methodology, conducting interviews with the target group, harmonising data, making statistical analysis and forecasts, developing practical recommendations based on the conclusions of the study.

So, how to assess whether a given company has competences in the field of market research?

1. Check references of the company; talk to selected clients; ask for examples of completed research projects.

2. Meet people from a given company that conduct market research studies; get acquainted with their professional experience; look for opinions about them on the Internet.

3. Ask about methodology applied; gather information on techniques (e.g. interviews, focus groups) and types (e.g. market analysis, consumer research, product research) of conducted research.

4. Find out specialisation of the company; learn in which areas the company is most experienced; ask about the industries and countries analysed so far; verify competences of conducting international research studies.

5. Verify consulting competences of the company; ask if you will receive only statistics and dry data from the survey or maybe they will be supplemented with comments, explanations, practical recommendations and even workshops.

Are you searching for reliable data about your market?

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