In today’s dynamic business landscape, the path to success is paved with information. You need to understand customer behavior, predict market trends, and make data-driven decisions. And that’s where market research comes in. It’s the compass that guides businesses in making informed, strategic decisions.
While conducting thorough market research can sound overwhelming, with the help of the right tools, you can easily streamline this process.
In this article, we’ll be looking at the best tools that you can use in 2023 for efficient market research.
| Best Online Tools for Market Research [2023]: 1. Think With Google 2. Social Mention 3. SurveyMonkey 4. SEMRush 5. Statista 6. UserTesting 7. Ahrefs |
- Think With Google:
Think with Google is a resource provided by Google for marketers across the globe with information on several facets of digital marketing, including consumer trends, marketing strategies, industry research, and more for multiple channels.
Source: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/
It also provides actionable guidance for business and marketing professionals, based on its insights.
Pros:
- It relies on vast amounts of data collected by Google from various channels, thus, making the information more reliable.
- It’s a free tool that provides valuable information from numerous credible sources.
- It also provides informative and inspirational case studies and success stories for businesses.
Cons:
- While it provides an overview of trends and patterns, it often lacks the in-depth analysis that certain businesses or research might require.
- The tool has a lot of information; it might be overwhelming for some users to find relevant information.
- The insights provided are usually generic and may not necessarily cater to specific business needs or nuances.
- BrandMentions:
In today’s socially connected world, consumers are expressing their likes, dislikes and experiences across brands more than ever.
BrandMentions is like a giant, digital ear that listens to these conversations. It’s a search and analytics engine for social media that compiles user-generated content from across the digital globe into a single stream of information. You get real-time data on how and where your brand is being mentioned; this will help you measure your brand sentiment and its influence on your consumers.
Source: https://brandmentions.com/socialmention/
Pros:
- It offers a free trial, allowing you to get real-time insights into the social sentiment of your brand (free during trial).
- It aggregates data from more than100 social media platforms, making the monitoring process efficient.
Cons:
- It might be time-consuming to go through the sheer volume of data generated.
- It doesn’t offer historical data, limiting the scope for trend analysis.
- SEMRush:
SEMRush is an all-in-one digital marketing toolkit. It provides detailed analytics on your competitors’ SEO strategies, keyword rankings, and backlinks. It also helps you with information on paid search advertising, content & PR, and social media performance. SEMRush is a goldmine of data that can help you identify market gaps and provide insights into new potential markets.
Source: https://www.semrush.com/
Pros:
- It’s comprehensive, providing a plethora of tools for various digital marketing aspects.
- It helps you identify your competitors’ successful strategies.
Cons:
- The cost could be high for smaller businesses or startups.
- It may have a steep learning curve for beginners.
- Statista:
Statista is a statistics portal that consolidates data on over 80,000 topics from more than 22,500 sources. It provides access to data from market and opinion research institutions. It’s an encyclopedia of statistics, covering a wide range of sectors and categories, making it an excellent tool for comprehensive market research. Whether you need statistics on consumer goods, digital markets, or specific demographic data, Statista likely has the information you’re looking for.
Source: https://www.statista.com/
Pros:
- It offers statistics, infographics, and reports across various sectors.
- It provides country-specific and global data.
Cons:
- Some data sets require a premium subscription.
- Not all data may be current or comprehensive.
- SurveyMonkey:
SurveyMonkey is a leading survey platform that enables businesses to gather valuable customer insights directly. It offers various question types, from multiple-choice to sliding scales, making your surveys customizable. It provides valuable data straight from the source, your customers, and can assist in making informed decisions about product development, customer service improvements, or marketing strategies.
Source: https://www.surveymonkey.com/
Pros:
- It gives you insights into the customer’s thought process and experience.
- You get real time info as the customers interact with your products or services.
Cons:
- It can be expensive for small businesses.
- Test users may not always accurately represent your target audience.
- UserTesting:
UserTesting is a platform that provides real-time user feedback. It reveals how customers are interacting with your product, service or website. As a result, you can understand user behavior, preferences, and vulnerabilities and make necessary adjustments to improve user experience and satisfaction.
Source: https://www.usertesting.com/
Pros:
- It’s user-friendly, with customizable survey templates.
- It enables you to collect qualitative and quantitative data.
Cons:
- While there’s a free version, advanced features require a paid subscription.
- Survey design requires skill to avoid bias and ensure the collection of actionable data.
- Ahrefs:
Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool suite that helps with competitor analysis, keyword research, backlink checking, and more. It can help you to understand the reason why your competitors are ranking higher than you, and develop strategies to outrank them.
Source:https://ahrefs.com/
Pros:
- It offers an extensive database for SEO-related data.
- It provides detailed backlink analysis and comprehensive keyword research tools.
Cons:
- The subscription can be pricey for small businesses.
- The platform might be overwhelming for beginners due to its complexity.
Tips for Effective Online Market Research
| Online Market Research Tips for 2023: 1. Understand your goals 2. Diversify your tools 3. Be consistent and regular 4. Analyze & Act |
- Understand Your Goals
Before you even start your research, you need to have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve. Whether it’s consumer preferences, competition analysis, or identifying market trends, you need to define your goals, so that you can select the right tools and methodologies for your research.
- Diversify Your Tools
Don’t limit yourself to just one tool. Each tool has its unique strengths and limitations. Use a combination of tools to get a more accurate picture of the industry.
- Be Consistent and Regular
Market trends change rapidly. Regularly conducting market research can help you keep up with these changes and adapt your business strategies accordingly.
- Analyze and Act
Collecting data is just the first step. Analyzing this data and converting it into actionable insights is what will give you a competitive edge.
Market research, once a domain of large corporations with deep pockets, has been democratized by the advent of these online tools. You can use these tools and tips to analyze a large amount of information to extract insights that can drive your business strategy.