How to do market research? Here’s our step-by-step guide that anyone can use

How to do market research? To answer that question we have spent some 6 months writing this step-by-step guide. I’d have never believed it could take some much time but finally it’s there.
Find out in today’s article why we created it and how it is designed.

Why did we create this market research guide?

The rationale behind writing this guide was that market research methods are numerous, yet those who actually need to do market research don’t know them and don’t know where to start. Young entrepreneurs come to us without knowing what to do and -more importantly- without knowing how market research can contribute to the success of their business (keep in mind that studies show 60% of business failures could be avoided if market research had been carried out)

A 7-phase market research method

We therefore created a method based on 7 successive phases that anyone can follow. Those starting from a blank sheet (would-be entrepreneurs with a business idea for example) would naturally need to start at step 1. Others, more advanced or with special insights about their market, may want to jump directly to a subsequent phase.
To help you find your way and navigate between the different phases we also created some graphical tools:

• a graphic design depicting the 7 phases of our market research method : numbers (from 1 to 7) and dedicated colours will help you find your way wherever you are in the reading process
• an infographics that represents the 7 phases and their sub-steps with some brief explanations

How to deepen your knowledge of market research?

Reading this guide will (hopefully) give you a pretty good idea of how to structure your market research project. Some areas will need however to be deepened. The good news is that this blog has all resources to help you do that. That’s why you’ll find hyperlinks in the guide that will bring you to some specific articles.

Happy reading and don’t forget to share your comments with us ! We are on Linkedin, Twitter and obviously welcome also comments at the bottom of this page.

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab Pierre-Nicolas est Docteur en Marketing et dirige l'agence d'études de marché IntoTheMinds. Ses domaines de prédilection sont le BigData l'e-commerce, le commerce de proximité, l'HoReCa et la logistique. Il est également chercheur en marketing à l'Université Libre de Bruxelles et sert de coach et formateur à plusieurs organisations et institutions publiques. Il peut être contacté par email, Linkedin ou par téléphone (+32 486 42 79 42)