Market research is a familiar term for professionals in the fields of marketing, sales, or those preparing for startup projects. Its overarching benefit is to provide insights into market conditions, enabling adjustments to development strategies or the inclusion of necessary elements. However, consumer trends are undergoing significant shifts, and accessing their opinions is becoming increasingly challenging. Recognizing this challenge, this article introduces a new method to adapt to the current business environment – Online Market Research.
The shift of consumers impacts businesses’ access to information
The phrase “Online Market Research” can be broken down into two components: “Market Research” and the “online” environment. In this context, this activity involves the process of gathering, analyzing, and synthesizing information about the market for products and services in the past, present, and future. Using traditional methods, market research requires interaction and direct contact with potential customers and market segments. However, there are still many aspects to consider, such as limitations in expanding the target market and customer reluctance when faced with survey questions, which can significantly skew research results. Hence, the concept of “online” in the latter part is receiving attention and emphasis from businesses in the process of understanding latent needs.
Online market research is the process of searching and analyzing data in a digital environment
Online market research encompasses capabilities that were previously inaccessible through traditional methods, such as an expanded scope of research and diverse data collection methods. The incorporation of the “online” element is evidence that businesses are gradually transitioning to modern digital business models, aligning with the trends of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and avoiding falling behind competitors.
Online market research offers several benefits for businesses, including:
Time and cost are valuable resources that are challenging to recover once lost. Many planners are striving to save them as effectively as possible. With traditional methods, conducting surveys can be a daunting task, involving activities such as survey preparation, venue selection, personnel, and necessary incentives to attract respondents. These tasks often consume significant resources, but the results may only meet or fall below expectations.
Online market research helps reduce the number of employees on the marketing team
However, with online research, the scenario can be quite different. Support from survey creation tools, question suggestions, and sending surveys to specific, corresponding target groups make the process more efficient. Compared to traditional methods, the online model is proving to be superior, requiring resources that can be handled by a single person who can perform all necessary tasks, eliminating the need for a team.
Since data is primarily collected online, issues related to storage, analysis, encoding, and data transformation are handled quickly using algorithms or specific research models. Most activities are nearly automated, with minimal human intervention, enhancing data reliability and transparency. It’s evident that software assistance enables rapid data collection, often sent and received within a day or in real-time, ensuring data remains up-to-date.
The third advantage discussed here is the ability to receive and adjust survey forms flexibly and in sync. According to a recent report in January 2023, nearly 80% of Vietnam’s population uses the Internet. This statistic implies that sending online surveys has a better chance of reaching the target audience compared to manual data entry and face-to-face interviews. With a concentrated user base, surveyors can easily send forms, and the likelihood of receiving responses is higher. Moreover, because survey forms are built using digital tools, updates can be made quickly and flexibly to align with research objectives. Only one version needs adjustment, and subsequent versions can be modified similarly.
A high proportion of social media users increases the ability to collect a large research sample
Corresponding to the number of Internet users, the volume of visits to social media platforms significantly contributes to maintaining user numbers. Specifically, in 2021, Facebook had the highest number of users at 65.56 million, YouTube had 66.63 million users, Instagram had 7.98 million users, and Zalo had 62 million users. Although other social media platforms like TikTok and LinkedIn are also developing, the mentioned platforms already demonstrate high user concentration and demographic diversity. The potential of online market research is substantial, as businesses can tap into a large pool of survey samples, resulting in research outcomes that meet standards and accurately reflect deep-seated consumer needs.
This is a straightforward yet effective method that any business can implement. The process involves using available or free platforms such as Google Forms to create surveys and collect survey responses. An advanced approach includes sending email surveys to existing customers to gather feedback on their satisfaction levels and opinions about current products or services. While these methods are simple, they may not always reflect a high level of professionalism and can depend on subjective customer opinions.
Another method is the analysis of social media data, including comments, reviews, and user engagement related to a Brand, events, or keywords associated with a business. However, the data collected does not necessarily represent explicit opinions but rather reflects user attitudes, the tone of discussions, and reactions to specific situations. This has led to the emergence of a new concept called “Social Listening,” which involves indirectly understanding user thoughts and subsequently providing products or services adjustments and correcting unfavorable information for business operations.
Research activities conducted on a website share similarities with data analysis but focus on online spaces specific to a business, such as informational websites or e-commerce platforms. Although it remains in the digital realm, this method emphasizes customer behaviors on your web pages, such as bounce rates, time spent on specific product pages, and conversion rates. Additionally, customer feedback, reviews, and post-purchase evaluations offer valuable insights for enhancing delivery, packaging, or online consultation services. This demonstrates that market research not only aims to boost sales but also optimizes processes to reduce costs.
Kompa is a company that applies data technology (AI, machine learning) on a big data platform, providing data analysis solutions and equipping customers with valuable insights to optimize their business operations in various aspects such as Marketing, Finance, Operations, and other fields.
Among the solutions that Kompa provides are Social Listening tools, Brand management, and measuring the effectiveness of campaigns, among other products and services. Among these tools, Social Listening is a trend and part of the methodology of analyzing social media data mentioned above. The operational method of this service at Kompa involves several steps: Monitoring – Evaluation – Brand Recognition Analysis, Measuring the effectiveness of communication, and consequently, Brand management and sensitive information alert.
Kompa has been accompanying hundreds of small and large businesses in Vietnam for over 20 years, including Vingroup, Masterise Homes, Vinamilk, SSI, MB bank, Tan Hiep Phat, Shopee, Vietjet Air, and more. Kompa will be a partner for businesses in achieving their business goals and satisfying their target customers.
Kompa provides businesses with many data technology solutions
Through this article, businesses can find opportunities to transition from manual data collection to online market research, benefiting from the mentioned advantages. Furthermore, the new approach has developed a valuable concept of Social Listening, which is useful not only for understanding customer needs but also for meeting and satisfying customer expectations. If your business is searching for a solution, do not hesitate to seek guidance from Kompa, with services tailored to your specific needs. It is hoped that the information provided in this article will contribute to the continued growth and success of your business activities.
