Random Thoughts
June 16, 2023
Earlier this week, I wrote a post on why start-ups should outsource qualitative end-user research, and I particularly mentioned that you should only outsource research when the question involved is critical to the business. So I will follow up on this point with this post and identify for you exactly what kind of questions are worth investing money to outsource qualitative research on. Of which, I see three main areas.
Target customer/end-user profiling and segmentation research to ensure stable revenue growth: As a successful start-up, you will surely experience a period of uninhibited growth at the beginning as you only just started expanding through your target customer pool. But after a while, sales growth will begin to slow as you plateau through that customer pool, and it will become critical to focus on the non-users (the potential customers that refuse to buy your product/service). But at this point, it might be too late in the game to do so. In fact, big brands spend millions researching non-users in order to devise strategies to convert them into users of their brands. That is why you see different variants of products out there from the same brand. These variants are meant to target different segments of the potential customer base. As start-ups, you need to do the same—conduct customer profiling and segmentation research—early, and achieve a comprehensive understanding of your target customers (both users and non-users) at the beginning of your business development. You need to understand that your customer base is made of different segments, each with different needs and expectations, and can only be satisfied with different variants of the product/service you provide. Ultimately, you will be in a better position to ensure continuity and consistency of revenue growth in your business.
Branding research to ensure effective branding strategy to differentiate you from potential competitors: At the beginning of your start-up business development, branding might not seem important as you might be the only player in that space. However, as you become more successful, competitors will surely come in and branding will be vital at that point to differentiate yourself from the field. Again, big brands spend millions researching this every year to ensure their position in the marketplace and within their customers’ minds. You, as a start-up, will need to do the same early also. Whether B2B or B2C, every purchase has some emotional component to it within the customer’s/end-user’s mind. Understanding that fully will help you devise an effective branding strategy that ensure customer/end-user loyalty, and therefore, stable growth for your business.
UX/UI research to ensure your online component is effective in converting sales: In today’s technological based business environment, it is difficult to imagine a start-up business that does not have an online component to it, especially as a sales channel. Given the critical role that the online component plays, UX/UI research is therefore vital to ensure that your online component can effectively convert visits into sales. For those of you who are not familiar with UX/UI research, it refers to the process of studying and analyzing user experiences and interactions with an interface—usually online or application based, with the aim of improving its usability, functionality, and overall user satisfaction.
I hope what I am writing here is helpful in some way. But as I mentioned, big brands spend millions every year researching these areas, so it is nothing new. And it is also the reason why big brands remain strong in their market positions.
As usual, feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts, and remember to follow us on our LinkedIn page for more!
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