You may have noticed that DIY is big these days. The internet and its vast wealth of information have made it incredibly easy to find resources for learning how to do almost anything yourself, from building a boat to making your own pickles, and most of that information is free. For businesses, there are web applications that make it incredibly cheap to build your own website, and tools like social media are free and unlimited. So much information is available for free, so why not do your own market research? Well, the alluringly tiny DIY price tag can come with larger than expected costs.
Let’s consider: If our goal were to get from New York to California, even the most committed DIY-er realizes it would be terribly time-consuming to set off without a map and survey the locals for directions each time they arrived in a new town. Nor would it pay to spend half of one’s vacation plotting the journey before being able to take the first step. Someone has already taken the time to show you, with great precision, where the roads are that you need. You can clearly see the most direct path to your destination, and obstacles, such as rivers, are identified so that you can plan your approach or avoid them altogether.
Savvy business owners and executives know that it is a similarly inefficient use of their company’s time to collect and analyze vast amounts of market and industry data that is readily available in an easy-to-understand format. Thorough and accurate information is a critical foundation of all successful business ventures, and trusted market research companies, like BCC Research, are the mapmakers.
Market research companies provide an incredible time-to-money value by distilling large amounts of data into a landscape of your industry or target market, allowing you to make strategic business planning decisions and avoid dead ends. Market research can help you understand the number and size of competitors in a field, learn about existing and prospective customers, and take advantage of rising trends. Detailed analysis from industry experts with decades of experience shows you where the weaknesses and opportunities are, and allows you to strategically position your business or differentiate your offerings before your competition does. Accurate and professional charts and graphs allow you to share knowledge with others in your organization at a glance and get everyone on board.
Certainly, it may be possible to identify point A and point B with a basic market map done by hand, but it could be missing critical detail that could show you the fastest way to get where you want to go. Before you commit your company’s resources to a new venture, or spend more money marketing a product to a specific segment, it pays to make sure that you have the best map available.
