1.
Business analysis: before you start worrying about your competitors and your target audience, you need to first understand your business. To do this, there are several questions that should be answered, including who are you and why do you exist? What are the key values that drive your business? What is your ultimate goal? Are there any areas of weakness that should be addressed? How do you measure your success?
2.
Competitor analysis: it’s important to be aware of your competitors and have a good understanding of what they are offering and how they are positioning themselves in the market. Competitor analysis is not only useful for identifying gaps in the market, but can also help to identify opportunities for your business.
3.
Audience analysis: you may have the best product or service on the market, however if you don’t have a good understanding of who your target audience is, you’re not going to get very far. With competition becoming increasingly fierce, it’s essential to have an in-depth understanding of your audience to be able to clearly communicate the value of your offering to them in a way that is specific to their needs and cuts through the noise.
4.
PEST analysis: the last stage of the market research process is to analyse the broader market, including political, economic, social and technological factors. This will help you to gain an insight into the external factors that could impact your business, including changes in trends, new opportunities and possible threats.