Top 10 Market Research Tools and Software

The days of dull and lengthy market research are gone. Technology has evolved, making research fast, easier and authentic. 

Today we will explore some of the most astonishing market research tools and softwares that have made the job insanely quick, saving thousands of hours. 

 

Let’s start this blog by covering the basics, and introducing our readers to the true meaning of market research! 

 

Market Research: Meaning and Examples

 

Market research is the process of studying and analyzing information about a market, including its consumers and competitors. It helps businesses understand customer needs, market trends, and competitive landscapes to make informed decisions.

 

For example, if someone wants to open a café, they might do market research to find out what kind of food and drinks people in the area like, how much they're willing to pay, and if there are already a lot of other cafés around. This helps them make smart decisions about what to offer and how to attract customers.

 

Let's take another example. Imagine a company is considering launching a new line of smartphones. Before investing resources into product development and marketing, they would conduct market research to gather data. 

This data will revolve around factors such as consumer preferences, pricing expectations, features that are most desired, and the competitive landscape. 

 

This research may be conducted through surveys, focus groups, interviews, observation, and analysis of existing data.

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How to do Market Research? 

 

This process involves strategic planning and will require you to follow certain steps. The standard roadmap looks like this: 

 

1. Define your objectives: Determine what you want to achieve through market research, such as understanding customer preferences, assessing market size, or identifying competitors.

 

2. Choose your research method: Decide on the best approach to gather information, which could include surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or analyzing existing data.

 

3. Identify your target audience: Determine the specific group of people you want to study, such as demographics (age, gender, income), psychographics (lifestyle, interests), or geographic location.

 

4. Design your research instrument: Develop questions or guidelines for collecting data that align with your objectives and are appropriate for your chosen research method.

 

5. Collect data: Execute your research plan by administering surveys, conducting interviews, observing behaviour, or analyzing existing data sources.

 

6. Analyze the data: Review and interpret the collected data to identify patterns, trends, and insights relevant to your research objectives.

 

7. Draw conclusions: Make conclusions based on the analysis of the data and use these insights to inform business decisions and strategies.

 

8. Take action: Implement changes or strategies based on the findings of your market research to improve products, services, marketing efforts, or overall business operations.

 

If you are a beginner, you can also try out this entire process within a small group to identify any loopholes in your research method. Eventually, you will arrive at a stage that gives you helpful and actionable insights. 

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Best Tools for Market Research in 2024

Here are 15 of the best tools and software for market research, categorized into survey & questionnaire tools, social listening & web analytics tools, and data analysis & visualization tools:

Survey & Questionnaire Tools

1. SurveyMonkey

A popular option for creating surveys, polls, and questionnaires. It offers a free plan with basic features and paid plans with more advanced features, such as branching logic and skip logic.

Free plan: Basic features for simple surveys.

Paid plans: Advanced features like branching logic (skip specific questions based on answers) and question piping (personalize questions based on previous answers).

 

2. Qualtrics

A powerful enterprise-grade survey platform that offers a wide range of features, including survey creation, data collection, and analysis.

Survey creation: Robust tools for complex surveys with various question types.

Data collection: Multi-channel options for gathering responses (web, email, mobile).

 

3. Typeform

A user-friendly survey platform that allows you to create beautiful and engaging surveys. It offers a free plan with limited features and paid plans with more advanced features.

Free plan: Limited features but allows for creative survey building.

Paid plans: More features and customization options for branding and data analysis.

 

4. Google Forms

A free and easy-to-use survey tool from Google. It is a good option for creating simple surveys and collecting data from a small group of people.

Best for: Simple surveys with a limited number of participants.

Limitations: Fewer customization options compared to dedicated survey tools.

 

5. Alchemer

A survey platform that offers a wide range of features, including survey creation, data collection, and analysis. It is a good option for businesses that need a robust survey solution. Survey creation: Supports various question types and logic branching.

Data collection: Multiple data collection methods (web, mobile, kiosks).

Data analysis: Built-in reporting and data analysis functionalities.

 

6. Brandwatch

A social listening platform that helps you track brand mentions, analyze social media sentiment, and identify influencers.

Tracks brand mentions: Identifies where your brand is being discussed online.

Analyzes social media sentiment: Understands the overall perception towards your brand.

Identifies influencers: Discovers key players in your industry and potential brand advocates.

 

7. Sprout Social

A social media management platform that includes social listening features. It helps you track brand mentions, analyze social media sentiment, and engage with your audience.

Combines social listening with engagement: Track brand mentions and interact with your audience directly within the platform.

Offers sentiment analysis: Gain insights into brand perception across social media platforms.

 

8. Semrush

An all-in-one SEO and marketing toolkit that includes social listening features. It helps you track brand mentions, analyze social media sentiment, and identify influencers.

Monitors brand mentions: Tracks online conversations about your brand and competitors.

Analyzes social media sentiment: Understands how people feel about your brand based on social media discussions.

Identifies influencers: Discovers potential brand partners and collaborators.

 

9. Google Analytics

A free web analytics tool from Google that helps you track website traffic, user behaviour, and conversions.

Tracks website traffic: Measures website visits, user demographics, and behaviour.

Tracks conversions: Analyzes how visitors interact with calls to action on your website.

Provides insights into user behaviour: Helps understand how users navigate your website.

 

10. Crazy Egg

A heat mapping and session recording tool that helps you understand how users interact with your website.

Heatmaps: Visually represent user clicks and scrolls on your website.

Session recordings: Observe real user interactions to identify usability issues and areas for improvement.

 

Wrapping it Up

 

With these market research tools, you can streamline your tasks and save thousands of hours. Report generation, analysis and key findings can be extracted within a few moments. 

If you know about any other tool that we may have missed out on, drop it in the comments. Subscribe to our newsletter for more exciting insights!

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