Analyzing internal data
The data you’ve already collected within your company is an invaluable secondary source of research data. The longer you’ve been in business, the more data you accumulate.
The best thing about your internal data is that it has been put into practice in real market conditions, so you just need to find patterns and draw conclusions.
Here are some internal data sources you can use:
- Website data (e.g. Google Analytics)
- CRM data
- Performance data from past campaigns
- Internal interviews with employees
Interviews
Interviews allow for face-to-face discussions and are great for exploratory qualitative research.
In unstructured interviews, you build an informal, free-flowing conversation around a set set of topics.
In structured interviews, you write a detailed and rigorous interview protocol that lists all the questions you want to ask and cannot be distracted from.
You can also opt for the “middle option” – semi-structured interviews that revolve around predetermined topics or questions, but allow for open discussion.
Tip: always remain neutral and open-minded, even during unstructured interviews. It is also a good idea to conduct a mock interview to quickly identify some weaknesses in your protocol.
Recording the interview can influence responses, so use it wisely.
Focus Groups
Focus groups are interactive discussions between 5-10 people with common characteristics led by a moderator. They are used to find out what a particular group thinks about a particular problem, or to get feedback on a product.
You may know that Steve Jobs hated focus groups. He is on record as saying:
Creating products from focus groups is really hard. People often don’t know what they want until you show it to them.
If you’re trying to create a progressive product like the iPhone, that statement probably has some validity. But most of us don’t claim that level of ambition. We just want to know whether or not customers will like the proposed new feature. This is where focus groups are very useful.
Surveys
Surveys involve polling your audience. They are usually conducted online to survey customer satisfaction and loyalty and are one of the most popular and cost-effective market research methods.
Here are some of the proven uses of online surveys:
- Demand for a product feature
- Feedback on user satisfaction
- Quantitative analysis of the occurrence of certain problems
- Identifying barriers to purchase
- Identifying reasons to purchase or abandon a service
- Creation of a customer profile during product customization (and for marketing automation)
- Opinion on a recent change
An interesting example of market research using surveys is crowdsourcing. This is what Ahrefs does to understand what features to build, how important they are, and what customers expect from them.
The unique thing about crowdsourcing is that it allows users to add their own ideas and vote on or comment on existing ideas rather than answering pre-set questions, so this method leaves less chance for marketing myopia. You improve your business and users get a better product – everyone wins.