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How to Do Market Research: The Complete Guide

Learn how to do market research with this step-by-step guide, complete with templates, tools and real-world examples.

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What are your customers’ needs? How does your product compare to the competition? What are the emerging trends and opportunities in your industry? If these questions keep you up at night, it’s time to conduct market research.

Market research plays a pivotal role in your ability to stay competitive and relevant, helping you anticipate shifts in consumer behavior and industry dynamics. It involves gathering these insights using a wide range of techniques, from surveys and interviews to data analysis and observational studies.

In this guide, we’ll explore why market research is crucial, the various types of market research, the methods used in data collection, and how to effectively conduct market research to drive informed decision-making and success.

What is market research?

Market research is the systematic process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a specific market or industry. The purpose of market research is to offer valuable insight into the preferences and behaviors of your target audience, and anticipate shifts in market trends and the competitive landscape. This information helps you make data-driven decisions, develop effective strategies for your business, and maximize your chances of long-term growth.

Why is market research important? 

By understanding the significance of market research, you can make sure you’re asking the right questions and using the process to your advantage. Some of the benefits of market research include:

• Informed decision-making: Market research provides you with the data and insights you need to make smart decisions for your business. It helps you identify opportunities, assess risks and tailor your strategies to meet the demands of the market. Without market research, decisions are often based on assumptions or guesswork, leading to costly mistakes.
• Customer-centric approach: A cornerstone of market research involves developing a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences. This gives you valuable insights into your target audience, helping you develop products, services and marketing campaigns that resonate with your customers.
• Competitive advantage: By conducting market research, you’ll gain a competitive edge. You’ll be able to identify gaps in the market, analyze competitor strengths and weaknesses, and position your business strategically. This enables you to create unique value propositions, differentiate yourself from competitors, and seize opportunities that others may overlook.
• Risk mitigation: Market research helps you anticipate market shifts and potential challenges. By identifying threats early, you can proactively adjust their strategies to mitigate risks and respond effectively to changing circumstances. This proactive approach is particularly valuable in volatile industries.
• Resource optimization: Conducting market research allows organizations to allocate their time, money and resources more efficiently. It ensures that investments are made in areas with the highest potential return on investment, reducing wasted resources and improving overall business performance.
• Adaptation to market trends: Markets evolve rapidly, driven by technological advancements, cultural shifts and changing consumer attitudes. Market research ensures that you stay ahead of these trends and adapt your offerings accordingly so you can avoid becoming obsolete. 

As you can see, market research empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions, cater to customer needs, outperform competitors, mitigate risks, optimize resources and stay agile in a dynamic marketplace. These benefits make it a huge industry; the global market research services market is expected to grow from $76.37 billion in 2021 to $108.57 billion in 2026 . Now, let’s dig into the different types of market research that can help you achieve these benefits.

Types of market research 

• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Exploratory research
• Descriptive research
• Causal research
• Cross-sectional research
• Longitudinal research

Despite its advantages, 23% of organizations don’t have a clear market research strategy. Part of developing a strategy involves choosing the right type of market research for your business goals. The most commonly used approaches include:

1. Qualitative research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding the underlying motivations, attitudes and perceptions of individuals or groups. It is typically conducted through techniques like in-depth interviews, focus groups and content analysis — methods we’ll discuss further in the sections below. Qualitative research provides rich, nuanced insights that can inform product development, marketing strategies and brand positioning.

2. Quantitative research

Quantitative research, in contrast to qualitative research, involves the collection and analysis of numerical data, often through surveys, experiments and structured questionnaires. This approach allows for statistical analysis and the measurement of trends, making it suitable for large-scale market studies and hypothesis testing. While it’s worthwhile using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, most businesses prioritize the latter because it is scientific, measurable and easily replicated across different experiments.

3. Exploratory research

Whether you’re conducting qualitative or quantitative research or a mix of both, exploratory research is often the first step. Its primary goal is to help you understand a market or problem so you can gain insights and identify potential issues or opportunities. This type of market research is less structured and is typically conducted through open-ended interviews, focus groups or secondary data analysis. Exploratory research is valuable when entering new markets or exploring new product ideas.

4. Descriptive research

As its name implies, descriptive research seeks to describe a market, population or phenomenon in detail. It involves collecting and summarizing data to answer questions about audience demographics and behaviors, market size, and current trends. Surveys, observational studies and content analysis are common methods used in descriptive research. 

5. Causal research

Causal research aims to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables. It investigates whether changes in one variable result in changes in another. Experimental designs, A/B testing and regression analysis are common causal research methods. This sheds light on how specific marketing strategies or product changes impact consumer behavior.

6. Cross-sectional research

Cross-sectional market research involves collecting data from a sample of the population at a single point in time. It is used to analyze differences, relationships or trends among various groups within a population. Cross-sectional studies are helpful for market segmentation, identifying target audiences and assessing market trends at a specific moment.

7. Longitudinal research

Longitudinal research, in contrast to cross-sectional research, collects data from the same subjects over an extended period. This allows for the analysis of trends, changes and developments over time. Longitudinal studies are useful for tracking long-term developments in consumer preferences, brand loyalty and market dynamics.

Each type of market research has its strengths and weaknesses, and the method you choose depends on your specific research goals and the depth of understanding you’re aiming to achieve. In the following sections, we’ll delve into primary and secondary research approaches and specific research methods.

Primary vs. secondary market research

Market research of all types can be broadly categorized into two main approaches: primary research and secondary research. By understanding the differences between these approaches, you can better determine the most appropriate research method for your specific goals.

Primary market research 

Primary research involves the collection of original data straight from the source. Typically, this involves communicating directly with your target audience — through surveys, interviews, focus groups and more — to gather information. Here are some key attributes of primary market research:

• Customized data: Primary research provides data that is tailored to your research needs. You design a custom research study and gather information specific to your goals.
• Up-to-date insights: Because primary research involves communicating with customers, the data you collect reflects the most current market conditions and consumer behaviors.
• Time-consuming and resource-intensive: Despite its advantages, primary research can be labor-intensive and costly, especially when dealing with large sample sizes or complex study designs. Whether you hire a market research consultant, agency or use an in-house team, primary research studies consume a large amount of resources and time.

Secondary market research 

Secondary research, on the other hand, involves analyzing data that has already been compiled by third-party sources, such as online research tools, databases, news sites, industry reports and academic studies.

Here are the main characteristics of secondary market research:

• Cost-effective: Secondary research is generally more cost-effective than primary research since it doesn’t require building a research plan from scratch. You and your team can look at databases, websites and publications on an ongoing basis, without needing to design a custom experiment or hire a consultant. 
• Leverages multiple sources: Data tools and software extract data from multiple places across the web, and then consolidate that information within a single platform. This means you’ll get a greater amount of data and a wider scope from secondary research.
• Quick to access: You can access a wide range of information rapidly — often in seconds — if you’re using online research tools and databases. Because of this, you can act on insights sooner, rather than taking the time to develop an experiment. 

So, when should you use primary vs. secondary research? In practice, many market research projects incorporate both primary and secondary research to take advantage of the strengths of each approach.

One rule of thumb is to focus on secondary research to obtain background information, market trends or industry benchmarks. It is especially valuable for conducting preliminary research, competitor analysis, or when time and budget constraints are tight. Then, if you still have knowledge gaps or need to answer specific questions unique to your business model, use primary research to create a custom experiment. 

Market research methods

• Surveys and questionnaires
• Focus groups
• Observational research
• Online research tools
• Experiments
• Content analysis
• Ethnographic research

How do primary and secondary research approaches translate into specific research methods? Let’s take a look at the different ways you can gather data: 

1. Surveys and questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are popular methods for collecting structured data from a large number of respondents. They involve a set of predetermined questions that participants answer. Surveys can be conducted through various channels, including online tools, telephone interviews and in-person or online questionnaires. They are useful for gathering quantitative data and assessing customer demographics, opinions, preferences and needs. On average, customer surveys have a 33% response rate , so keep that in mind as you consider your sample size.

2. Interviews

Interviews are in-depth conversations with individuals or groups to gather qualitative insights. They can be structured (with predefined questions) or unstructured (with open-ended discussions). Interviews are valuable for exploring complex topics, uncovering motivations and obtaining detailed feedback. 

3. Focus groups

The most common primary research methods are in-depth webcam interviews and focus groups. Focus groups are a small gathering of participants who discuss a specific topic or product under the guidance of a moderator. These discussions are valuable for primary market research because they reveal insights into consumer attitudes, perceptions and emotions. Focus groups are especially useful for idea generation, concept testing and understanding group dynamics within your target audience.

4. Observational research

Observational research involves observing and recording participant behavior in a natural setting. This method is particularly valuable when studying consumer behavior in physical spaces, such as retail stores or public places. In some types of observational research, participants are aware you’re watching them; in other cases, you discreetly watch consumers without their knowledge, as they use your product. Either way, observational research provides firsthand insights into how people interact with products or environments.

5. Online research tools

You and your team can do your own secondary market research using online tools. These tools include data prospecting platforms and databases, as well as online surveys, social media listening, web analytics and sentiment analysis platforms. They help you gather data from online sources, monitor industry trends, track competitors, understand consumer preferences and keep tabs on online behavior. We’ll talk more about choosing the right market research tools in the sections that follow.

6. Experiments

Market research experiments are controlled tests of variables to determine causal relationships. While experiments are often associated with scientific research, they are also used in market research to assess the impact of specific marketing strategies, product features, or pricing and packaging changes.

7. Content analysis

Content analysis involves the systematic examination of textual, visual or audio content to identify patterns, themes and trends. It’s commonly applied to customer reviews, social media posts and other forms of online content to analyze consumer opinions and sentiments.

8. Ethnographic research

Ethnographic research immerses researchers into the daily lives of consumers to understand their behavior and culture. This method is particularly valuable when studying niche markets or exploring the cultural context of consumer choices.

How to do market research

• Set clear objectives
• Identify your target audience
• Choose your research methods
• Use the right market research tools
• Collect data
• Analyze data 
• Interpret your findings
• Identify opportunities and challenges
• Make informed business decisions
• Monitor and adapt

Now that you have gained insights into the various market research methods at your disposal, let’s delve into the practical aspects of how to conduct market research effectively. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview, from defining objectives to monitoring market shifts.

1. Set clear objectives

When you set clear and specific goals, you’re essentially creating a compass to guide your research questions and methodology. Start by precisely defining what you want to achieve. Are you launching a new product and want to understand its viability in the market? Are you evaluating customer satisfaction with a product redesign? 

Start by creating SMART goals — objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Not only will this clarify your research focus from the outset, but it will also help you track progress and benchmark your success throughout the process. 

You should also consult with key stakeholders and team members to ensure alignment on your research objectives before diving into data collecting. This will help you gain diverse perspectives and insights that will shape your research approach.

2. Identify your target audience

Next, you’ll need to pinpoint your target audience to determine who should be included in your research. Begin by creating detailed buyer personas or stakeholder profiles. Consider demographic factors like age, gender, income and location, but also delve into psychographics, such as interests, values and pain points.

The more specific your target audience, the more accurate and actionable your research will be. Additionally, segment your audience if your research objectives involve studying different groups, such as current customers and potential leads.

If you already have existing customers, you can also hold conversations with them to better understand your target market. From there, you can refine your buyer personas and tailor your research methods accordingly.

3. Choose your research methods

Selecting the right research methods is crucial for gathering high-quality data. Start by considering the nature of your research objectives. If you’re exploring consumer preferences, surveys and interviews can provide valuable insights. For in-depth understanding, focus groups or observational research might be suitable. Consider using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to gain a well-rounded perspective. 

You’ll also need to consider your budget. Think about what you can realistically achieve using the time and resources available to you. If you have a fairly generous budget, you may want to try a mix of primary and secondary research approaches. If you’re doing market research for a startup , on the other hand, chances are your budget is somewhat limited. If that’s the case, try addressing your goals with secondary research tools before investing time and effort in a primary research study. 

4. Use the right market research tools

Whether you’re conducting primary or secondary research, you’ll need to choose the right tools. These can help you do anything from sending surveys to customers to monitoring trends and analyzing data. Here are some examples of popular market research tools:

• Market research software: Crunchbase is a platform that provides best-in-class company data, making it valuable for market research on growing companies and industries. You can use Crunchbase to access trusted, first-party funding data, revenue data, news and firmographics, enabling you to monitor industry trends and understand customer needs.

• Survey and questionnaire tools: SurveyMonkey is a widely used online survey platform that allows you to create, distribute and analyze surveys. Google Forms is a free tool that lets you create surveys and collect responses through Google Drive.
• Data analysis software: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are useful for conducting statistical analyses. SPSS is a powerful statistical analysis software used for data processing, analysis and reporting.
• Social listening tools: Brandwatch is a social listening and analytics platform that helps you monitor social media conversations, track sentiment and analyze trends. Mention is a media monitoring tool that allows you to track mentions of your brand, competitors and keywords across various online sources.
• Data visualization platforms: Tableau is a data visualization tool that helps you create interactive and shareable dashboards and reports. Power BI by Microsoft is a business analytics tool for creating interactive visualizations and reports.

5. Collect data

There’s an infinite amount of data you could be collecting using these tools, so you’ll need to be intentional about going after the data that aligns with your research goals. Implement your chosen research methods, whether it’s distributing surveys, conducting interviews or pulling from secondary research platforms. Pay close attention to data quality and accuracy, and stick to a standardized process to streamline data capture and reduce errors. 

6. Analyze data

Once data is collected, you’ll need to analyze it systematically. Use statistical software or analysis tools to identify patterns, trends and correlations. For qualitative data, employ thematic analysis to extract common themes and insights. Visualize your findings with charts, graphs and tables to make complex data more understandable.

If you’re not proficient in data analysis, consider outsourcing or collaborating with a data analyst who can assist in processing and interpreting your data accurately.

7. Interpret your findings

Interpreting your market research findings involves understanding what the data means in the context of your objectives. Are there significant trends that uncover the answers to your initial research questions? Consider the implications of your findings on your business strategy. It’s essential to move beyond raw data and extract actionable insights that inform decision-making.

Hold a cross-functional meeting or workshop with relevant team members to collectively interpret the findings. Different perspectives can lead to more comprehensive insights and innovative solutions.

8. Identify opportunities and challenges

Use your research findings to identify potential growth opportunities and challenges within your market. What segments of your audience are underserved or overlooked? Are there emerging trends you can capitalize on? Conversely, what obstacles or competitors could hinder your progress?

Lay out this information in a clear and organized way by conducting a SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Jot down notes for each of these areas to provide a structured overview of gaps and hurdles in the market.

9. Make informed business decisions

Market research is only valuable if it leads to informed decisions for your company. Based on your insights, devise actionable strategies and initiatives that align with your research objectives. Whether it’s refining your product, targeting new customer segments or adjusting pricing, ensure your decisions are rooted in the data.

At this point, it’s also crucial to keep your team aligned and accountable. Create an action plan that outlines specific steps, responsibilities and timelines for implementing the recommendations derived from your research. 

10. Monitor and adapt

Market research isn’t a one-time activity; it’s an ongoing process. Continuously monitor market conditions, customer behaviors and industry trends. Set up mechanisms to collect real-time data and feedback. As you gather new information, be prepared to adapt your strategies and tactics accordingly. Regularly revisiting your research ensures your business remains agile and reflects changing market dynamics and consumer preferences.

Online market research sources

As you go through the steps above, you’ll want to turn to trusted, reputable sources to gather your data. Here’s a list to get you started:

• Crunchbase: As mentioned above, Crunchbase is an online platform with an extensive dataset, allowing you to access in-depth insights on market trends, consumer behavior and competitive analysis. You can also customize your search options to tailor your research to specific industries, geographic regions or customer personas.

• Academic databases: Academic databases, such as ProQuest and JSTOR , are treasure troves of scholarly research papers, studies and academic journals. They offer in-depth analyses of various subjects, including market trends, consumer preferences and industry-specific insights. Researchers can access a wealth of peer-reviewed publications to gain a deeper understanding of their research topics.
• Government and NGO databases: Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions frequently maintain databases containing valuable economic, demographic and industry-related data. These sources offer credible statistics and reports on a wide range of topics, making them essential for market researchers. Examples include the U.S. Census Bureau , the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Pew Research Center .
• Industry reports: Industry reports and market studies are comprehensive documents prepared by research firms, industry associations and consulting companies. They provide in-depth insights into specific markets, including market size, trends, competitive analysis and consumer behavior. You can find this information by looking at relevant industry association databases; examples include the American Marketing Association and the National Retail Federation .
• Social media and online communities: Social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter (X) , forums such as Reddit and Quora , and review platforms such as G2 can provide real-time insights into consumer sentiment, opinions and trends. 

Market research examples

At this point, you have market research tools and data sources — but how do you act on the data you gather? Let’s go over some real-world examples that illustrate the practical application of market research across various industries. These examples showcase how market research can lead to smart decision-making and successful business decisions.

Example 1: Apple’s iPhone launch

Apple ’s iconic iPhone launch in 2007 serves as a prime example of market research driving product innovation in tech. Before the iPhone’s release, Apple conducted extensive market research to understand consumer preferences, pain points and unmet needs in the mobile phone industry. This research led to the development of a touchscreen smartphone with a user-friendly interface, addressing consumer demands for a more intuitive and versatile device. The result was a revolutionary product that disrupted the market and redefined the smartphone industry.

Example 2: McDonald’s global expansion

McDonald’s successful global expansion strategy demonstrates the importance of market research when expanding into new territories. Before entering a new market, McDonald’s conducts thorough research to understand local tastes, preferences and cultural nuances. This research informs menu customization, marketing strategies and store design. For instance, in India, McDonald’s offers a menu tailored to local preferences, including vegetarian options. This market-specific approach has enabled McDonald’s to adapt and thrive in diverse global markets.

Example 3: Organic and sustainable farming

The shift toward organic and sustainable farming practices in the food industry is driven by market research that indicates increased consumer demand for healthier and environmentally friendly food options. As a result, food producers and retailers invest in sustainable sourcing and organic product lines — such as with these sustainable seafood startups — to align with this shift in consumer values. 

The bottom line? Market research has multiple use cases and is a critical practice for any industry. Whether it’s launching groundbreaking products, entering new markets or responding to changing consumer preferences, you can use market research to shape successful strategies and outcomes.

Market research templates

You finally have a strong understanding of how to do market research and apply it in the real world. Before we wrap up, here are some market research templates that you can use as a starting point for your projects:

• Smartsheet competitive analysis templates : These spreadsheets can serve as a framework for gathering information about the competitive landscape and obtaining valuable lessons to apply to your business strategy.
• SurveyMonkey product survey template : Customize the questions on this survey based on what you want to learn from your target customers.
• HubSpot templates : HubSpot offers a wide range of free templates you can use for market research, business planning and more.
• SCORE templates : SCORE is a nonprofit organization that provides templates for business plans, market analysis and financial projections.
• SBA.gov : The U.S. Small Business Administration offers templates for every aspect of your business, including market research, and is particularly valuable for new startups. 

Strengthen your business with market research

When conducted effectively, market research is like a guiding star. Equipped with the right tools and techniques, you can uncover valuable insights, stay competitive, foster innovation and navigate the complexities of your industry.

Throughout this guide, we’ve discussed the definition of market research, different research methods, and how to conduct it effectively. We’ve also explored various types of market research and shared practical insights and templates for getting started. 

Now, it’s time to start the research process. Trust in data, listen to the market and make informed decisions that guide your company toward lasting success.

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Market research is a cornerstone of all successful, strategic businesses. It can also be daunting for entrepreneurs looking to launch a startup or start a side hustle . What is market research, anyway? And how do you…do it?

We’ll walk you through absolutely everything you need to know about the market research process so that by the end of this guide, you’ll be an expert in market research too. And what’s more important: you’ll have actionable steps you can take to start collecting your own market research.

What Is Market Research?

Market research is the organized process of gathering information about your target customers and market. Market research can help you better understand customer behavior and competitor strengths and weaknesses, as well as provide insight for the best strategies in launching new businesses and products. There are different ways to approach market research, including primary and secondary research and qualitative and quantitative research. The strongest approaches will include a combination of all four.

“Virtually every business can benefit from conducting some market research,” says Niles Koenigsberg of Real FiG Advertising + Marketing . “Market research can help you piece together your [business’s] strengths and weaknesses, along with your prospective opportunities, so that you can understand where your unique differentiators may lie.” Well-honed market research will help your brand stand out from the competition and help you see what you need to do to lead the market. It can also do so much more.

The Purposes of Market Research

Why do market research? It can help you…

• Pinpoint your target market, create buyer personas, and develop a more holistic understanding of your customer base and market.
• Understand current market conditions to evaluate risks and anticipate how your product or service will perform.
• Validate a concept prior to launch.
• Identify gaps in the market that your competitors have created or overlooked.
• Solve problems that have been left unresolved by the existing product/brand offerings.
• Identify opportunities and solutions for new products or services.
• Develop killer marketing strategies .

What Are the Benefits of Market Research?

Strong market research can help your business in many ways. It can…

• Strengthen your market position.
• Help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
• Help you identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.
• Minimize risk.
• Center your customers’ experience from the get-go.
• Help you create a dynamic strategy based on market conditions and customer needs/demands.

What Are the Basic Methods of Market Research?

The basic methods of market research include surveys, personal interviews, customer observation, and the review of secondary research. In addition to these basic methods, a forward-thinking market research approach incorporates data from the digital landscape like social media analysis, SEO research, gathering feedback via forums, and more. Throughout this guide, we will cover each of the methods commonly used in market research to give you a comprehensive overview.

Primary vs. Secondary Market Research

Primary and secondary are the two main types of market research you can do. The latter relies on research conducted by others. Primary research, on the other hand, refers to the fact-finding efforts you conduct on your own.

This approach is limited, however. It’s likely that the research objectives of these secondary data points differ from your own, and it can be difficult to confirm the veracity of their findings.

Primary Market Research

Primary research is more labor intensive, but it generally yields data that is exponentially more actionable. It can be conducted through interviews, surveys, online research, and your own data collection. Every new business should engage in primary market research prior to launch. It will help you validate that your idea has traction, and it will give you the information you need to help minimize financial risk.

You can hire an agency to conduct this research on your behalf. This brings the benefit of expertise, as you’ll likely work with a market research analyst. The downside is that hiring an agency can be expensive—too expensive for many burgeoning entrepreneurs. That brings us to the second approach. You can also do the market research yourself, which substantially reduces the financial burden of starting a new business .

Secondary Market Research

Secondary research includes resources like government databases and industry-specific data and publications. It can be beneficial to start your market research with secondary sources because it’s widely available and often free-to-access. This information will help you gain a broad overview of the market conditions for your new business.

Identify Your Goals and Your Audience

Before you begin conducting interviews or sending out surveys, you need to set your market research goals. At the end of your market research process, you want to have a clear idea of who your target market is—including demographic information like age, gender, and where they live—but you also want to start with a rough idea of who your audience might be and what you’re trying to achieve with market research.

You can pinpoint your objectives by asking yourself a series of guiding questions:

• What are you hoping to discover through your research?
• Who are you hoping to serve better because of your findings?
• What do you think your market is?
• Who are your competitors?
• Are you testing the reception of a new product category or do you want to see if your product or service solves the problem left by a current gap in the market?
• Are you just…testing the waters to get a sense of how people would react to a new brand?

Once you’ve narrowed down the “what” of your market research goals, you’re ready to move onto how you can best achieve them. Think of it like algebra. Many math problems start with “solve for x.” Once you know what you’re looking for, you can get to work trying to find it. It’s a heck of a lot easier to solve a problem when you know you’re looking for “x” than if you were to say “I’m gonna throw some numbers out there and see if I find a variable.”

How to Do Market Research

This guide outlines every component of a comprehensive market research effort. Take into consideration the goals you have established for your market research, as they will influence which of these elements you’ll want to include in your market research strategy.

Secondary Data

Secondary data allows you to utilize pre-existing data to garner a sense of market conditions and opportunities. You can rely on published market studies, white papers, and public competitive information to start your market research journey.

Secondary data, while useful, is limited and cannot substitute your own primary data. It’s best used for quantitative data that can provide background to your more specific inquiries.

Find Your Customers Online

Once you’ve identified your target market, you can use online gathering spaces and forums to gain insights and give yourself a competitive advantage. Rebecca McCusker of The Creative Content Shop recommends internet recon as a vital tool for gaining a sense of customer needs and sentiment. “Read their posts and comments on forums, YouTube video comments, Facebook group [comments], and even Amazon/Goodreads book comments to get in their heads and see what people are saying.”

If you’re interested in engaging with your target demographic online, there are some general rules you should follow. First, secure the consent of any group moderators to ensure that you are acting within the group guidelines. Failure to do so could result in your eviction from the group.

Not all comments have the same research value. “Focus on the comments and posts with the most comments and highest engagement,” says McCusker. These high-engagement posts can give you a sense of what is already connecting and gaining traction within the group.

Social media can also be a great avenue for finding interview subjects. “LinkedIn is very useful if your [target customer] has a very specific job or works in a very specific industry or sector. It’s amazing the amount of people that will be willing to help,” explains Miguel González, a marketing executive at Dealers League . “My advice here is BE BRAVE, go to LinkedIn, or even to people you know and ask them, do quick interviews and ask real people that belong to that market and segment and get your buyer persona information first hand.”

Market research interviews can provide direct feedback on your brand, product, or service and give you a better understanding of consumer pain points and interests.

When organizing your market research interviews, you want to pay special attention to the sample group you’re selecting, as it will directly impact the information you receive. According to Tanya Zhang, the co-founder of Nimble Made , you want to first determine whether you want to choose a representative sample—for example, interviewing people who match each of the buyer persona/customer profiles you’ve developed—or a random sample.

“A sampling of your usual persona styles, for example, can validate details that you’ve already established about your product, while a random sampling may [help you] discover a new way people may use your product,” Zhang says.

Market Surveys

Market surveys solicit customer inclinations regarding your potential product or service through a series of open-ended questions. This direct outreach to your target audience can provide information on your customers’ preferences, attitudes, buying potential, and more.

Every expert we asked voiced unanimous support for market surveys as a powerful tool for market research. With the advent of various survey tools with accessible pricing—or free use—it’s never been easier to assemble, disseminate, and gather market surveys. While it should also be noted that surveys shouldn’t replace customer interviews , they can be used to supplement customer interviews to give you feedback from a broader audience.

Who to Include in Market Surveys

• Current customers
• Past customers
• Your existing audience (such as social media/newsletter audiences)

Example Questions to Include in Market Surveys

While the exact questions will vary for each business, here are some common, helpful questions that you may want to consider for your market survey. Demographic Questions: the questions that help you understand, demographically, who your target customers are:

• “What is your age?”
• “Where do you live?”
• “What is your gender identity?”
• “What is your household income?”
• “What is your household size?”
• “What do you do for a living?”
• “What is your highest level of education?”

Product-Based Questions: Whether you’re seeking feedback for an existing brand or an entirely new one, these questions will help you get a sense of how people feel about your business, product, or service:

• “How well does/would our product/service meet your needs?”
• “How does our product/service compare to similar products/services that you use?”
• “How long have you been a customer?” or “What is the likelihood that you would be a customer of our brand?

Personal/Informative Questions: the deeper questions that help you understand how your audience thinks and what they care about.

• “What are your biggest challenges?”
• “What’s most important to you?”
• “What do you do for fun (hobbies, interests, activities)?”
• “Where do you seek new information when researching a new product?”
• “How do you like to make purchases?”
• “What is your preferred method for interacting with a brand?”

Survey Tools

Online survey tools make it easy to distribute surveys and collect responses. The best part is that there are many free tools available. If you’re making your own online survey, you may want to consider SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Google Forms, or Zoho Survey.

Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis is a breakdown of how your business stacks up against the competition. There are many different ways to conduct this analysis. One of the most popular methods is a SWOT analysis, which stands for “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.” This type of analysis is helpful because it gives you a more robust understanding of why a customer might choose a competitor over your business. Seeing how you stack up against the competition can give you the direction you need to carve out your place as a market leader.

Social Media Analysis

Social media has fundamentally changed the market research landscape, making it easier than ever to engage with a wide swath of consumers. Follow your current or potential competitors on social media to see what they’re posting and how their audience is engaging with it. Social media can also give you a lower cost opportunity for testing different messaging and brand positioning.

SEO Analysis and Opportunities

SEO analysis can help you identify the digital competition for getting the word out about your brand, product, or service. You won’t want to overlook this valuable information. Search listening tools offer a novel approach to understanding the market and generating the content strategy that will drive business. Tools like Google Trends and Awario can streamline this process.

Ready to Kick Your Business Into High Gear?

Now that you’ve completed the guide to market research you know you’re ready to put on your researcher hat to give your business the best start. Still not sure how actually… launch the thing? Our free mini-course can run you through the essentials for starting your side hustle .

About Mary Kate Miller

Mary Kate Miller writes about small business, real estate, and finance. In addition to writing for Foundr, her work has been published by The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Bustle, and more. She lives in Chicago.

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How to Do Lead Research: Solid Tips for SDRs and Marketers

Ojesvi Singh

Table of Contents

Your marketing efforts do their magic when you can pinpoint the promising leads. But, to reach the right prospects, you must master your lead research efforts. It may involve better ideal customer profiling, social intelligence, and more. 

Where 67% of B2B marketers already focus on quality lead gains, you can compete ahead by refining your research strategies. So, explore this guide on the best tips to improve your capabilities as a lead researcher. We'll also check out select best practices and possible challenges. 

6 Tips for a Thorough Lead Research Process

Your competitors might be trying hard to get the best lead data. But the tips given below for your research practices will help you get the upper hand. These are as follows:

1. Find Your Exact Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) 

When researching leads, identifying your ICP is a significant step. It serves as a strategic compass, ensuring your outreach resonates with the right audience. 

To craft a robust ICP, delve into its key components:

• Demographics: Understand the characteristics of your ideal customers. It includes age, gender, location, and other relevant personal details.
• Industry: Specify the industries that align with your product or service. 
• Company Size: Define the ideal size of the companies you want to target, whether small businesses, mid-sized enterprises, or large corporations.
• Geographic Location: Pinpoint the geographic areas where your ideal customers reside. 
• Challenges: Identify your ideal customers' major and minor difficulties and pain points.  
• Buying Behavior: Analyze the typical buying behavior of your ideal customers. It involves understanding their decision-making process and preferences.
• Budget Considerations: Determine the lead's budget range. Check if it aligns with your product or service. 
• Tech Stack: Explore the technologies and tools your ideal customers use. Check for integration possibilities and compatibility.
• Decision-Making Authority: Define the roles and positions within the target organization that hold decision-making authority.  
• Cultural Fit: Consider the cultural values and preferences that resonate with your ideal customers. 

An accurate ICP plays a pivotal role in finding high-value leads faster. Plus, you can allocate resources wisely once you know whom to target. To ensure the best outcome of your research efforts: 

• Employ reliable sales lead research platforms that help you build a lead list . 
• Cross-reference collected data with your existing client base to eliminate overlaps. 
• Maximize potential by A/B testing ideal client profiles.

2. Conduct Preliminary Research

The next tip is to run thorough and strategic lead research across various databases and resources. Here are a few great ways to do it:

Pick Prominent Sources for Research

Select reliable and authoritative sources for gathering lead information. Prominent sources may include:

• Well-established websites
• Academic journals
• Reputable publications
• Government databases

Explore Advanced Search Techniques

Go beyond basic search engine queries and use more effective search techniques. It involves using specific search operators or modifiers to refine your results. 

For example: 

• "Artificial intelligence in healthcare"
• "Best practices for project management"
• Renewable energy -solar
• Web development -JavaScript
• site:nytimes.com "latest technology trends"
• site:stackoverflow.com "Python programming tips"

These techniques help retrieve more targeted and relevant information. Besides it, you can also try: 

• Deep Web Search: It lets you access information not indexed by traditional search engines. 
• Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT): They allow you to search for more complex and precise search queries. 
• Niche Platforms: These refer to specialized websites or databases tailored to specific industries or topics. 

Check Out Lesser-Known Search Databases

Access sources that may not be commonly used but can provide valuable insights. These could include:

• Industry-specific databases
• Research repositories
• Platforms that cater to niche areas

Collect the information in a unified sales lead database for easy access. 

Identify Where to Find Decision-Makers

You must understand where and how to find information about executives, managers, or prospects with decision-making authority. It includes exploring: 

• Company websites
• Professional networking platforms
• Industry directories

3. Harness Social Media Intelligence Insights

Social media platforms are valuable sources for filling up your lead generation database.

89% of marketers are already on platforms like LinkedIn to find and generate leads.

So, you only need to recognize and tap into the vast data on social media platforms. Here, you can find details about individuals, companies, and industries. You can also get insights into people's interests, activities, connections, and professional backgrounds. 

NOTE: For B2B lead research, LinkedIn and Twitter are the best sites. 

However, beyond basic social media browsing, you should use advanced techniques. These include:

• Using social media analytics tools like Hootsuite Analytics , Google Analytics , etc. 
• Monitoring relevant hashtags or keywords
• Employing advanced search functionalities on social platforms
• Leveraging social listening tools to track decision-makers discussing issues, topics, and solutions your business relates to.
• Participating in discussions, joining groups, or leveraging paid advertising features. 

Remember : When you gather information about prospects through third-party or built-in social media analytics, address ethical considerations and respect privacy. Avoid intrusive methods to collect data, and be transparent about data usage. 

4. Perform Competitive Analysis for Lead Insights

56% of executives actively monitor potential competitors and strategize to expand into new markets. So, why should you be left behind? 

Study and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors in the market. It's a goldmine for lead research because competitors often target similar audiences. Thus, you must analyze your competing businesses:

• Customer interactions
• Market positioning

It gives insights into potential leads, market trends, and customer preferences. Here's how you can do competitor analysis: 

• Examine your competitors' existing customer base to identify potential leads and understand their characteristics. 
• Analyze customer reviews.
• Monitor social media interactions.
• Study public testimonials

You can tailor your approach to attract similar leads by identifying who is engaging with your competitors. Additionally, you can modify your targeting and messaging strategies.

5. Implement Collaborative Research Efforts

Your sales and marketing teams should collaborate well for a unified and practical approach to lead research. These two departments must align their goals, share insights, and create a cohesive strategy. 

Discuss ways both teams can share data, tools, or expertise resources. Strategies may include:

• Establishing a centralized database
• Conducting regular team meetings to share findings
• Utilizing collaborative tools that facilitate information exchange

By pooling resources and sharing research findings, teams can ensure everyone accesses valuable insights. Here's how you can make your collaborative lead research more effective:

• Set clear communication channels between sales and marketing
• Establish a shared understanding of the target audience
• Create a feedback loop to improve research strategies continuously

6. Leverage Connection-building Psychology

B2B prospects mainly focus on tangible and rational considerations. But they also exhibit universal human characteristics. These include experiencing:

• Frustrations

Thus, they prioritize consistent quality, safety, reliability, and excellent customer service while buying. It shows the impact of emotion-driven decision-making in business.

So, while building a prospecting list , focus on the sentiments of decision-makers and organizations that your solution can satisfy. Besides emotions, also recognizing their: 

• Distinctive viewpoints
• Mutual interests
• Shared experiences 

It will help you search for leads likely to be loyal due to shared values.

Best Practices for Error-Free Lead Research

While finding leads, your lead database's quality, completeness, and correctness are essential. Here's how you can make it happen:

1. Fill in Missing Lead Data

Actively seek additional information about your leads to fill in gaps in your created database. Conduct interviews or surveys with your target audience to get exclusive insights that may not be readily available through other means. 

2. Replace the Old Database with Up-to-Date Information

Over time, contact information and other details about your leads can change. It's essential to update your database with the most current information available by using various methods like data enrichment and email scrubbing . It may include recent contact numbers, email addresses, job titles, and other relevant details.

This way, you can verify lead data, removing errors while reaching out. 

Here are some ways to do it:

• Cross-reference available information with multiple sources
• Use data validation tools like Webbula , Astera , etc.
• Reach out directly to leads for confirmation.

Common Challenges and Solutions

Here are the top challenges while searching for the right business leads . You can also find their provided solutions:  

1. Lengthy Manual Entry and Routine Tasks

Challenge: Conducting thorough lead research involves sifting through large volumes of data. When your team does it manually, it can be time-consuming and prone to errors. 

Solution: Incorporate automation tools and technologies like:

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems ( HubSpot , Salesforce , etc)
• Data enrichment tools ( Clearbit ,  Enricher.io , etc.)
• Lead generation platforms ( Zendesk Sell, Revnew , etc.)

These tools can automate data entry, update information in real-time, and handle routine tasks.

2. Unclear ROI Feasibility for ICP

Challenge: You need to invest significant resources in researching and pursuing leads. However, it's challenging to tell whether the leads align with your expected return on investment (ROI). 

Solution: Regularly reassess and refine the ICP based on performance metrics. It ensures your resources reach leads with the highest ROI feasibility.

3. Scenarios Where No Leads Match Your ICP

Challenge- In some cases, no leads may precisely match your selected ICP. It causes a considerable loss of money and time. 

Solution: Have contingency plans in place. It could involve:

• Broadening the criteria of your ICP to capture a wider audience.
• Exploring adjacent markets that may share similarities with the target audience.
• Investing in market research to identify emerging trends and potential new segments that align with their offerings. 

Advanced B2B lead research hinges on a data-driven, collaborative, and industry-specific methodology. You must emphasize these principles for a successful lead generation campaign. 

Integrate these strategies into your existing practices for a holistic and practical approach that maximizes superior lead research results.

Make the process easier with expert-recommended specialized strategies at Revnew. We have proven expertise to help you reach high-value B2B leads. Contact us today to know more. 

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How to do market research in 4 steps: a lean approach to marketing research

From pinpointing your target audience and assessing your competitive advantage, to ongoing product development and customer satisfaction efforts, market research is a practice your business can only benefit from.

Learn how to conduct quick and effective market research using a lean approach in this article full of strategies and practical examples. 

Last updated

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A comprehensive (and successful) business strategy is not complete without some form of market research—you can’t make informed and profitable business decisions without truly understanding your customer base and the current market trends that drive your business.

In this article, you’ll learn how to conduct quick, effective market research  using an approach called 'lean market research'. It’s easier than you might think, and it can be done at any stage in a product’s lifecycle.

How to conduct lean market research in 4 steps

What is market research, why is market research so valuable, advantages of lean market research, 4 common market research methods, 5 common market research questions, market research faqs.

We’ll jump right into our 4-step approach to lean market research. To show you how it’s done in the real world, each step includes a practical example from Smallpdf , a Swiss company that used lean market research to reduce their tool’s error rate by 75% and boost their Net Promoter Score® (NPS) by 1%.

Research your market the lean way...

From on-page surveys to user interviews, Hotjar has the tools to help you scope out your market and get to know your customers—without breaking the bank.

The following four steps and practical examples will give you a solid market research plan for understanding who your users are and what they want from a company like yours.

1. Create simple user personas

A user persona is a semi-fictional character based on psychographic and demographic data from people who use websites and products similar to your own. Start by defining broad user categories, then elaborate on them later to further segment your customer base and determine your ideal customer profile .

How to get the data: use on-page or emailed surveys and interviews to understand your users and what drives them to your business.

How to do it right: whatever survey or interview questions you ask, they should answer the following questions about the customer:

Who are they?

What is their main goal?

What is their main barrier to achieving this goal?

Pitfalls to avoid:

Don’t ask too many questions! Keep it to five or less, otherwise you’ll inundate them and they’ll stop answering thoughtfully.

Don’t worry too much about typical demographic questions like age or background. Instead, focus on the role these people play (as it relates to your product) and their goals.

How Smallpdf did it: Smallpdf ran an on-page survey for a couple of weeks and received 1,000 replies. They learned that many of their users were administrative assistants, students, and teachers.

Next, they used the survey results to create simple user personas like this one for admins:

Who are they? Administrative Assistants.

What is their main goal? Creating Word documents from a scanned, hard-copy document or a PDF where the source file was lost.

What is their main barrier to achieving it? Converting a scanned PDF doc to a Word file.

💡Pro tip: Smallpdf used Hotjar Surveys to run their user persona survey. Our survey tool helped them avoid the pitfalls of guesswork and find out who their users really are, in their own words. 

You can design a survey and start running it in minutes with our easy-to-use drag and drop builder. Customize your survey to fit your needs, from a sleek one-question pop-up survey to a fully branded questionnaire sent via email. 

We've also created 40+ free survey templates that you can start collecting data with, including a user persona survey like the one Smallpdf used.

2. Conduct observational research

Observational research involves taking notes while watching someone use your product (or a similar product).

Overt vs. covert observation

Overt observation involves asking customers if they’ll let you watch them use your product. This method is often used for user testing and it provides a great opportunity for collecting live product or customer feedback .

Covert observation means studying users ‘in the wild’ without them knowing. This method works well if you sell a type of product that people use regularly, and it offers the purest observational data because people often behave differently when they know they’re being watched. 

Tips to do it right:

Record an entry in your field notes, along with a timestamp, each time an action or event occurs.

Make note of the users' workflow, capturing the ‘what,’ ‘why,’ and ‘for whom’ of each action.

Don’t record identifiable video or audio data without consent. If recording people using your product is helpful for achieving your research goal, make sure all participants are informed and agree to the terms.

Don’t forget to explain why you’d like to observe them (for overt observation). People are more likely to cooperate if you tell them you want to improve the product.

💡Pro tip: while conducting field research out in the wild can wield rewarding results, you can also conduct observational research remotely. Hotjar Recordings is a tool that lets you capture anonymized user sessions of real people interacting with your website. 

Observe how customers navigate your pages and products to gain an inside look into their user behavior . This method is great for conducting exploratory research with the purpose of identifying more specific issues to investigate further, like pain points along the customer journey and opportunities for optimizing conversion .

With Hotjar Recordings you can observe real people using your site without capturing their sensitive information

How Smallpdf did it: here’s how Smallpdf observed two different user personas both covertly and overtly.

Observing students (covert): Kristina Wagner, Principle Product Manager at Smallpdf, went to cafes and libraries at two local universities and waited until she saw students doing PDF-related activities. Then she watched and took notes from a distance. One thing that struck her was the difference between how students self-reported their activities vs. how they behaved (i.e, the self-reporting bias). Students, she found, spent hours talking, listening to music, or simply staring at a blank screen rather than working. When she did find students who were working, she recorded the task they were performing and the software they were using (if she recognized it).

Observing administrative assistants (overt): Kristina sent emails to admins explaining that she’d like to observe them at work, and she asked those who agreed to try to batch their PDF work for her observation day. While watching admins work, she learned that they frequently needed to scan documents into PDF-format and then convert those PDFs into Word docs. By observing the challenges admins faced, Smallpdf knew which products to target for improvement.

“Data is really good for discovery and validation, but there is a bit in the middle where you have to go and find the human.”

3. Conduct individual interviews

Interviews are one-on-one conversations with members of your target market. They allow you to dig deep and explore their concerns, which can lead to all sorts of revelations.

Listen more, talk less. Be curious.

Act like a journalist, not a salesperson. Rather than trying to talk your company up, ask people about their lives, their needs, their frustrations, and how a product like yours could help.

Ask "why?" so you can dig deeper. Get into the specifics and learn about their past behavior.

Record the conversation. Focus on the conversation and avoid relying solely on notes by recording the interview. There are plenty of services that will transcribe recorded conversations for a good price (including Hotjar!).

Avoid asking leading questions , which reveal bias on your part and pushes respondents to answer in a certain direction (e.g. “Have you taken advantage of the amazing new features we just released?).

Don't ask loaded questions , which sneak in an assumption which, if untrue, would make it impossible to answer honestly. For example, we can’t ask you, “What did you find most useful about this article?” without asking whether you found the article useful in the first place.

Be cautious when asking opinions about the future (or predictions of future behavior). Studies suggest that people aren’t very good at predicting their future behavior. This is due to several cognitive biases, from the misguided exceptionalism bias (we’re good at guessing what others will do, but we somehow think we’re different), to the optimism bias (which makes us see things with rose-colored glasses), to the ‘illusion of control’ (which makes us forget the role of randomness in future events).

How Smallpdf did it: Kristina explored her teacher user persona by speaking with university professors at a local graduate school. She learned that the school was mostly paperless and rarely used PDFs, so for the sake of time, she moved on to the admins.

A bit of a letdown? Sure. But this story highlights an important lesson: sometimes you follow a lead and come up short, so you have to make adjustments on the fly. Lean market research is about getting solid, actionable insights quickly so you can tweak things and see what works.

💡Pro tip: to save even more time, conduct remote interviews using an online user research service like Hotjar Engage , which automates the entire interview process, from recruitment and scheduling to hosting and recording.

You can interview your own customers or connect with people from our diverse pool of 200,000+ participants from 130+ countries and 25 industries. And no need to fret about taking meticulous notes—Engage will automatically transcribe the interview for you.

4. Analyze the data (without drowning in it)

The following techniques will help you wrap your head around the market data you collect without losing yourself in it. Remember, the point of lean market research is to find quick, actionable insights.

A flow model is a diagram that tracks the flow of information within a system. By creating a simple visual representation of how users interact with your product and each other, you can better assess their needs.

You’ll notice that admins are at the center of Smallpdf’s flow model, which represents the flow of PDF-related documents throughout a school. This flow model shows the challenges that admins face as they work to satisfy their own internal and external customers.

Affinity diagram

An affinity diagram is a way of sorting large amounts of data into groups to better understand the big picture. For example, if you ask your users about their profession, you’ll notice some general themes start to form, even though the individual responses differ. Depending on your needs, you could group them by profession, or more generally by industry.

We wrote a guide about how to analyze open-ended questions to help you sort through and categorize large volumes of response data. You can also do this by hand by clipping up survey responses or interview notes and grouping them (which is what Kristina does).

“For an interview, you will have somewhere between 30 and 60 notes, and those notes are usually direct phrases. And when you literally cut them up into separate pieces of paper and group them, they should make sense by themselves.”

Pro tip: if you’re conducting an online survey with Hotjar, keep your team in the loop by sharing survey responses automatically via our Slack and Microsoft Team integrations. Reading answers as they come in lets you digest the data in pieces and can help prepare you for identifying common themes when it comes time for analysis.

Hotjar lets you easily share survey responses with your team

Customer journey map

A customer journey map is a diagram that shows the way a typical prospect becomes a paying customer. It outlines their first interaction with your brand and every step in the sales cycle, from awareness to repurchase (and hopefully advocacy).

The above  customer journey map , created by our team at Hotjar, shows many ways a customer might engage with our tool. Your map will be based on your own data and business model.

📚 Read more: if you’re new to customer journey maps, we wrote this step-by-step guide to creating your first customer journey map in 2 and 1/2 days with free templates you can download and start using immediately.

Next steps: from research to results

So, how do you turn market research insights into tangible business results? Let’s look at the actions Smallpdf took after conducting their lean market research: first they implemented changes, then measured the impact.

Implement changes

Based on what Smallpdf learned about the challenges that one key user segment (admins) face when trying to convert PDFs into Word files, they improved their ‘PDF to Word’ conversion tool.

We won’t go into the details here because it involves a lot of technical jargon, but they made the entire process simpler and more straightforward for users. Plus, they made it so that their system recognized when you drop a PDF file into their ‘Word to PDF’ converter instead of the ‘PDF to Word’ converter, so users wouldn’t have to redo the task when they made that mistake. 

In other words: simple market segmentation for admins showed a business need that had to be accounted for, and customers are happier overall after Smallpdf implemented an informed change to their product.

Measure results

According to the Lean UX model, product and UX changes aren’t retained unless they achieve results.

Smallpdf’s changes produced:

A 75% reduction in error rate for the ‘PDF to Word’ converter

A 1% increase in NPS

Greater confidence in the team’s marketing efforts

"With all the changes said and done, we've cut our original error rate in four, which is huge. We increased our NPS by +1%, which isn't huge, but it means that of the users who received a file, they were still slightly happier than before, even if they didn't notice that anything special happened at all.”

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Market research (or marketing research) is any set of techniques used to gather information and better understand a company’s target market. This might include primary research on brand awareness and customer satisfaction or secondary market research on market size and competitive analysis. Businesses use this information to design better products, improve user experience, and craft a marketing strategy that attracts quality leads and improves conversion rates.

David Darmanin, one of Hotjar’s founders, launched two startups before Hotjar took off—but both companies crashed and burned. Each time, he and his team spent months trying to design an amazing new product and user experience, but they failed because they didn’t have a clear understanding of what the market demanded.

With Hotjar, they did things differently . Long story short, they conducted market research in the early stages to figure out what consumers really wanted, and the team made (and continues to make) constant improvements based on market and user research.

Without market research, it’s impossible to understand your users. Sure, you might have a general idea of who they are and what they need, but you have to dig deep if you want to win their loyalty.

Here’s why research matters:

Obsessing over your users is the only way to win. If you don’t care deeply about them, you’ll lose potential customers to someone who does.

Analytics gives you the ‘what’, while research gives you the ‘why’. Big data, user analytics , and dashboards can tell you what people do at scale, but only research can tell you what they’re thinking and why they do what they do. For example, analytics can tell you that customers leave when they reach your pricing page, but only research can explain why.

Research beats assumptions, trends, and so-called best practices. Have you ever watched your colleagues rally behind a terrible decision? Bad ideas are often the result of guesswork, emotional reasoning, death by best practices , and defaulting to the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion (HiPPO). By listening to your users and focusing on their customer experience , you’re less likely to get pulled in the wrong direction.

Research keeps you from planning in a vacuum. Your team might be amazing, but you and your colleagues simply can’t experience your product the way your customers do. Customers might use your product in a way that surprises you, and product features that seem obvious to you might confuse them. Over-planning and refusing to test your assumptions is a waste of time, money, and effort because you’ll likely need to make changes once your untested business plan gets put into practice.

Lean User Experience (UX) design is a model for continuous improvement that relies on quick, efficient research to understand customer needs and test new product features.

Lean market research can help you become more...

Efficient: it gets you closer to your customers, faster.

Cost-effective: no need to hire an expensive marketing firm to get things started.

Competitive: quick, powerful insights can place your products on the cutting edge.

As a small business or sole proprietor, conducting lean market research is an attractive option when investing in a full-blown research project might seem out of scope or budget.

There are lots of different ways you could conduct market research and collect customer data, but you don’t have to limit yourself to just one research method. Four common types of market research techniques include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and customer observation.

Which method you use may vary based on your business type: ecommerce business owners have different goals from SaaS businesses, so it’s typically prudent to mix and match these methods based on your particular goals and what you need to know.

1. Surveys: the most commonly used

Surveys are a form of qualitative research that ask respondents a short series of open- or closed-ended questions, which can be delivered as an on-screen questionnaire or via email. When we asked 2,000 Customer Experience (CX) professionals about their company’s approach to research , surveys proved to be the most commonly used market research technique.

What makes online surveys so popular?  

They’re easy and inexpensive to conduct, and you can do a lot of data collection quickly. Plus, the data is pretty straightforward to analyze, even when you have to analyze open-ended questions whose answers might initially appear difficult to categorize.

We've built a number of survey templates ready and waiting for you. Grab a template and share with your customers in just a few clicks.

💡 Pro tip: you can also get started with Hotjar AI for Surveys to create a survey in mere seconds . Just enter your market research goal and watch as the AI generates a survey and populates it with relevant questions. 

Once you’re ready for data analysis, the AI will prepare an automated research report that succinctly summarizes key findings, quotes, and suggested next steps.

An example research report generated by Hotjar AI for Surveys

2. Interviews: the most insightful

Interviews are one-on-one conversations with members of your target market. Nothing beats a face-to-face interview for diving deep (and reading non-verbal cues), but if an in-person meeting isn’t possible, video conferencing is a solid second choice.

Regardless of how you conduct it, any type of in-depth interview will produce big benefits in understanding your target customers.

What makes interviews so insightful?

By speaking directly with an ideal customer, you’ll gain greater empathy for their experience , and you can follow insightful threads that can produce plenty of 'Aha!' moments.

3. Focus groups: the most unreliable

Focus groups bring together a carefully selected group of people who fit a company’s target market. A trained moderator leads a conversation surrounding the product, user experience, or marketing message to gain deeper insights.

What makes focus groups so unreliable?

If you’re new to market research, we wouldn’t recommend starting with focus groups. Doing it right is expensive , and if you cut corners, your research could fall victim to all kinds of errors. Dominance bias (when a forceful participant influences the group) and moderator style bias (when different moderator personalities bring about different results in the same study) are two of the many ways your focus group data could get skewed.

4. Observation: the most powerful

During a customer observation session, someone from the company takes notes while they watch an ideal user engage with their product (or a similar product from a competitor).

What makes observation so clever and powerful?

‘Fly-on-the-wall’ observation is a great alternative to focus groups. It’s not only less expensive, but you’ll see people interact with your product in a natural setting without influencing each other. The only downside is that you can’t get inside their heads, so observation still isn't a recommended replacement for customer surveys and interviews.

The following questions will help you get to know your users on a deeper level when you interview them. They’re general questions, of course, so don’t be afraid to make them your own.

1. Who are you and what do you do?

How you ask this question, and what you want to know, will vary depending on your business model (e.g. business-to-business marketing is usually more focused on someone’s profession than business-to-consumer marketing).

It’s a great question to start with, and it’ll help you understand what’s relevant about your user demographics (age, race, gender, profession, education, etc.), but it’s not the be-all-end-all of market research. The more specific questions come later.

2. What does your day look like?

This question helps you understand your users’ day-to-day life and the challenges they face. It will help you gain empathy for them, and you may stumble across something relevant to their buying habits.

3. Do you ever purchase [product/service type]?

This is a ‘yes or no’ question. A ‘yes’ will lead you to the next question.

4. What problem were you trying to solve or what goal were you trying to achieve?

This question strikes to the core of what someone’s trying to accomplish and why they might be willing to pay for your solution.

5. Take me back to the day when you first decided you needed to solve this kind of problem or achieve this goal.

This is the golden question, and it comes from Adele Revella, Founder and CEO of Buyer Persona Institute . It helps you get in the heads of your users and figure out what they were thinking the day they decided to spend money to solve a problem.

If you take your time with this question, digging deeper where it makes sense, you should be able to answer all the relevant information you need to understand their perspective.

“The only scripted question I want you to ask them is this one: take me back to the day when you first decided that you needed to solve this kind of problem or achieve this kind of a goal. Not to buy my product, that’s not the day. We want to go back to the day that when you thought it was urgent and compelling to go spend money to solve a particular problem or achieve a goal. Just tell me what happened.”

— Adele Revella , Founder/CEO at Buyer Persona Institute

Bonus question: is there anything else you’d like to tell me?

This question isn’t just a nice way to wrap it up—it might just give participants the opportunity they need to tell you something you really need to know.

That’s why Sarah Doody, author of UX Notebook , adds it to the end of her written surveys.

“I always have a last question, which is just open-ended: “Is there anything else you would like to tell me?” And sometimes, that’s where you get four paragraphs of amazing content that you would never have gotten if it was just a Net Promoter Score [survey] or something like that.”

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research?

Qualitative research asks questions that can’t be reduced to a number, such as, “What is your job title?” or “What did you like most about your customer service experience?” 

Quantitative research asks questions that can be answered with a numeric value, such as, “What is your annual salary?” or “How was your customer service experience on a scale of 1-5?”

 → Read more about the differences between qualitative and quantitative user research .

How do I do my own market research?

You can do your own quick and effective market research by 

Surveying your customers

Building user personas

Studying your users through interviews and observation

Wrapping your head around your data with tools like flow models, affinity diagrams, and customer journey maps

What is the difference between market research and user research?

Market research takes a broad look at potential customers—what problems they’re trying to solve, their buying experience, and overall demand. User research, on the other hand, is more narrowly focused on the use (and usability ) of specific products.

What are the main criticisms of market research?

Many marketing professionals are critical of market research because it can be expensive and time-consuming. It’s often easier to convince your CEO or CMO to let you do lean market research rather than something more extensive because you can do it yourself. It also gives you quick answers so you can stay ahead of the competition.

Do I need a market research firm to get reliable data?

Absolutely not! In fact, we recommend that you start small and do it yourself in the beginning. By following a lean market research strategy, you can uncover some solid insights about your clients. Then you can make changes, test them out, and see whether the results are positive. This is an excellent strategy for making quick changes and remaining competitive.

Net Promoter, Net Promoter System, Net Promoter Score, NPS, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld, and Satmetrix Systems, Inc.

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Home Market Research

Marketing research: Definition, steps, uses & advantages

What is marketing research?

Marketing research is defined as any technique or a set of practices that companies use to collect information to understand their target market better. Organizations use this data to improve their products, enhance their UX, and offer a better product to their customers. Marketing research is used to determine what the customers want, and how they react to products or features of a product.

Gather research insights

Four standard marketing research methods

The four most common marketing research methods are surveys, interviews, customer observations, and focus groups. You can research various ways without limiting yourself to just one way. Let’s dive deeper into each of these marketing research techniques.

Researchers collect responses by deploying surveys and managing data via online questionnaires or on-screen surveys at the POS. These surveys contain closed-ended and open-ended questions. They are popular and are the most widely used research techniques.

Why are online surveys popular?

Surveys are inexpensive, simple to set-up, deploy, and gather responses. It gets easy to collect multiple answers from a tailored audience group using surveys. Researchers rely on quantitative data, and online surveys provide quick responses compared to the more traditional offline methods. You can collect large amounts of data within minutes from anywhere in the world.

2. Interviews

Face-to-face or personal interviews are a more traditional way of doing marketing research. It is a slow and more expensive way of collecting responses. Researchers doing large scale marketing research do not prefer this method to collect a large number of responses. Interviews are conducted both in-person and on the telephone (CATI). 

Why are interviews important?

Personal interviews may not be widely used but play a significant role in understanding precisely what the respondent feels. You can record more than just verbal responses and understand the customer better. Often, when two humans interact with each other, more information is shared because of the dialogue. Personal interviews are useful in small-scale studies, where the researcher wants to interview a specific group of local respondents. CATI’s are helpful when the respondent base is more expansive.

3. Focus groups

Focus groups or online focus groups involve several respondents who participate in discussions about a particular topic. A researcher conducts focus groups to obtain richer information. The main reason for a focus group is to hold a dialogue between various people on a particular topic of interest. Unlike interviews, focus group members are allowed to interact with each other and influence one another.

Why are focus groups impactful?

It is no secret that focus groups are hugely impactful in decision making. Researchers gain a lot of information by organizing focus groups. Often, focus groups bring up issues not foreseen by researchers. Online or video focus groups have a broad reach, and many organizations have now started creating and nurturing research communities for better respondent handling and data gathering. Direct interaction of business groups and customers positively impacts users because they feel that their voices are heard.

4. Observation

Observation, though not popular and widely used, gives intuitive feedback. Research companies organize customer observation sessions to gather information on how they engage with the product or service (or a similar competitor product or service). Feedback from people’s behavioral attitudes is a powerful tool for researchers looking to improve their products and services.

What makes observation so powerful?

Observational market research is an excellent alternative to focus groups. It’s not only an inexpensive research tool, but you will also witness people interacting with and using your product in a natural environment. The downside is that you will have to make inferences about their feelings and reactions.

LEARN ABOUT: market research trends

How to conduct marketing research

Follow these four marketing research steps to help you understand what your users think and feel about your product, service, or business.

LEARN ABOUT: Behavioral Research

1. Create simple user personas

A user persona is nothing more than a fictional character that represents a user or a customer. Understanding user personas will help you gauge how different persons react to other products and services to understand their needs. To create a persona, your questions must answer these types questions about the user or customer:

• Who are they?
• What’s their primary goal?
• What stops them from achieving that goal?

2. Conduct observational research

Use both overt and covert observation methods to observe and take notes while users use your products or a similar one.

Overt vs. covert observation

• Overt observation asks users if they will allow you to watch them use your product. 
• Covert observation studies users in a natural environment without them knowing. This type of observation generally works only if you sell a product that consumers buy and use regularly. It brings in the purest observational research data as people act naturally while using the products. 

3. Conduct personal interviews

One-on-one conversations with your target population allow you to explore and dig deep into their concerns, revealing answers to many questions. Here are a few tips for conducting personal interviews.

• Be a journalist and not a salesperson. Ask users about their frustrations, needs, and areas where they think they need an improvement in the product. 
• Pose the ‘why’ question to dig deeper. Dive into the details to know more about their past behavior.
• Recording the conversation helps you focus on it rather than take notes simultaneously.

4. Analyze the data

The idea of conducting lean marketing research is to receive quick, actionable insight data. Analyze the information you have collected using various techniques to draw patterns into what customers like and dislike, what they want, and what they do not need. Create a simple visual representation of how people will interact with each other and the product to assess their needs in a better way.

LEARN ABOUT: Marketing Insight

Why is research so valuable?

Without research, it is impossible to gauge and understand your customers. Of course, you will have an idea of what they need and who they are and, but you must dive deeper to win their loyalty. Here is why marketing research matters:

• Attract potential customers: The primary aim of marketing research is to find ways to attract potential customers. It also helps to keep current happy and coming back for more. Understanding your customers entirely is the only way to progress. You’ll lose potential customers if you stop caring about improving your user experience.
• Answer the why’s: Marketing research gives you the answer to the ‘why.’ Make use of user analytics, big data, and reporting dashboards in marketing research to tell you what your users are thinking and why they think and act that way. For example, only marketing research can explain why customers leave you.
• Data-backed decisions: Research beats trends, assumptions, and so-called best business practices. Bad decisions are often taken due to emotional reasoning and guesswork. Focusing on customer experience by listening to your customers directs you in the right direction.
• Better planning: Research keeps you from making absurd decisions by planning in a vacuum. You might not fully gauge what your customers experience and feel while using your product. Customers may use products in a way that surprises you, and they may get confused by features that seem obvious to you. Conducting too much planning but not testing your assumptions will waste your money, time, efforts, and resources. Research helps you save up on all these factors.

LEARN ABOUT: 12 Best Tools for Researchers

Advantages of MKT research

Marketing research and user experience (UX) design help you continuously improve your product by acting on your feedback. Here are the advantages of conducting marketing research:

• Improved efficiency: Efficiency draws you closer to your users. You can improve the efficiency of delivering the product to the market and also increase its usability.
• Cost-effective: Marketing research helps you make the right decisions based on consumer demand, thus saving you costs in creating something that customers do not like or want.

LEARN ABOUT:  Test Market Demand

• Competitive edge: Quicker, more robust insights can help you place your services and products strategically, gaining a competitive advantage over others.
• Build strategies: You can quickly build, alter, or design new approaches to attract your users and consumers.
• Improved communication: Bridge the communication gap by interacting with consumers and hearing them out. This helps consumers feel wanted and special.
• LEARN ABOUT: Market research vs marketing research

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9 Key stages in your marketing research process

You can conduct your own marketing research. Follow these steps, add your own flair, knowledge and creativity, and you’ll have bespoke research to be proud of.

Marketing research is the term used to cover the concept, development, placement and evolution of your product or service, its growing customer base and its branding – starting with brand awareness , and progressing to (everyone hopes) brand equity . Like any research, it needs a robust process to be credible and useful.

Marketing research uses four essential key factors known as the ‘marketing mix’ , or the Four Ps of Marketing :

• Product (goods or service)
• Price ( how much the customer pays )
• Place (where the product is marketed)
• Promotion (such as advertising and PR)

These four factors need to work in harmony for a product or service to be successful in its marketplace.

The marketing research process – an overview

A typical marketing research process is as follows:

• Identify an issue, discuss alternatives and set out research objectives
• Develop a research program
• Choose a sample
• Gather information
• Gather data
• Organize and analyze information and data
• Present findings
• Make research-based decisions
• Take action based on insights

Step 1: Defining the marketing research problem

Defining a problem is the first step in the research process. In many ways, research starts with a problem facing management. This problem needs to be understood, the cause diagnosed, and solutions developed.

However, most management problems are not always easy to research, so they must first be translated into research problems. Once you approach the problem from a research angle, you can find a solution. For example, “sales are not growing” is a management problem, but translated into a research problem, it becomes “ why are sales not growing?” We can look at the expectations and experiences of several groups : potential customers, first-time buyers, and repeat purchasers. We can question whether the lack of sales is due to:

• Poor expectations that lead to a general lack of desire to buy, or
• Poor performance experience and a lack of desire to repurchase.

This, then, is the difference between a management problem and a research problem. Solving management problems focuses on actions: Do we advertise more? Do we change our advertising message? Do we change an under-performing product configuration? And if so, how?

Defining research problems, on the other hand, focus on the whys and hows, providing the insights you need to solve your management problem.

Step 2: Developing a research program: method of inquiry

The scientific method is the standard for investigation. It provides an opportunity for you to use existing knowledge as a starting point, and proceed impartially.

The scientific method includes the following steps:

• Define a problem
• Develop a hypothesis
• Make predictions based on the hypothesis
• Devise a test of the hypothesis
• Conduct the test
• Analyze the results

This terminology is similar to the stages in the research process. However, there are subtle differences in the way the steps are performed:

• the scientific research method is objective and fact-based, using quantitative research and impartial analysis
• the marketing research process can be subjective, using opinion and qualitative research, as well as personal judgment as you collect and analyze data

Step 3: Developing a research program: research method

As well as selecting a method of inquiry (objective or subjective), you must select a research method . There are two primary methodologies that can be used to answer any research question:

• Experimental research : gives you the advantage of controlling extraneous variables and manipulating one or more variables that influence the process being implemented.
• Non-experimental research : allows observation but not intervention – all you do is observe and report on your findings.

Step 4: Developing a research program: research design

Research design is a plan or framework for conducting marketing research and collecting data. It is defined as the specific methods and procedures you use to get the information you need.

There are three core types of marketing research designs: exploratory, descriptive, and causal . A thorough marketing research process incorporates elements of all of them.

Exploratory marketing research

This is a starting point for research. It’s used to reveal facts and opinions about a particular topic, and gain insight into the main points of an issue. Exploratory research is too much of a blunt instrument to base conclusive business decisions on, but it gives the foundation for more targeted study. You can use secondary research materials such as trade publications, books, journals and magazines and primary research using qualitative metrics, that can include open text surveys, interviews and focus groups.

Descriptive marketing research

This helps define the business problem or issue so that companies can make decisions, take action and monitor progress. Descriptive research is naturally quantitative – it needs to be measured and analyzed statistically , using more targeted surveys and questionnaires. You can use it to capture demographic information , evaluate a product or service for market, and monitor a target audience’s opinion and behaviors. Insights from descriptive research can inform conclusions about the market landscape and the product’s place in it.

Causal marketing research

This is useful to explore the cause and effect relationship between two or more variables. Like descriptive research , it uses quantitative methods, but it doesn’t merely report findings; it uses experiments to predict and test theories about a product or market. For example, researchers may change product packaging design or material, and measure what happens to sales as a result.

Step 5: Choose your sample

Your marketing research project will rarely examine an entire population. It’s more practical to use a sample - a smaller but accurate representation of the greater population. To design your sample, you’ll need to answer these questions:

• Which base population is the sample to be selected from? Once you’ve established who your relevant population is (your research design process will have revealed this), you have a base for your sample. This will allow you to make inferences about a larger population.
• What is the method (process) for sample selection? There are two methods of selecting a sample from a population:

1. Probability sampling : This relies on a random sampling of everyone within the larger population.

2. Non-probability sampling : This is based in part on the investigator’s judgment, and often uses convenience samples, or by other sampling methods that do not rely on probability.

• What is your sample size? This important step involves cost and accuracy decisions. Larger samples generally reduce sampling error and increase accuracy, but also increase costs. Find out your perfect sample size with our calculator .

Step 6: Gather data

Your research design will develop as you select techniques to use. There are many channels for collecting data, and it’s helpful to differentiate it into O-data (Operational) and X-data (Experience):

• O-data is your business’s hard numbers like costs, accounting, and sales. It tells you what has happened, but not why.
• X-data gives you insights into the thoughts and emotions of the people involved: employees, customers, brand advocates.

When you combine O-data with X-data, you’ll be able to build a more complete picture about success and failure - you’ll know why. Maybe you’ve seen a drop in sales (O-data) for a particular product. Maybe customer service was lacking, the product was out of stock, or advertisements weren’t impactful or different enough: X-data will reveal the reason why those sales dropped. So, while differentiating these two data sets is important, when they are combined, and work with each other, the insights become powerful.

With mobile technology, it has become easier than ever to collect data. Survey research has come a long way since market researchers conducted face-to-face, postal, or telephone surveys. You can run research through:

• Social media ( polls and listening )

Another way to collect data is by observation. Observing a customer’s or company’s past or present behavior can predict future purchasing decisions. Data collection techniques for predicting past behavior can include market segmentation , customer journey mapping and brand tracking .

Regardless of how you collect data, the process introduces another essential element to your research project: the importance of clear and constant communication .

And of course, to analyze information from survey or observation techniques, you must record your results . Gone are the days of spreadsheets. Feedback from surveys and listening channels can automatically feed into AI-powered analytics engines and produce results, in real-time, on dashboards.

Step 7: Analysis and interpretation

The words ‘ statistical analysis methods ’ aren’t usually guaranteed to set a room alight with excitement, but when you understand what they can do, the problems they can solve and the insights they can uncover, they seem a whole lot more compelling.

Statistical tests and data processing tools can reveal:

• Whether data trends you see are meaningful or are just chance results
• Your results in the context of other information you have
• Whether one thing affecting your business is more significant than others
• What your next research area should be
• Insights that lead to meaningful changes

There are several types of statistical analysis tools used for surveys. You should make sure that the ones you choose:

• Work on any platform - mobile, desktop, tablet etc.
• Integrate with your existing systems
• Are easy to use with user-friendly interfaces, straightforward menus, and automated data analysis
• Incorporate statistical analysis so you don’t just process and present your data, but refine it, and generate insights and predictions.

Here are some of the most common tools:

• Benchmarking : a way of taking outside factors into account so that you can adjust the parameters of your research. It ‘levels the playing field’ – so that your data and results are more meaningful in context. And gives you a more precise understanding of what’s happening.
• Regression analysis : this is used for working out the relationship between two (or more) variables. It is useful for identifying the precise impact of a change in an independent variable.
• T-test is used for comparing two data groups which have different mean values. For example, do women and men have different mean heights?
• Analysis of variance (ANOVA) Similar to the T-test, ANOVA is a way of testing the differences between three or more independent groups to see if they’re statistically significant.
• Cluster analysis : This organizes items into groups, or clusters, based on how closely associated they are.
• Factor analysis: This is a way of condensing many variables into just a few, so that your research data is less unwieldy to work with.
• Conjoint analysis : this will help you understand and predict why people make the choices they do. It asks people to make trade-offs when making decisions, just as they do in the real world, then analyzes the results to give the most popular outcome.
• Crosstab analysis : this is a quantitative market research tool used to analyze ‘categorical data’ - variables that are different and mutually exclusive, such as: ‘men’ and ‘women’, or ‘under 30’ and ‘over 30’.
• Text analysis and sentiment analysis : Analyzing human language and emotions is a rapidly-developing form of data processing, assigning positive, negative or neutral sentiment to customer messages and feedback.

Stats IQ can perform the most complicated statistical tests at the touch of a button using our online survey software , or data from other sources. Learn more about Stats iQ now .

Step 8: The marketing research results

Your marketing research process culminates in the research results. These should provide all the information the stakeholders and decision-makers need to understand the project.

The results will include:

• all your information
• a description of your research process
• the results
• conclusions
• recommended courses of action

They should also be presented in a form, language and graphics that are easy to understand, with a balance between completeness and conciseness, neither leaving important information out or allowing it to get so technical that it overwhelms the readers.

Traditionally, you would prepare two written reports:

• a technical report , discussing the methods, underlying assumptions and the detailed findings of the research project
• a summary report , that summarizes the research process and presents the findings and conclusions simply.

There are now more engaging ways to present your findings than the traditional PowerPoint presentations, graphs, and face-to-face reports:

• Live, interactive dashboards for sharing the most important information, as well as tracking a project in real time.
• Results-reports visualizations – tables or graphs with data visuals on a shareable slide deck
• Online presentation technology, such as Prezi
• Visual storytelling with infographics
• A single-page executive summary with key insights
• A single-page stat sheet with the top-line stats

You can also make these results shareable so that decision-makers have all the information at their fingertips.

Step 9 Turn your insights into action

Insights are one thing, but they’re worth very little unless they inform immediate, positive action. Here are a few examples of how you can do this:

• Stop customers leaving – negative sentiment among VIP customers gets picked up; the customer service team contacts the customers, resolves their issues, and avoids churn .
• Act on important employee concerns – you can set certain topics, such as safety, or diversity and inclusion to trigger an automated notification or Slack message to HR. They can rapidly act to rectify the issue.
• Address product issues – maybe deliveries are late, maybe too many products are faulty. When product feedback gets picked up through Smart Conversations, messages can be triggered to the delivery or product teams to jump on the problems immediately.
• Improve your marketing effectiveness - Understand how your marketing is being received by potential customers, so you can find ways to better meet their needs
• Grow your brand - Understand exactly what consumers are looking for, so you can make sure that you’re meeting their expectations

Download now: 8 Innovations to Modernize Market Research

Scott Smith

Scott Smith, Ph.D. is a contributor to the Qualtrics blog.

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How To Do Market Research: Definition, Types, Methods

Jan 2, 2024

11 min. read

Market research isn’t just collecting data. It’s a strategic tool that allows businesses to gain a competitive advantage while making the best use of their resources. Research reveals valuable insights into your target audience about their preferences, buying habits, and emerging demands — all of which help you unlock new opportunities to grow your business.

When done correctly, market research can minimize risks and losses, spur growth, and position you as a leader in your industry. 

Let’s explore the basic building blocks of market research and how to collect and use data to move your company forward:

Table of Contents

What Is Market Research?

Why is market research important, market analysis example, 5 types of market research, what are common market research questions, what are the limitations of market research, how to do market research, improving your market research with radarly.

Market Research Definition: The process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information about a market or audience.

Market research studies consumer behavior to better understand how they perceive products or services. These insights help businesses identify ways to grow their current offering, create new products or services, and improve brand trust and brand recognition .

You might also hear market research referred to as market analysis or consumer research .

Traditionally, market research has taken the form of focus groups, surveys, interviews, and even competitor analysis . But with modern analytics and research tools, businesses can now capture deeper insights from a wider variety of sources, including social media, online reviews, and customer interactions. These extra layers of intel can help companies gain a more comprehensive understanding of their audience.

With consumer preferences and markets evolving at breakneck speeds, businesses need a way to stay in touch with what people need and want. That’s why the importance of market research cannot be overstated.

Market research offers a proactive way to identify these trends and make adjustments to product development, marketing strategies , and overall operations. This proactive approach can help businesses stay ahead of the curve and remain agile as markets shift.

Market research examples abound — given the number of ways companies can get inside the minds of their customers, simply skimming through your business’s social media comments can be a form of market research.

A restaurant chain might use market research methods to learn more about consumers’ evolving dining habits. These insights might be used to offer new menu items, re-examine their pricing strategies, or even open new locations in different markets, for example.

A consumer electronics company might use market research for similar purposes. For instance, market research may reveal how consumers are using their smart devices so they can develop innovative features.

Market research can be applied to a wide range of use cases, including:

• Testing new product ideas
• Improve existing products
• Entering new markets
• Right-sizing their physical footprints
• Improving brand image and awareness
• Gaining insights into competitors via competitive intelligence

Ultimately, companies can lean on market research techniques to stay ahead of trends and competitors while improving the lives of their customers.

Market research methods take different forms, and you don’t have to limit yourself to just one. Let’s review the most common market research techniques and the insights they deliver.

1. Interviews

3. Focus Groups

4. Observations

5. AI-Driven Market Research

One-on-one interviews are one of the most common market research techniques. Beyond asking direct questions, skilled interviewers can uncover deeper motivations and emotions that drive purchasing decisions. Researchers can elicit more detailed and nuanced responses they might not receive via other methods, such as self-guided surveys.

Interviews also create the opportunity to build rapport with customers and prospects. Establishing a connection with interviewees can encourage them to open up and share their candid thoughts, which can enrich your findings. Researchers also have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions and dig deeper based on individual responses.

Market research surveys provide an easy entry into the consumer psyche. They’re cost-effective to produce and allow researchers to reach lots of people in a short time. They’re also user-friendly for consumers, which allows companies to capture more responses from more people.

Big data and data analytics are making traditional surveys more valuable. Researchers can apply these tools to elicit a deeper understanding from responses and uncover hidden patterns and correlations within survey data that were previously undetectable.

The ways in which surveys are conducted are also changing. With the rise of social media and other online channels, brands and consumers alike have more ways to engage with each other, lending to a continuous approach to market research surveys.

3. Focus groups

Focus groups are “group interviews” designed to gain collective insights. This interactive setting allows participants to express their thoughts and feelings openly, giving researchers richer insights beyond yes-or-no responses.

One of the key benefits of using focus groups is the opportunity for participants to interact with one another. They spark discussions while sharing diverse viewpoints. These sessions can uncover underlying motivations and attitudes that may not be easily expressed through other research methods.

Observing your customers “in the wild” might feel informal, but it can be one of the most revealing market research techniques of all. That’s because you might not always know the right questions to ask. By simply observing, you can surface insights you might not have known to look for otherwise.

This method also delivers raw, authentic, unfiltered data. There’s no room for bias and no potential for participants to accidentally skew the data. Researchers can also pick up on non-verbal cues and gestures that other research methods may fail to capture.

5. AI-driven market research

One of the newer methods of market research is the use of AI-driven market research tools to collect and analyze insights on your behalf. AI customer intelligence tools and consumer insights software like Meltwater Radarly take an always-on approach by going wherever your audience is and continuously predicting behaviors based on current behaviors.

By leveraging advanced algorithms, machine learning, and big data analysis , AI enables companies to uncover deep-seated patterns and correlations within large datasets that would be near impossible for human researchers to identify. This not only leads to more accurate and reliable findings but also allows businesses to make informed decisions with greater confidence.

Tip: Learn how to use Meltwater as a research tool , how Meltwater uses AI , and learn more about consumer insights and about consumer insights in the fashion industry .

No matter the market research methods you use, market research’s effectiveness lies in the questions you ask. These questions should be designed to elicit honest responses that will help you reach your goals.

Examples of common market research questions include:

Demographic market research questions

• What is your age range?
• What is your occupation?
• What is your household income level?
• What is your educational background?
• What is your gender?

Product or service usage market research questions

• How long have you been using [product/service]?
• How frequently do you use [product/service]?
• What do you like most about [product/service]?
• Have you experienced any problems using [product/service]?
• How could we improve [product/service]?
• Why did you choose [product/service] over a competitor’s [product/service]?

Brand perception market research questions

• How familiar are you with our brand?
• What words do you associate with our brand?
• How do you feel about our brand?
• What makes you trust our brand?
• What sets our brand apart from competitors?
• What would make you recommend our brand to others?

Buying behavior market research questions

• What do you look for in a [product/service]?
• What features in a [product/service] are important to you?
• How much time do you need to choose a [product/service]?
• How do you discover new products like [product/service]?
• Do you prefer to purchase [product/service] online or in-store?
• How do you research [product/service] before making a purchase?
• How often do you buy [product/service]?
• How important is pricing when buying [product/service]?
• What would make you switch to another brand of [product/service]?

Customer satisfaction market research questions

• How happy have you been with [product/service]?
• What would make you more satisfied with [product/service]?
• How likely are you to continue using [product/service]?

Bonus Tip: Compiling these questions into a market research template can streamline your efforts.

Market research can offer powerful insights, but it also has some limitations. One key limitation is the potential for bias. Researchers may unconsciously skew results based on their own preconceptions or desires, which can make your findings inaccurate.

• Depending on your market research methods, your findings may be outdated by the time you sit down to analyze and act on them. Some methods struggle to account for rapidly changing consumer preferences and behaviors.
• There’s also the risk of self-reported data (common in online surveys). Consumers might not always accurately convey their true feelings or intentions. They might provide answers they think researchers are looking for or misunderstand the question altogether.
• There’s also the potential to miss emerging or untapped markets . Researchers are digging deeper into what (or who) they already know. This means you might be leaving out a key part of the story without realizing it.

Still, the benefits of market research cannot be understated, especially when you supplement traditional market research methods with modern tools and technology.

Let’s put it all together and explore how to do market research step-by-step to help you leverage all its benefits.

Step 1: Define your objectives

You’ll get more from your market research when you hone in on a specific goal : What do you want to know, and how will this knowledge help your business?

This step will also help you define your target audience. You’ll need to ask the right people the right questions to collect the information you want. Understand the characteristics of the audience and what gives them authority to answer your questions.

Step 2: Select your market research methods

Choose one or more of the market research methods (interviews, surveys, focus groups, observations, and/or AI-driven tools) to fuel your research strategy.

Certain methods might work better than others for specific goals . For example, if you want basic feedback from customers about a product, a simple survey might suffice. If you want to hone in on serious pain points to develop a new product, a focus group or interview might work best.

You can also source secondary research ( complementary research ) via secondary research companies , such as industry reports or analyses from large market research firms. These can help you gather preliminary information and inform your approach.

Step 3: Develop your research tools

Prior to working with participants, you’ll need to craft your survey or interview questions, interview guides, and other tools. These tools will help you capture the right information , weed out non-qualifying participants, and keep your information organized.

You should also have a system for recording responses to ensure data accuracy and privacy. Test your processes before speaking with participants so you can spot and fix inefficiencies or errors.

Step 4: Conduct the market research

With a system in place, you can start looking for candidates to contribute to your market research. This might include distributing surveys to current customers or recruiting participants who fit a specific profile, for example.

Set a time frame for conducting your research. You might collect responses over the course of a few days, weeks, or even months. If you’re using AI tools to gather data, choose a data range for your data to focus on the most relevant information.

Step 5: Analyze and apply your findings

Review your findings while looking for trends and patterns. AI tools can come in handy in this phase by analyzing large amounts of data on your behalf.

Compile your findings into an easy-to-read report and highlight key takeaways and next steps. Reports aren’t useful unless the reader can understand and act on them.

Tip: Learn more about trend forecasting , trend detection , and trendspotting .

Meltwater’s Radarly consumer intelligence suite helps you reap the benefits of market research on an ongoing basis. Using a combination of AI, data science, and market research expertise, Radarly scans multiple global data sources to learn what people are talking about, the actions they’re taking, and how they’re feeling about specific brands.

Our tools are created by market research experts and designed to help researchers uncover what they want to know (and what they don’t know they want to know). Get data-driven insights at scale with information that’s always relevant, always accurate, and always tailored to your organization’s needs.

Learn more when you request a demo by filling out the form below:

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What Are Consumer Insights? Meaning, Examples, Strategy

How Coca-Cola Collects Consumer Insights

Market Intelligence 101: What It Is & How To Use It

9 Top Consumer Insights Tools & Companies

Module 6: Marketing Information and Research

The marketing research process, learning objectives.

• Identify the steps of conducting a marketing research project

A Standard Approach to Research Inquiries

Marketing research is a useful and necessary tool for helping marketers and an organization’s executive leadership make wise decisions. Carrying out marketing research can involve highly specialized skills that go deeper than the information outlined in this module. However, it is important for any marketer to be familiar with the basic procedures and techniques of marketing research.

It is very likely that at some point a marketing professional will need to supervise an internal marketing research activity or to work with an outside marketing research firm to conduct a research project. Managers who understand the research function can do a better job of framing the problem and critically appraising the proposals made by research specialists. They are also in a better position to evaluate their findings and recommendations.

Periodically marketers themselves need to find solutions to marketing problems without the assistance of marketing research specialists inside or outside the company. If you are familiar with the basic procedures of marketing research, you can supervise and even conduct a reasonably satisfactory search for the information needed.

Step 1: Identify the Problem

The first step for any marketing research activity is to clearly identify and define the problem you are trying to solve. You start by stating the marketing or business problem you need to address and for which you need additional information to figure out a solution. Next, articulate the objectives for the research: What do you want to understand by the time the research project is completed? What specific information, guidance, or recommendations need to come out of the research in order to make it a worthwhile investment of the organization’s time and money?

It’s important to share the problem definition and research objectives with other team members to get their input and further refine your understanding of the problem and what is needed to solve it. At times, the problem you really need to solve is not the same problem that appears on the surface. Collaborating with other stakeholders helps refine your understanding of the problem, focus your thinking, and prioritize what you hope to learn from the research. Prioritizing your objectives is particularly helpful if you don’t have the time or resources to investigate everything you want.

To flesh out your understanding of the problem, it’s useful to begin brainstorming actual research questions you want to explore. What are the questions you need to answer in order to get to the research outcomes? What is the missing information that marketing research will help you find? The goal at this stage is to generate a set of preliminary, big-picture questions that will frame your research inquiry. You will revisit these research questions later in the process, but when you’re getting started, this exercise helps clarify the scope of the project, whom you need to talk to, what information may already be available, and where to look for the information you don’t yet have.

Applied Example: Marketing Research for Bookends

To illustrate the marketing research process, let’s return to Uncle Dan and his ailing bookstore, Bookends. You need a lot of information if you’re going to help Dan turn things around, so marketing research is a good idea. You begin by identifying the problem and then work to set down your research objectives and initial research questions:

Step 2: Develop a Research Plan

Once you have a problem definition, research objectives, and a preliminary set of research questions, the next step is to develop a research plan. Essential to this plan is identifying precisely what information you need to answer your questions and achieve your objectives. Do you need to understand customer opinions about something? Are you looking for a clearer picture of customer needs and related behaviors? Do you need sales, spending, or revenue data? Do you need information about competitors’ products, or insight about what will make prospective customers notice you? When do need the information, and what’s the time frame for getting it? What budget and resources are available?

Once you have clarified what kind of information you need and the timing and budget for your project, you can develop the research design. This details how you plan to collect and analyze the information you’re after. Some types of information are readily available through  secondary research and secondary data sources. Secondary research analyzes information that has already been collected for another purpose by a third party, such as a government agency, an industry association, or another company. Other types of information need to from talking directly to customers about your research questions. This is known as primary research , which collects primary data captured expressly for your research inquiry.   Marketing research projects may include secondary research, primary research, or both.

Depending on your objectives and budget, sometimes a small-scale project will be enough to get the insight and direction you need. At other times, in order to reach the level of certainty or detail required, you may need larger-scale research involving participation from hundreds or even thousands of individual consumers. The research plan lays out the information your project will capture—both primary and secondary data—and describes what you will do with it to get the answers you need. (Note: You’ll learn more about data collection methods and when to use them later in this module.)

Your data collection plan goes hand in hand with your analysis plan. Different types of analysis yield different types of results. The analysis plan should match the type of data you are collecting, as well as the outcomes your project is seeking and the resources at your disposal. Simpler research designs tend to require simpler analysis techniques. More complex research designs can yield powerful results, such as understanding causality and trade-offs in customer perceptions. However, these more sophisticated designs can require more time and money to execute effectively, both in terms of data collection and analytical expertise.

The research plan also specifies who will conduct the research activities, including data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting on results. At times a singlehanded marketing manager or research specialist runs the entire research project. At other times, a company may contract with a marketing research analyst or consulting firm to conduct the research. In this situation, the marketing manager provides supervisory oversight to ensure the research delivers on expectations.

Finally, the research plan indicates who will interpret the research findings and how the findings will be reported. This part of the research plan should consider the internal audience(s) for the research and what reporting format will be most helpful. Often, senior executives are primary stakeholders, and they’re anxious for marketing research to inform and validate their choices. When this is the case, getting their buy-in on the research plan is recommended to make sure that they are comfortable with the approach and receptive to the potential findings.

Applied Example: A Bookends Research Plan

You talk over the results of your problem identification work with Dan. He thinks you’re on the right track and wants to know what’s next. You explain that the next step is to put together a detailed plan for getting answers to the research questions.

Dan is enthusiastic, but he’s also short on money. You realize that such a financial constraint will limit what’s possible, but with Dan’s help you can do something worthwhile. Below is the research plan you sketch out:

Step 3: Conduct the Research

Conducting research can be a fun and exciting part of the marketing research process. After struggling with the gaps in your knowledge of market dynamics—which led you to embark on a marketing research project in the first place—now things are about to change. Conducting research begins to generate information that helps answer your urgent marketing questions.

Typically data collection begins by reviewing any existing research and data that provide some information or insight about the problem. As a rule, this is secondary research. Prior research projects, internal data analyses, industry reports, customer-satisfaction survey results, and other information sources may be worthwhile to review. Even though these resources may not answer your research questions fully, they may further illuminate the problem you are trying to solve. Secondary research and data sources are nearly always cheaper than capturing new information on your own. Your marketing research project should benefit from prior work wherever possible.

After getting everything you can from secondary research, it’s time to shift attention to primary research, if this is part of your research plan. Primary research involves asking questions and then listening to and/or observing the behavior of the target audience you are studying. In order to generate reliable, accurate results, it is important to use proper scientific methods for primary research data collection and analysis. This includes identifying the right individuals and number of people to talk to, using carefully worded surveys or interview scripts, and capturing data accurately.

Without proper techniques, you may inadvertently get bad data or discover bias in the responses that distorts the results and points you in the wrong direction. The module on Marketing Research Techniques discusses these issues in further detail, since the procedures for getting reliable data vary by research method.

Applied Example: Getting the Data on Bookends

Dan is on board with the research plan, and he’s excited to dig into the project. You start with secondary data, getting a dump of Dan’s sales data from the past two years, along with related information: customer name, zip code, frequency of purchase, gender, date of purchase, and discounts/promotions (if any).

You visit the U.S. Census Bureau Web site to download demographic data about your metro area. The data show all zip codes in the area, along with population size, gender breakdown, age ranges, income, and education levels.

The next part of the project is customer-survey data. You work with Dan to put together a short survey about customer attitudes toward Bookends, how often and why they come, where else they spend money on books and entertainment, and why they go other places besides Bookends. Dan comes up with the great idea of offering a 5 percent discount coupon to anyone who completes the survey. Although it eats into his profits, this scheme gets more people to complete the survey and buy books, so it’s worth it.

For a couple of days, you and Dan take turns doing “man on the street” interviews (you interview the guy in the red hat, for instance). You find people who say they’ve never been to Bookends and ask them a few questions about why they haven’t visited the store, where else they buy books and other entertainment, and what might get them interested in visiting Bookends sometime. This is all a lot of work, but for a zero-budget project, it’s coming together pretty well.

Step 4: Analyze and Report Findings

Analyzing the data obtained in a market survey involves transforming the primary and/or secondary data into useful information and insights that answer the research questions. This information is condensed into a format to be used by managers—usually a presentation or detailed report.

Analysis starts with formatting, cleaning, and editing the data to make sure that it’s suitable for whatever analytical techniques are being used. Next, data are tabulated to show what’s happening: What do customers actually think? What’s happening with purchasing or other behaviors? How do revenue figures actually add up? Whatever the research questions, the analysis takes source data and applies analytical techniques to provide a clearer picture of what’s going on. This process may involve simple or sophisticated techniques, depending on the research outcomes required. Common analytical techniques include regression analysis to determine correlations between factors; conjoint analysis to determine trade-offs and priorities; predictive modeling to anticipate patterns and causality; and analysis of unstructured data such as Internet search terms or social media posts to provide context and meaning around what people say and do.

Good analysis is important because the interpretation of research data—the “so what?” factor—depends on it. The analysis combs through data to paint a picture of what’s going on. The interpretation goes further to explain what the research data mean and make recommendations about what managers need to know and do based on the research results. For example, what is the short list of key findings and takeaways that managers should remember from the research? What are the market segments you’ve identified, and which ones should you target?  What are the primary reasons your customers choose your competitor’s product over yours, and what does this mean for future improvements to your product?

Individuals with a good working knowledge of the business should be involved in interpreting the data because they are in the best position to identify significant insights and make recommendations from the research findings. Marketing research reports incorporate both analysis and interpretation of data to address the project objectives.

The final report for a marketing research project may be in written form or slide-presentation format, depending on organizational culture and management preferences. Often a slide presentation is the preferred format for initially sharing research results with internal stakeholders. Particularly for large, complex projects, a written report may be a better format for discussing detailed findings and nuances in the data, which managers can study and reference in the future.

Applied Example: Analysis and Insights for Bookends

Getting the data was a bit of a hassle, but now you’ve got it, and you’re excited to see what it reveals. Your statistician cousin, Marina, turns out to be a whiz with both the sales data and the census data. She identified several demographic profiles in the metro area that looked a lot like lifestyle segments. Then she mapped Bookends’ sales data into those segments to show who is and isn’t visiting Bookends. After matching customer-survey data to the sales data, she broke down the segments further based on their spending levels and reasons they visit Bookends.

Gradually a clearer picture of Bookends’ customers is beginning to emerge: who they are, why they come, why they don’t come, and what role Bookends plays in their lives. Right away, a couple of higher-priority segments—based on their spending levels, proximity, and loyalty to Bookends—stand out. You and your uncle are definitely seeing some possibilities for making the bookstore a more prominent part of their lives. You capture these insights as “recommendations to be considered” while you evaluate the right marketing mix for each of the new segments you’d like to focus on.

Step 5: Take Action

Once the report is complete, the presentation is delivered, and the recommendations are made, the marketing research project is over, right? Wrong.

What comes next is arguably the most important step of all: taking action based on your research results.

If your project has done a good job interpreting the findings and translating them into recommendations for the marketing team and other areas of the business, this step may seem relatively straightforward. When the research results validate a path the organization is already on, the “take action” step can galvanize the team to move further and faster in that same direction.

Things are not so simple when the research results indicate a new direction or a significant shift is advisable. In these cases, it’s worthwhile to spend time helping managers understand the research, explain why it is wise to shift course, and explain how the business will benefit from the new path. As with any important business decision, managers must think deeply about the new approach and carefully map strategies, tactics, and available resources to plan effectively. By making the results available and accessible to managers and their execution teams, the marketing research project can serve as an ongoing guide and touchstone to help the organization plan, execute, and adjust course as it works toward desired goals and outcomes.

It is worth mentioning that many marketing research projects are never translated into management action. Sometimes this is because the report is too technical and difficult to understand. In other cases, the research conclusions fail to provide useful insights or solutions to the problem, or the report writer fails to offer specific suggestions for translating the research findings into management strategy. These pitfalls can be avoided by paying due attention to the research objectives throughout the project and allocating sufficient time and resources to do a good job interpreting research results for those who will need to act on them.

Applied Example: Bookends’ New Customer Campaign

Your research findings and recommendations identified three segments for Bookends to focus on. Based on the demographics, lifestyle, and spending patterns found during your marketing research, you’re able to name them: 1) Bored Empty-Nesters, 2) Busy Families, and 3) Hipster Wannabes. Dan has a decent-sized clientele across all three groups, and they are pretty good spenders when they come in. But until now he hasn’t done much to purposely attract any of them.

With newly identified segments in focus, you and Dan begin brainstorming about a marketing mix to target each group. What types of books and other products would appeal to each one? What activities or events would bring them into the store? Are there promotions or particular messages that would induce them to buy at Bookends instead of Amazon or another bookseller? How will Dan reach and communicate with each group? And what can you do to bring more new customers into the store within these target groups?

Even though Bookends is a real-life project with serious consequences for your uncle Dan, it’s also a fun laboratory where you can test out some of the principles you’re learning in your marketing class. You’re figuring out quickly what it’s like to be a marketer.

Well done, rookie!

Check Your Understanding

Answer the question(s) below to see how well you understand the topics covered in this outcome. This short quiz does  not  count toward your grade in the class, and you can retake it an unlimited number of times.

Use this quiz to check your understanding and decide whether to (1) study the previous section further or (2) move on to the next section.

• Revision and Adaptation. Authored by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Chapter 3: Marketing Research: An Aid to Decision Making, from Introducing Marketing. Authored by : John Burnett. Provided by : Global Text. Located at : http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/ddbe3343-9796-4801-a0cb-7af7b02e3191/1/Core%20Concepts%20of%20Marketing.pdf . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Urban life (Version 2.0). Authored by : Ian D. Keating. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/ian-arlett/19313315520/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

Lead Generation: A Beginner’s Guide to Generating Business Leads the Inbound Way

Learn how lead generation fits into your inbound marketing strategy and easy ways that you can start generating leads for your company

AN INTRODUCTION TO LEAD GENERATION

HubSpot also recommends this introductory lead generation resource.

Updated: 04/03/24

Published: 03/29/24

Have you ever noticed that telemarketers have a way of calling at the worst possible time? Say, right when you’re about to sit down and enjoy dinner? I used to get these pesky dinnertime calls all the time.

Not only were they frustrating, but they never seemed successful for the companies trying to drum up leads (at least at my house).

Well, I’m here to tell you that the days of these dinnertime cold calls are long over.

In this post, we’ll talk best practices for inbound lead generation that are effective, strategic, and don’t ruin anyone’s dinner.

First, we’ll start with defining a lead, and then we’ll cover what online lead generation is, and why you need it. Next, we’ll go into how to qualify someone as a lead, how to label lead types, how you generate leads, and why inbound lead generation is much more effective than simply buying leads.

What is a lead?

Why do you need lead generation, the lead generation process, how to qualify a lead, lead generation strategies.

Tips for Lead Generation

Lead Generation Statistics

Lead Conversation Statistics

Lead Generation Trends & Benchmarks

A lead is any person who indicates interest in a company’s product or service.

Leads typically hear from a business or organization after opening communication (by submitting personal information for an offer, trial, or subscription), instead of getting a random cold call from someone who purchased their contact information.

Let’s say you take an online survey to learn more about how to take care of your car. A day or so later, you receive an email from the auto company that created the survey. This process is far less intrusive than if they’d just called you out of the blue.

From a business perspective, the information the auto company collects about you from your survey responses helps them personalize that opening communication to address your existing problems.

Leads are part of the lifecycle of transitioning visitors to customers. Not all leads are the same. There are different types of leads based on how they are qualified and what lifecycle stage they’re in.

An Introduction to Lead Generation

A starter guide to converting website visitors into leads for your business.

• Define and qualify a lead.
• Promote lead gen campaigns.
• Resources to get you started.
• Examples of great campaigns.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Free Ebook on Lead Gen Best Practices

Fill out the form to access the guide., marketing qualified lead (mql).

Marketing qualified leads are contacts who have engaged with your marketing team’s efforts but aren’t ready to receive a sales call. An example of an MQL is a contact who fills out a landing page form for an offer.

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

Sales qualified leads are contacts who’ve taken actions that expressly indicate their interest in becoming paying customers. An example of an SQL is a contact who fills out a form to ask a question about your product or service.

Product Qualified Lead (PQL)

Product qualified leads are contacts who’ve used your product and taken actions that indicate interest in becoming a paying customer. PQLs typically exist for companies who offer a product trial or a free or limited version of their product with options to upgrade.

An example of a PQL is a customer who uses your free version but asks about paid features.

Service Qualified Lead

Service qualified leads are contacts or customers who’ve indicated to your service team that they’re interested in becoming paying customers.

For example, a customer could tell their customer service representative that they’d like to upgrade their product subscription. At this time, the customer service representative would up-level this customer to the appropriate sales team or representative.

What is lead generation?

Lead generation is the process of attracting prospects to your business and increasing their interest through nurturing, all with the end goal of converting them into a customer. Some ways to generate leads are through job applications, blog posts, coupons, live events, and online content.

These lead generators are just a few examples of lead generation strategies you can use to attract potential customers and guide them toward your offers.

Whenever someone outside the marketing world asks me what I do, I can’t simply say, “I create content for lead generation.” I’d get some really confused looks.

So instead, I say, “I work on finding unique ways to attract people to my business. I want to provide them with enough goodies to get them interested in my company so they eventually warm up to the brand and want to hear from us!”

That usually resonates better, and that’s exactly what lead generation is: It’s a way of warming up potential customers to your business. This gets them on the path to eventually making a purchase.

When someone shows an organic interest in your business, the transition from stranger to customer is much more natural. You enhance this transition through inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing is a methodology to attract loyal customers to your business by aligning with your target audience's needs.

Creating tailored marketing experiences through valuable content is the core of an inbound marketing strategy that helps you drive customer engagement and growth.

Lead generation falls within the second stage of the inbound marketing methodology . It occurs after you’ve attracted an audience and are ready to convert those visitors into leads for your sales team.

As you can see in the diagram below, generating leads is a fundamental starting point in an individual’s journey to becoming a delighted customer.

How to Generate Leads

Once you put all of these elements together, you can use your various promotional channels to drive traffic to your landing page to start generating leads.

But what channels should you use to promote your landing page? Let’s talk about the front end of lead generation — lead gen marketing.

If you’re wondering how to generate leads in digital marketing specifically, it’s time to analyze your existing online channels and identify opportunities for conversion. This can include everything from your website to your organic and paid social media presence.

If you’re a visual learner, this chart shows the flow from promotional marketing channels to a generated lead. There are even more channels you can use to get visitors to become leads. We’ll discuss the most impactful below.

1. Create compelling content.

Image Source

Content — and its trusty companion, SEO — are often the go-to methods businesses use to generate leads. And for good reason, too! According to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Marketing Report , 16% of marketers say that the content-and-SEO combo resulted in the best ROI this year.

Ryan Robinson , the founder and CEO of RightBlogger explains that content marketing and SEO “ allow you to attract leads who are already interested in what you offer, rather than interrupting people with disruptive ads and promotions.”

Content is a great way to guide users to a landing page. Typically, you create content to provide visitors with useful, free information. You can include CTAs anywhere in your content — inline, at the bottom of the post, in the hero section, or even on the side panel.

Robinson shared an anecdote with me to illustrate just how powerful content and SEO can be for generating leads.

“I vividly remember one client who initially found us after reading a blog post … That post showed him how AI writing assistants could streamline his process while still allowing for human oversight and quality control. A few weeks later, he signed up for one of our AI writing packages,” Robinson recalls.

In other words, the more delighted visitors are with your content, the more likely they are to click your CTA and move onto your landing page.

Featured Resource: HubSpot Ebook Templates

2. Send regular emails.

Not sure what to write about? Use HubSpot’s Blog Idea Generator to brainstorm blog post ideas, create a blog outline, write your first draft, and publish to your website.

A lead’s score can be based on actions they’ve taken, the information they’ve provided, their level of engagement, or other criteria that your sales team determines.

For instance, you may score someone higher if they regularly engage with you on social media.

Borrowing from the examples above, you might give a lead a higher score if they used one of your coupons — an action that would signify this person is interested in your product.

The higher a lead’s score, the closer they are to becoming a SQL, which is only a step away from becoming a customer.

You may need to tweak criteria until you find the formula that works, but once you do, you’ll transform your lead generation into customer generation.

Online lead generation encompasses various tactics, campaigns, and strategies depending on the platform you use to capture leads.

We talked about lead capture best practices once you have a visitor on your site, but how can you get them there in the first place?

Let’s dive into lead generation strategies for a few popular platforms.

Facebook Lead Generation

Facebook has been a method for lead generation since its inception. Originally, companies could use outbound links in their posts and information in their bios to attract strangers to their websites.

However, when Facebook Ads was launched in 2007 , and its algorithm began to favor accounts that used paid advertising, there was a major shift in how businesses used the platform to capture leads.

Facebook created Lead Ads for this purpose. Facebook also has a feature that lets you put a simple CTA button at the top of your Facebook Page, helping you send Facebook followers directly to your website.

Get some lead generation tips for Facebook.

Featured Resource: 50 Facebook Ad Examples We Actually Clicked

X Lead Generation

X has X Lead Gen Cards, which let you generate leads directly within a tweet without leaving the site.

A user’s name, email address, and X username are automatically pulled into the card, and all they have to do is click “Submit” to become a lead.

( Hint for HubSpot users: You can connect X Lead Gen Cards to your HubSpot Forms. Learn how to do that here .)

Featured Resource: How to Use X for Business (+ Follower Tracking Template)

LinkedIn Lead Generation

LinkedIn has been increasing its stake in advertising since its early days.

Regarding lead generation, LinkedIn created Lead Gen Forms , which auto-populate with a user’s profile data when they click a CTA, making it easy to capture information.

Get tips from our experience using LinkedIn ads.

PPC Lead Generation

When we say pay-per-click (PPC), we’re referring to ads on search engine result pages (SERPs). Google gets 3.5 billion searches a day , making it prime real estate for any ad campaign, especially lead gen.

The effectiveness of your PPC campaign relies heavily on a seamless user flow, as well as your budget, target keywords, and a few other factors.

Learn more about how to set up successful PPC ads.

B2B Lead Generation

B2B companies require a different approach to lead generation.

SmartInsights found that referrals are the top source for capturing business leads. Not to mention, effectiveness varies by channel.

Learn the B2B lead generation techniques for every channel.

Tips for Lead Generation Campaigns

In any given lead generation campaign, there can be many moving parts.

It can be challenging to tell which parts of your campaign are working and which need fine-tuning. Here are a few tips that can help when building lead gen campaigns.

1. Follow your data.

If you’re looking to build a lead generation engine, start with the bevy of data already at your fingertips. Begin by archiving which posts consistently rank well, bring in traffic, and have a clear connection to your product.

Once you know what performs well, you can determine where to place CTAs.

“For these posts, ask yourself what the missing middle piece is between what someone is reading about and what you can offer them,” suggests AJ Beltis , a senior marketing manager focused on media conversion at HubSpot.

Beltis continues, “Perhaps it’s an actionable template, a more in-depth guide, or even a demo if the content is intended for those further along in the buying cycle.”

Remember, your CTA should not be a reach from the topic in the post. “Keep it straightforward and logical and the leads will come flowing in,” Beltis says.

2. Use the right lead generation tools.

As you saw in our data, the most successful marketing teams use a formal system to organize and store their leads. That’s where lead generation tools and lead generation software come into play.

How much do you know about the people visiting your website? Do you know their names or their email addresses? How about which pages they visited, how they’re navigating around, and what they do before and after filling out a lead conversion form?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, chances are you’re having difficulty connecting with the people visiting your site. These are questions you should be able to answer — and you can with the right lead generation tools .

There are a few different tools and templates out there that’ll help you create different lead gen assets to use on your site:

• CTA Templates . Create clickable CTA buttons to use on your blog, landing pages, and elsewhere on your site.
• Lead Generation Software Tools . This free tool from HubSpot includes lead capture insights features, which will scrape any pre-existing forms you have and add those contacts to your existing contact database. You can also create pop-ups, hello bars, or slide-ins — called “lead flows ” — to help you immediately turn visitors into leads.

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• 20 November, 2023

What is a Lead? How to Qualify and Generate Leads

Lead generation is something that all companies struggle with. In fact, 68% of all marketers admit to struggling . Why is this so important? Because without leads, you have no future business. If you are not generating leads, you are not growing, and if you’re not growing, you will not be able to keep up.

To generate leads, we have to understand what a lead is in marketing. I have no doubt that we all understand the idea of a lead, but it’s so much more than that. Leads are the lifeblood of a business. For that reason, we’ll be going into the specifics. Let’s get started.

What is a lead in marketing? 

In the context of sales, a lead is a contact that has the potential to be a customer. Most often, this is an individual that has provided contact information, and in doing so, created a potential sales opportunity. 

The definition of a lead can be slightly different depending on who you ask. For example, one company might consider a lead someone with high conversion potential, whereas another might consider a lead a simple contact.

Regardless of the definition, a lead is a contact you will pitch and market to in order to sell them something. Whether a service or physical product, a lead is a potential customer.

Pro tip: In certain stages, a lead can also be known as a prospect. Some companies consider prospects more qualified (e.g., further down the funnel) than leads; for others, it is the opposite. There isn’t a universally accepted terminology for leads or prospects, no matter what others tell you. It’s up to you and your team to establish the right standard that works in your sales and marketing operations and ensure everyone is on the same page regarding definitions.

How to generate a lead

Lead generation is pretty important, but it’s not easy. Even if you know your audience like the back of your hand, that doesn’t mean you can turn them into leads. Lead generation takes some time, but more importantly, it takes strategy. Here are some ways that you can generate leads in your business.

Direct engagement

In some cases, especially if we’re talking about high-value sales, direct engagement is a great choice for generating a lead. This requires a lot of research, and the fundamental steps of the conversion funnel are the same, but reaching out personally and talking to the lead might prove to be a smart move.

This tactic is often utilized heavily on social media channels like LinkedIn, but it could also be through email or phone. The point is to contact the lead directly without an automated message. The reason they are so effective for high-valued sales is because the experience is personalized and tailored to the lead and only the lead. 

A good example of this is someone like an account manager reaching out to a startup company, asking if they need help. For the account manager, this is a big sale, and the startup company feels like they are getting a personalized experience through direct engagement.

Make contact through LinkedIn

Speaking of LinkedIn, did you know that it has 2x the buying power of the average web audience? B2B marketing has proven to be highly effective on this platform, and it is the go-to for most people and businesses when it comes to discussing their professional life.  

Depending on your industry, you can easily find and make connections with industry leaders and influencers. Doing so sets you up with a network of potentially high-value leads. 

Using LinkedIn and other social media platforms, you can even pay (given you have the budget) for lead-generating ads. These are ads specially made to collect lead data like name, location, and email. If you don’t have the budget for that, you can still connect and engage with your target audience through their posts, creating posts of your own, and messaging them directly through the platform.

Search advertising

When it comes to generating quality leads, targeting your ideal audience through ads is a good way to go. Of course, this involves a budget, but it is highly effective if executed properly. 

Utilizing Google and Bing to advertise based on keywords that you know are relevant for your business is hands down one of the most effective ways to reach an audience and generate hot leads. The trick is to make sure that you know what kind of searches people who buy from you are making.

So let’s say that you own a bicycle company. It wouldn’t make much sense to place an ad for something like “20% off bike tires” on a keyword search like “Lawncare services.” Instead, you might want to try “How to fix a bike tire”, or “New mountain bike tires”. All of this is possible within the ads managers for search engines; you just have to have the budget.

Customer referrals

Getting referrals from customers is one of the oldest tricks in the book because it works! If you try your absolute best to make a customer happy (Which, by the way, you should), then most of them will have no problem referring you to a friend.

This is word-of-mouth marketing at its finest, and it is such a powerful tool. Unfortunately, it’s often forgotten about. When you help a customer place an order, make a purchase, or really, help them out in any way, don’t be shy! Ask for a referral and incentivize them. 

Tell them that every new customer who uses their name at checkout gets $10 (or something else valuable to them) to use in your store. That way, you generate new leads and guarantee a returning customer.

Guest blogging

Guest blogging is tricky and time-consuming, but that’s not to say it doesn’t work. In content marketing, backlinks are everything. It helps search engines determine that what you’re linking to is an authority on the subject, but it also gets the attention of those reading it.

For example, let’s say that you work for a business that makes digital catalogs and magazines, but you want to get into the restaurant menu business, too. Finding a blog that talks about how to design and style a menu and then pitching them an idea you can write about is an effective way to tap into a different audience.

Odds are that the people reading the other blog’s content haven’t heard of you. But, they’re looking for inspiration to help design their own menu. Once they find that article, click on it, and see your link and solution, then the chances of generating a new lead are fairly high.

Offer a free tool or lead magnet

Let’s be real with ourselves here and say that we all love the word free. Free samples in the grocery store, free detail when you get your car washed, and of course, free trials and tools.

Free digital tools are extremely helpful for both the user and the business. The user gets what they want through the tool, and they get a taste of what the product (in case you run a SaaS business ) is capable of. Once they do that, they have a much higher chance of converting, because they’re already familiar with your tool. But, at the very least, they have signed up for the free version, given you their email, and exposed their intent. These people will be much easier to market to. 

For instance, we launched our very own free AI-subject line generator . You can generate 15 free subject lines a day. If you want more, you are prompted with a CTA to sign up for our full product:

On the other hand, you could offer free information. Something like an ebook loaded with information or a webinar with insight are things that your target audience will be interested in. Gated lead magnets like this is a very effective way to generate leads.

Further Reading

• Drive More Leads With Marketing Automation (a 4-step process)
• 7 Unique B2B Lead Generation Hacks You Should Try in 2022
• 10 Lead Generation Strategies to Turbocharge Your Sales In 2022

Inbound vs. outbound lead generation

The truth is that there are many ways you can gather a lead’s contact information. Let’s break it down into two categories based on your general: Inbound and outbound marketing .

Inbound marketing is a strategy whereby a company creates valuable content in order to attract a customer. We all know these tactics, as we’ve seen them everywhere. Blog articles, eBooks, webinars, demo videos, and more. All of these pieces of content were created to be a proverbial fishing rod. They cast the bait out there, waiting for you to find it, and convince you to bite; then they reel you in. Ultimately, it was you that found them based on a need that you had.

Outbound marketing is when a company pushes its message to you. This is visible through advertisements, direct marketing, trade shows, seminars, etc. The company meets you where you’re at and then shows you what they’ve got.

As you can see, these two are the polar opposite of each other. Inbound relies on the customer finding the company, while outbound relies on the company finding the customer. Every business uses both tactics, as they are both useful in their own setting.

Cold vs. hot leads

A cold lead is a lead that has not heard about you or your business; they might not even be aware of the problem that you are trying to solve. Alternatively, they might be a good fit for your business but already have a solution. Generally, cold leads have a low potential to convert. 

Meanwhile, a hot lead is one that is aware of your business and ready to make a purchase — i.e., they have high conversion potential. 

Warm leads are usually aware of the problem and your solution but might not be yet ready to take out their wallet for you.

If you invest most of your time and money into warm and hot leads, you will have a much higher ROI and conversion rate. 

Of course, it’s always possible to convert cold leads into warm and eventually hot leads; it’s just much more difficult.

How do you tell the difference in your lead temperature? 

A cold lead might be someone that was cold-called/emailed. These people weren’t necessarily looking for a solution at this particular time. The odds are that they aren’t interested at all. 

This is typically the case with outbound marketing. 

However, that’s not to say that outbound is a useless strategy. That’s how many businesses get started because the approach is quick, and if executed properly (targeting the right audience, with the right message, at the right time), you could yield rapid results. 

However, eventually, you would want to grow out of cold outreach and start investing in long-term inbound strategies that build your audience and authority in the space.

Inbound marketing produces hot leads because the customer is the one searching for the solution. They have an issue, are aware of the potential solutions, and begin their search. It’s up to you to make your solution look like the best fit for their needs.

• Inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing. (HubSpot)
• Email marketing has 2x higher ROI than cold calling, networking, or tradeshows. (Custom Content Council)
• out of 4 inbound marketing channels cost less than any outbound channel. (HubSpot)

A good way to visualize this is by going into a grocery store with a list. You know what you need, and you go and get it on aisle 5 (inbound marketing). However, on this particular trip, you have a sweet tooth, and you pass by a box of candy that you simply cannot pass up (the messaging was “pushed” to you — outbound marketing). You needed the ingredients to make a lasagna for dinner, but once you passed by the candy display, you wanted to get candy. 

How to qualify a lead

In order to better determine the conversion potential of a lead, you have to qualify them. But it’s not as simple as saying yes or no. True, they are either qualified, or they aren’t, but there are different levels of qualification. The truth is that you really can’t understand what a lead is in marketing without understanding these common qualification types:

5 types of lead qualification:

• Information Qualified Leads (IQL)
• Marketing Qualified Leads  (MQL)
• Product Qualified Lead (PQL) 

Sales Accepted Lead (SAL)

Sales qualified lead (sql).

Information Qualified Lead (IQL)

A lead that submits their contact info for helpful information is considered an information-qualified lead (IQL). These are people at the very top of the funnel, researching to find the best solution for their needs. 

Oftentimes, these leads come from information-based searches on Google. They will most likely not be very familiar with your company and your solutions.

The typical flow here is the IQL submits their info, and they’re redirected to a thank you page where they can freely download whatever content you’re offering. Alternatively, you could send them an email with a thank you note and the link to download. The first solution requires an additional landing page. The other requires a simple email automation workflow . 

Because these leads are at the very beginning of their journey and still aren’t very sure of their options, they are considered cold leads (or warm at best). As such, IQL should be given low priority. They have very little conversion potential, and you shouldn’t use a bunch of your time and money to acquire them. It’s best to qualify and nurture these leads before giving them to sales. This is where marketing qualification comes into play.

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

A marketing qualified lead (MQL) is the next step up on the lead qualification scale. Oftentimes, an MQL has been through their options and has determined that you and your solutions could be a good fit. This doesn’t mean that they’ve made up their mind, but it certainly means that you are a contender.

A marketing qualified lead is usually determined based on behavior or specific attributes that indicate a good fit. If they take certain actions, it shows that they are interested. For example, maybe they’ve signed up for your newsletter, and they’ve clicked through multiple times to view your pricing page.

Marketing automation flows and operations are set up to provide information and content to the lead in order to provoke a response and gauge readiness to buy from the lead. The lead becomes MQL when they click on a specific CTA, open your lead nurturing or onboarding emails, respond to your messages, or otherwise engage with your business. The marketing team qualifies the lead manually or uses marketing automation to qualify the lead when they satisfy the criteria to become an MQL. This operation usually involves an automated lead scoring process .

MQLs are ready to move to the next phase in the sales process. In this case, the best thing to do is to follow up with some offers and/or pass the lead to the sales team. That could mean a discount for a new user, a free consultation, or even a simple product demo. Whatever it is, the marketing team and sales team need to be aligned to determine the best course of action based on the lead’s position in the conversion funnel. 

Both teams need to be aligned because MQLs, if qualified correctly, are considered hot leads. They have massive potential to become a customer, and rather quickly at that. They have reached the point in their journey where they are ready to convert. They just need the right offer.

Product Qualified Lead (PQL)

The concept of product-qualified leads is relatively new and has emerged with the popularity of product-led growth. SaaS and other digital tech companies primarily use it.

A product qualified lead (PQL) is an individual who has experienced value from using a product (i..e., has reached an aha moment in your product ) as a result of a free trial, freemium model, or other types of first-hand experience with the app. 

It’s essentially a much more relevant form of MQL for product companies. Instead of simply tracking and scoring leads based on email activity, engagement with marketing CTAs like pop-ups and ads, and others, you qualify leads based on their behavior in your product.

For instance, if you run a task-management app, you might consider a PQL, every trial user that has created at least 2 projects and 20 tasks within their trial period. 

In order to implement product-based lead qualification, you need a marketing automation tool that supports receiving events from your app and scoring leads based on app behavior. Luckily, Encharge can help with this with its powerful Event API and lead scoring features .

Companies rarely use this stage, but it could improve the qualification process significantly. It’s a step between the marketing qualified, and sales qualified leads. 

This step helps create better alignment between the sales and marketing departments. The goal is for the sales team to collect additional information about the lead and determine if they are a good opportunity to pursue further down the sales process.

This stage of the qualification process might involve a discovery call, performed before the actual sales call or product demo, to determine if the lead is a good fit. The aim of the discovery call is to understand:

• If your product or service is the right fit for the lead.
• Identify the decision-makers.
• Establish the decision-making process and timeframe of the lead.
• Is the lead currently using an alternative solution? Etc.

The discovery call will allow the team to focus on understanding the lead before selling to them instead of trying to squeeze both discovery and sales in a single call. It would also provide instant feedback to marketing and allow the salespeople to prepare better for a successful demo/sales call.

In the last stage, a lead will advance to being sales qualified. In most organizations, this means that the sales team has done one or more sales calls with the lead, qualified them, and had some indication of a preliminary go-ahead from the lead. Now the sales team is pursuing to close the deal.

A sales-qualified lead (SQL) is also considered a hot lead. The faster the sales team can follow up with an offer, the higher the closing rate will be. The idea behind such a lead is simple. They are ready to convert. Whether now or later, they have seen all of their options, recognized yours, and need the solution you offer.

Once a lead has reached this level of qualification, it’s all up to the sales team to make it happen, but that doesn’t mean that the marketing team is useless here. The sales team will need content to help close the deal, highlight your organization’s strengths, and explain how the new customer can take advantage of those strengths in their applications. This could be customer testimonials, product demos, free trials, discounts, and more.

How to nurture a lead

We’ve talked a lot about the different kinds of leads, but it all means nothing if you don’t understand how to properly nurture a lead . Lead nurturing is the process of guiding someone from a lead to a customer through the conversion funnel. 

Because it’s not necessarily as cut and dry as some might expect, we’re going to list a few ways that you can make the lead nurturing process a little more smooth in your organization. Let’s start from the top.

Launch email marketing campaigns

Email marketing campaigns are one of the most powerful tools that you have in your arsenal as a marketer. We’ve all seen them. Those emails that pop up at what seems like the most random time, offering you something. Truthfully, those emails aren’t all that random.

Sure, some of them might be cold outreach, but the vast majority of them are based on what the company sending them to you believes to be an opportunity. You’ve most likely taken an action that led that company to believe that you are either a marketing qualified lead or even a sales qualified lead.

Email marketing campaigns are carefully designed to hit you at the right time. They come at you with information, answers, and offers that are personally designed for you based on where you are within the funnel. This is called lead nurturing, and it is vital.

According to Marketo , 96% of people visiting your website aren’t ready to buy yet. That means that unless they continue coming to your website, they will be unaware of anything that you have going on. Some might even forget about you completely. The easiest and most consistent way to get back in touch with them is through an email marketing campaign.

Omnichannel nurturing

Although email is a powerful tool in marketing, it’s not the only channel for nurturing. In fact, a well-placed ad can convert just a well sometimes. Think about the last time you went browsing online, looked around, and didn’t find what you were looking for. How many Facebook Ads did you see about that product over the next 2 weeks? Countless! And it’s not by coincidence. 

Omnichannel marketing means meeting the lead where they’re at. It means setting up irresistible ads across all platforms, staying active on the business’s social media accounts, and taking advantage of any channel you possibly can to reach new and existing customers and leads. Plus, it comes with its own set of benefits:

• Better user experience 
• Cohesive brand strategy and identity
• Increased revenue and ROI
• More accurate attribution data

Targeted content

Targeted content is content created for a certain audience in a niche to drive a specific response from the group. In the simplest terms, you’re showing people content that’s made for them. This content then prompts them to take action. 

This is so important because literally, everyone is creating content nowadays. It is impossible to hit a broad audience and be profitable. Sure, big brands like Amazon or Apple can do that, but they have a large audience and an even larger wallet. 

Take a look at this example from Google. When you search “How to delete a Google account”, this is one of the first results. Around it, you have other curated content explaining the same thing. It is specifically designed for people looking for a solution on how to delete their account.

Of course, this is an easy key phrase for someone like Google Support to rank for, but you get my point. It was designed, written, and displayed for a particular group of people with very specific intent.

Create multiple touchpoints

A touchpoint in marketing is counted anytime a customer or lead comes into contact with your brand. This could be directly or indirectly. For example, they could come across a review on a third-party website of your company. 

For a brand trying to stay on the minds of leads, multiple touchpoints are incredibly important. You don’t want the lead thinking about you only when they’re on your main website. Instead, you want to be woven into their entire customer journey through ads, reviews, videos, blog articles, and anything else you can think of. This is why brands take advantage of platforms like Medium and Unsplash and even try their best to be on every review platform. It’s all for the sake of nurturing.

Learn more: Aligning Your Content Marketing Efforts with the Customer Journey

Be timely with responses

Let’s say that a lead contacts customer support about a deal you have going on, and it takes a day or two to reply. In the world of business, 48 hours is a lifetime. In those 2 short days, the lead can and most likely will look for new solutions. That is time that you can’t get back, and responding to leads should be a massive priority.

A quick response time goes far beyond customer service, though. If you’re a brand that’s active on social media, your response times should be quick there, too. The best way to visualize this is by picturing when you, yourself are in a situation where you need some customer support. You want a fast response time, right?

The faster you can get to your lead, no matter what medium they’re reaching out to you through, the more likely they will be to convert. At the very least, a fast response time means a satisfied customer. And satisfied customers convert.

Utilize personalization

Personalization is no longer a suggestion in marketing. Sprinkling a little personal touch on your messaging really does help sell. In fact, according to Forbes, 71% of customers feel frustrated when their experience isn’t personalized. That’s a staggering number, and it shouldn’t be ignored.

What does personalization mean in marketing? Truthfully, it’s not as complex as it seems. Personalization refers to using the customer’s name when sending them emails. But more than that, it’s targeted discounts and not-so-generic advertising.

When a customer spends their time web surfing, adding a specific item to their cart, only to abandon it because it was too expensive for them, that is the perfect opportunity. These customers have thought hard about that item. Sending them a personalized discount code for said item is a quick way to increase conversions and ROI. Personalization sells!

Implement lead scoring

Lead scoring is a methodology by which you rank prospects on a scale that represents their sales-readiness. This is all based on predetermined factors or data points. Every time a prospect meets that criteria, they’re assigned points on the scale. The higher the score, the more likely they are to convert.

Many companies have used lead scoring for a long time to qualify leads. It effectively increases sales efficiency (and marketing efficiency, for that matter) and keeps everyone aligned within the company. Using a solid lead scoring scale, you can:

• Create more effective marketing campaigns
• Keep the marketing and sales teams aligned
• Increase sales

Data points can be thought of as milestones or checkpoints. Each time a lead makes a predetermined action, such as signing up for a free trial, then points can be added. The scale gives you precious insight into the lead’s intent. So if they decide to sign up for a free trial of your digital tool, for example, you can determine that they are interested in a solution that you provide.

Align sales and marketing strategies

Speaking of keeping everyone aligned, the sales and marketing team should work hand-in-hand when it comes to lead generation. Both teams should share communication channels, strategies , goals, and objectives . Without this alignment, your leads will most likely get mixed signals, seeing one thing from the content, then hearing something completely different from a sales representative.

Historically speaking, sales and marketing used to operate in what’s called a silo. If you picture a big silo and understand its purpose, you can see why this is a problem. On a farm, a silo is designed to keep grain and other crops away from the elements on a farm. Once the silo serves its purpose, the crops are then relocated.

In marketing silos, the marketing team deals with the lead in their own way, never hearing from sales. Once they make their way through the funnel to the point of sales, they’re handed off to the sales team. Once that’s done, they most likely will never hear from the marketing team in any way ever again. Each team is secluded.

This idea no longer works in this day and age. Customers, leads, and prospects interact with brands long before and long after they make a purchase. Thanks to social media and the ease of access everyone has to the digital realm; brands just don’t disappear. Avoiding the marketing and sales silos helps keep the process transparent for everyone, making approaching a lead much easier for both teams at any given time.

Conclusions and takeaway

A lead in marketing is someone that has the potential to give your business a sale. As you can imagine, they’re pretty important to the success of your business. But a lead is not someone who just walks up to your front door, knocks, and asks to make a purchase. No, a lead takes time to generate, nurture, and convert.

Leads take time, effort, and oftentimes a good bit of money to acquire. Depending on your company, there are several things you can do to gather them. Leads are people, just like you and me, and they will take some convincing to buy from you. With competition the way it is, you absolutely have to make sure you are using all avenues, channels, and strategies that make sense for your business. 

And to close, make sure you have the right tools. Encharge can help you score, qualify and nurture your leads from start to finish. Some of the key features that we’ve implemented to make this process easier include:

• Powerful flow builder to help you create automated lead qualification funnels and processes.
• Seamless integrations with CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce .
• Easy to use lead scoring that you implement in your automated flows.

If this sounds interesting, don’t hesitate to book a quick demo call with us . Happy to help you generate and convert more leads!

• 8 Lead Nurturing Strategies That Work In 2022
• 21 Lead Generation Mistakes You are Making Today
• 28 Online Lead Generation Techniques that Still Work Today
• How to Convert More leads Using a Lead Generation Funnel
• Email Marketing Lead Generation Best Practices for 2024

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• What is a Lead?

In simple terms, a lead is an individual or organization with an interest in what you are selling . The interest is expressed by sharing contact information, like an email ID, a phone number, or even a social media handle.

The definition seems so simple, that “what is a lead” doesn’t seem like a question worth answering.

But, that’s not true.

The single biggest debate between marketing and sales arises from the question “what is a lead.” And it’s no small debate!

It’s what causes a marketer’s myopia. Marketers revel in the number of leads they have generated, closing their eyes to continuous sales complaints about lead quality.

It’s also what causes sales to dismiss marketing leads as low-quality, without cross-verifying. They end up delaying follow-ups, losing opportunities that might have converted. In the end, the blame lies with marketing for not generating quality leads.

The biases are well-documented:

• Only 25% leads are legitimate and should advance to sales – Gleanster Research.
• Sales reps make 1.3 (average) call attempts before giving up on a lead.

So are the consequences the company faces:

• Companies with poor sales and marketing alignment have a 4% revenue decline year on year.

The marketing – sales conflict

So, there’s a continuous conflict between marketing and sales about leads. Marketers spend countless hours and dollars generating leads , but most of those leads are junked by sales.

This is devastating for the business. Because, no matter how one defines a lead, the business aim is the same – to increase the revenue. Therefore, it is really important to have both your marketing and sales team in sync with each other.

The need for marketing-sales sync

• Companies with strong sales and marketing alignment achieve 20% annual growth rate. Whereas, companies with a poor sales – marketing alignment have a 4% revenue decline.
• Companies with aligned sales and marketing generated 208% more revenue from marketing (MarketingProfs)

So, as a marketer, you should not think about just generating leads , but about generating high quality leads . And as a salesperson, you should share constant feedback with the marketing team, about the quality of leads.

To put this debate to rest…

The teams working together (sales and marketing) must agree on what a lead is. And then, work towards generating them.

This description that you agree on is your ideal customer persona. The leads that you generate matching this description are your ideal leads.

So, what is a lead?

Someone fills up a form on your website , calls your company landline requesting info, initiates a chat on your website, or interacts with you on social media .

Is it a lead?

By a marketer’s definition..

This would be a lead. Because, for a marketer, lead is someone they can trail. You have captured their contact information – like a phone number, email or a social media account. If marketing can nurture them, and get them interested in a sales conversation later, it’s a lead.

By a salesperson’s definition..

They have just expressed a vague interest, and it can turn out to be the best deal of the quarter or just flat out junk. These leads are not qualified . So, sales would not consider this inquiry a “lead” yet.

It makes sense, because chasing every lead is a waste of salespersons’ time. Time that they’d rather use doing followups, generating outbound leads and calling opportunities. For them, the definition of lead is limited just to sales-ready leads, or the ideal lead that we discussed above.

So, where’s the middle-ground?

Hence, if someone making an inquiry matches your ideal customer persona , it qualifies as an ideal sales lead. These leads become even more important, when they take a further action after their initial inquiry. For instance, if they specifically ask for a demo of your product, or take a free trial, they are sales-ready.

[ Also read : MQL vs. SQL – How to Turn Marketing Qualified Leads to Sales Qualified Ones ]

Should we stop generating leads that aren’t sales-qualified?

No, that’s plain stupid. And unrealistic. You cannot and *should* not stop leads from entering your sales funnel .

Someone interested enough in a freebie related to what you sell, will have a buying intent in future, if not now.

However, you need proper processes in place to assign leads to sales only when they are sales-ready. This qualifying point  can be defined by their lead score or any activity that indicates buying intent.

In conclusion

Here’s how to agree on a common definition of a lead, and ensure marketing-sales alignment.

A) Define an ideal lead 

According to your historic data , what kind of leads close more often? There must be specific demographics, geographies and behaviors common to your ideal lead persona . In addition, lead generation channels can also be an important part of it. For instance, LinkedIn might get you more leads matching your customer persona .

B) Have a proper qualification system in place

The leads should progress to sales only when they match the ideal lead persona + take an sales-specific action. You can monitor this, by using tools like lead scoring and lead tracking .

We’ll discuss in further detail about marketing-sales alignment, and lead qualification in upcoming chapters. I hope for now, the definition of a lead is clear to you, from both marketing and sales perspective.

Let’s summarize with an infographic..

It shows the problems that occur from marketing-sales misalignment. Almost always, the first step in addressing these problems is to have a definition of “lead” that marketing and sales agree with.

There are some other terms you must have heard, like prospects, contact etc. They might be used interchangeably in different industries, or even in different organizations. What’s the difference. Let’s find out in the next chapter

Go to Chapter two

Qualifying leads saves time and resources. Here’s how to approach it: 1. Lead scoring:  Develop a lead scoring system that assigns points based on criteria like budget, industry, and pain points. Leads exceeding a certain score are considered qualified and prioritized for sales outreach. 2. BANT qualification framework:  This framework uses criteria like Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline to assess a lead’s qualification. Leads that meet all or most criteria are considered promising prospects. 3. Discovery calls:  Schedule calls with leads to delve deeper into their needs, challenges, and decision-making process. This allows you to determine if their needs align with your offerings and if they have the budget and authority to make a purchase.

Nurturing keeps them engaged. Here are some strategies: 1. Targeted email marketing campaigns:  Develop email drip campaigns with educational content addressing the lead’s specific pain points and showcasing how your product or service can help them in the future. 2. Lead nurturing software:  Utilize marketing automation tools to personalize communication, deliver relevant content based on the lead’s interests, and nurture them until they become sales-qualified. 3. Webinars or educational content:  Offer free webinars or downloadable resources that address the lead’s challenges and position your company as a thought leader in the industry.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Here are some factors to consider: 1 . Industry and sales cycle:  The typical sales cycle for your industry might influence how long you keep a lead in that stage. Complex B2B sales cycles might allow for longer nurturing periods compared to simpler B2C transactions. 2. Lead activity and engagement:  If a lead hasn’t shown any recent activity or engagement with your marketing efforts, it might be time to disqualify them. 3. Internal lead qualification criteria:  Establish clear lead qualification criteria within your sales team. Leads that don’t meet these criteria after a reasonable timeframe can be disqualified.

Rajat is VP - Sales & Marketing at LeadSquared. A designer at heart, he is a truss bridge for sales and marketing teams. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn or write to him at [email protected].

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What is a Lead? Definitions and Tips for Handling Different Types of Leads

What is a lead? We answer one of the most intricate marketing questions here!

The word “lead” is thrown around a lot, but what exactly does it mean? The truth is that there’s not one singular definition. 

There are sales leads and marketing leads, and sometimes leads are even called prospects! 

With all this considered, it’s only natural to get confused about definitions. So, let’s break down what a lead really is!

TL;DR: A quick overview of leads

At its core, a lead is someone who has shown interest in your product or service and has provided their contact information. 

Simple, right? 

Now, if we look at what a lead is more deeply, it’s slightly more nuanced. We asked Anna Avramova, the Performance Team Team Leader at PropellerAds, about it, and here’s how she explains what a lead is:

“Leads are people with unique personal and contact details who are completely new to our client base. They can search for a service or product for themselves or on behalf of a company, sharing their contact data with a product or service they are interested in. 

Sales teams then use this contact data to convert the lead, or a lead may convert themselves after engaging with marketing.”

In short, leads are people who share brand-new contact details with you. That contact data is then used directly by sales or indirectly by marketing – leading us to our next topic the difference between marketing leads and sales leads.

Marketing leads vs. sales leads

Now that we have a basic understanding of what a lead is, let’s dive deeper into the specific types of leads: marketing leads and sales leads.

What is a lead in marketing?

A marketing lead, or Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL), is a person who has engaged with a company’s marketing efforts but is not yet ready to buy. 

For instance, they might have downloaded an e-book, subscribed to a newsletter, or attended a webinar. These leads have shown interest and engagement but need more nurturing before they are sales-ready.

Something that can help you generate leads!

What is a sales lead?

In contrast, a sales lead, or Sales Qualified Lead (SQL), is a person who has indicated a clear intent to make a purchase. They might have requested a demo, filled out a contact form expressing their readiness to buy, or directly contacted the sales team. Sales leads are further along in the buyer’s journey and require direct sales engagement.

Key differences between MQLs and SQLs

The main difference between MQLs and SQLs lies in their readiness to purchase.  

• MQLs need further nurturing through marketing efforts, such as personalized emails and targeted content.
• SQLs are ready for direct sales interactions, including one-on-one meetings, detailed product information, and negotiations.

Understanding these differences helps businesses allocate resources effectively, focusing marketing efforts on nurturing MQLs and directing sales efforts toward closing SQLs.

Are there other types of leads?

Yes! There are different types of leads beyond just marketing and sales leads. Each requires unique strategies for engagement and conversion.

• Information Qualified Leads (IQLs) IQLs are at the top of the sales funnel. They have shown interest by engaging with content such as blog posts, infographics, or videos. These leads are in the early research phase and are not yet considering a purchase.
• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) As mentioned earlier, MQLs have shown interest through specific actions such as downloading resources or signing up for newsletters. They are more engaged than IQLs but still need more nurturing.
• Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) SQLs are further down the funnel and have demonstrated clear intent to buy. They might have requested a product demo or directly contacted the sales team with purchase inquiries.
• Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) PQLs have used a product through a free trial or freemium model and are likely to upgrade to a paid version. They show strong intent to buy based on their product usage.
• Service Qualified Leads (Service QLs) Service QLs are existing customers who have indicated they are ready for additional services or upgrades. They are prime candidates for upselling and cross-selling.

How to generate leads in B2B?

How to qualify a lead

Qualifying a lead involves assessing whether a lead has the potential to become a customer. It helps prioritize your efforts on leads most likely to convert, saving time and resources. 

For example, you might run a campaign that results in a high number of sign-ups. On paper, this is a good thing, but if those sign-ups don’t result in paying customers, you’ve essentially lost money on advertising to an irrelevant audience.

As Anna Avramova notes:

“Sign-up forms can be filled out by bots. So, if your metrics show a sudden boost of leads, make sure to double-check if they are real humans.”

Steps to qualify a lead

• Define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): Identify the characteristics of your ideal customers, including demographics, behaviors, and needs.
• Lead scoring: Assign values to leads based on their interactions with your content and their fit with your ICP. This helps in ranking leads by their potential to convert.
• Segmentation: Categorize leads into different segments based on their scores and characteristics for targeted marketing efforts.
• Nurturing: Engage with leads through personalized content, emails, and other marketing activities to move them down the funnel.
• Verification: Ensure the leads are genuine and not bots. Avramova also points out the importance of considering re-registrations: “Sometimes users forget their login credentials and create new accounts. We’re able to identify them and connect them with their existing account so we don’t mistakenly count them as new leads.”

What about some leadgen strategies?

How to generate leads

Generating leads is crucial, and there are effective ways to do it, especially with PropellerAds. Here are 4 steps we recommend for lead generation:

• Identify your audience: Know who you are targeting. Use detailed demographics and behavioral data.
• Create compelling ad content: Use strong headlines, engaging visuals, and clear CTAs to attract your audience.
• Use effective ad formats: Test different formats for the best results, for example, you can try push notifications, pop-under ads, interstitial ads, and native ads. Choose the format that best suits your audience and campaign goals.
• Optimize landing pages: Make sure your landing pages are user-friendly, with clear messaging and easy-to-fill forms to capture lead information.

Practical tips with PropellerAds

• Retargeting campaigns: Use PropellerAds’ retargeting options to re-engage users who have previously visited your site or interacted with your ads.
• A/B testing: Continuously test different ad creatives and landing pages to find the most effective combination.
• Advanced targeting: Use PropellerAds’ advanced targeting options to reach the most relevant audience.

How to run A/B tests?

How to convert leads into customers

Converting leads into customers is the ultimate goal of any lead generation campaign. Here are 7 steps to convert your leads:

• Nurture campaigns: Use personalized email sequences and content to keep leads engaged and move them closer to purchase.
• Social proof and testimonials: Share success stories and reviews to build trust and credibility.
• Incentives and promotions: Offer discounts, free trials, or limited-time offers to motivate leads to buy.
• Sales funnel optimization: Streamline your sales funnel to make the buying process as easy as possible.
• Use data analytics: Track and analyze lead behavior to refine your strategies and improve conversion rates.
• Personalize your approach: Segment your leads and tailor your communications to their specific needs and preferences.
• Build long-term relationships: Follow up with customers post-purchase, offer loyalty programs, and keep them engaged with regular updates and exclusive offers.

What are the key elements of your ad campaign?

Wrapping up: Know your leads for effective campaigns

Understanding what a lead is, the different types of leads, and the differences between sales leads and marketing leads can make a huge difference in how you measure your campaigns’ success. For the best results, use information about leads to segment your audience, strengthen data analysis, and better understand your sales funnel.

As Anna Avramova summarizes:

“Measure high-level metrics to understand how efficient your lead generation campaigns are. And remember to conduct a deeper analysis to account for bots and re-registrations.”

Whether you’re just getting started or strategizing your existing lead-generation campaigns, you can use this guide to convert all your leads into loyal customers.

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