When done right, Consumer and Market Analysis can tell you a lot about…almost everything.
Let’s talk Consumer and Market Analysis. Specifically, the various issues it addresses and some of the tools available to get it right. First, we need to split the two.
The central aim of Consumer Analysis is to illuminate — and ultimately lead to an understanding of — the interactions between products and consumers. It focuses on purchase decision-making process, motivations, shopping patterns, and consumption habits.
Market analysis is concerned with market attractiveness and dynamics. It looks into the size of market in terms of volume, value, competition, and/or consumer segments.
Despite the fact that Consumer Analysis and Market Analysis can be considered as two independent studies, they are commonly used in combination. The information obtained is used in a range of business scenarios like the planning around a new product launch. Consumer and Market Analysis sheds light on the gaps between the market offer and consumer needs, consumer segmentation, brand awareness, and more.
C & M studies are typically used by companies to mitigate market uncertainty and business risk. Whether it’s entering a new market or developing a new product, these are the high investment, high priority, high-risk items on top of any strategy list.
C & M studies will help determine market size and potential, including answers about market expansion possibilities, consumer purchasing habits, motivations, and product selection criteria. It’s a lot easier to sell your product when you know how buyers behave and what drives their decisions.
When you drill down, C & M Analysis can provide detailed insights:
- Current market size in volume and revenue
- Market potential — its anticipated or achievable future size
- The purchase decision-making process: whether consumers budget and plan ahead or buy on impulse, how their decisions are made, and who is involved in those decisions
- Purchasing motivations — what needs, values, or desires most motivate consumers. What product benefits and features are most likely to make them buy
- Shopping patterns — where, when, how often, on what occasions, and in what quantities consumers buy
- Consumer habits — where, when, how often, on what occasions, and in what quantities consumers use certain products and service
It’s important to note that all of the benefits I listed above are potential results from Consumer and Market Analysis. They are potential because, as with any poll or survey, this analysis must be done correctly — from respondents to the language of the questions, to the sample size. There’s more to come on that soon.