How to Conduct Market Research?

Before launching a product, service or business, you need to understand the market in which you want to operate. This is where market research comes in.

A well-structured market analysis helps to reduce risk, refine positioning and build a realistic business strategy.

Our business strategy consultants explain how to carry out market research step by step, and how to draw concrete conclusions to guide your decisions.

What is market research?

A market study consists of analysing the demand, supply and environment of a business sector in order to assess the viability and potential for success of a product, service or company.

In other words, it involves gathering and interpreting key data to find out whether your idea meets a real need, whether the competition will make room for your project, and whether the political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental and regulatory context is favourable to its development.

This process is based on two complementary approaches:

• This is based on existing data, known as secondary data, from reliable sources such as government bodies, trade associations and sector databases. It provides an initial picture of the market and its development.

• Field research: this is based on the direct collection of information known as primary data from your potential customers and your competitors. This can be done through surveys, in-depth individual interviews or focus groups. This approach provides a concrete, up-to-date picture of customer behaviour and expectations, and of market receptiveness.

Why conduct market research?

Here are the main objectives of a market analysis:

• Understand customer needs and expectations: identify who your customers are, what they are looking for and what influences their choices. This detailed understanding enables you to fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of your offering and your marketing efforts so that you can tailor them to their priorities.

• Identify opportunities and threats: detect emerging trends in the environment, particularly regulatory changes or innovations likely to impact your sector.

• Adapt your marketing strategies: define coherent strategies to deal with the competition and market expectations (product, positioning, pricing policy, promotion, distribution)

• Base your business decisions: solid market analysis provides tangible data to confirm hypotheses and convince partners, investors or financial institutions.

Market research is more than just a formality. It's a strategic tool that helps you make the right decisions, validate your business model and structure your growth on a solid foundation.

4 steps to successful market research

Conducting effective market research requires a structured approach. By following these four steps, you'll have a clear picture of your business environment and the levers for growth you can exploit.

1. Define your market

The first step is to define your market, i.e. specify the framework in which your company operates. This scoping phase is essential if you are to concentrate your efforts on the relevant data.

• Determine your sector of activity: which field your offer belongs to (e.g. food, professional services, retail, technology).

• Please specify your geographical area: local, regional, national or international market.

• Prioritise your geographical market: primary, secondary or tertiary market.

• Identify your target customers: individuals, businesses, public sector.

Identify relevant current and future trends, such as changes in purchasing behaviour, technological innovations, new regulations or social changes. This information will help you assess your project's growth potential and position your offering in the right place.

Once you have defined your scope, estimate the size of the market:

• How many potential customers?

• What is the total value (sales, volume, total turnover)?

• What market share can you reasonably aim for?

2. Analysing the request

Demand analysis aims to understand who your current and potential customers are, what they expect and how they behave. To do this, start by drawing up a portrait of your typical customers, often called a persona:

• Age, gender, occupation, income, lifestyle;

• Motivations, expectations, frustrations;

• Buying habits and preferred channels;

Then study their buying behaviour:

• When, where and how do they buy?

• What criteria influence their choice (price, quality, speed, company values)?

• How sensitive are they to new products or brands?

Measure current demand and try to anticipate its evolution. This will enable you to estimate whether the market is expanding, stable or declining.

Gathering methods

• Quantitative: statistical studies, polls or surveys conducted online, by telephone or in person, using structured questionnaires, among a known defined population;

• Qualitative: individual interviews, field observations, focus groups.

3. Analysing the offer

An analysis of your offering involves understanding the competitive dynamics of your sector and market and identifying your place in this ecosystem. The aim is to find out who you share the market with and how you can differentiate yourself.

Start by identifying your direct and indirect competitors:

• Directs: those who offer a product or service similar to yours.

• Indirect: those that meet the same need in a different way.

Then study their positioning and their strengths and weaknesses:

• Range of products and services on offer;

• Pricing strategies, distribution channels, promotional strategies, market presence, online visibility;

• Brand awareness, image and customer satisfaction.

This stage will enable you to identify the opportunities left by your competitors and define your competitive advantage (cost, quality, value, expertise, innovation, proximity, sustainability, etc.).

4. Analysing the market environment

The final step is to examine the external factors likely to influence your market. This is known as a PESTEL analysis, which takes into account :

• Political: government stability, taxation, sector regulation.

• Economic: inflation, interest rates, purchasing power, growth.

• Sociocultural: values, consumer habits, demographic changes.

• Technological: innovations, automation, digital shift.

• Environmental: sustainable development, carbon footprint, ecological regulations.

• Legal: standards, employment law, patents, intellectual property.

This analysis of the market environment enables us to identify :

• Opportunities to be seized (new technologies, subsidies, emerging niches).

• Potential threats (increased competition, new legislation, economic slowdown).

Also assess the barriers to entry. These could be the investment required, regulatory requirements, customer loyalty to existing brands, etc.

How do you collect and analyse data?

Once the main stages of your market research have been defined, it's time to collect the data you need to feed your analysis.

There are two main types of data collection, followed by an interpretation phase to transform the data into strategic findings to feed into your strategic decisions.

Collection methods

1. Quantitative data

The aim of quantitative data is to obtain measurable and representative results. They answer the questions "how many", "how often" and "what percentage".

They can be used to identify general trends and quantify the size of a market, market shares or purchase intentions.

Examples of quantitative methods:

• Online surveys via specialist platforms (Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Typeform).

• Questionnaires sent out to customers or prospective customers.

• Statistical panels supplied by public or private bodies.

• Public statistics from reliable sources such as official institutions (e.g. government bodies, professional associations, sectoral databases).

2. Qualitative data

Qualitative data explores the human dimension, such as consumer perceptions, motivations and behaviour. It answers the question "why?

This data is more in-depth, but also more subjective. They are the perfect complement to the quantitative analyses.

Examples of qualitative methods:

• One-to-one interviews (customers, partners, industry experts);

• Focus groups to gather collective opinions on a product or service;

• Observations in the field, useful for understanding the real behaviour of consumers in their purchasing environment.

Sources of information to use

An effective market analysis relies on a combination of internal and external sources.

Internal data

Data from internal sources comes directly from your company and is often under-exploited. It can be used to assess current performance and identify internal trends.

Examples:

• Sales and turnover history;

• Data from your CRM (Customer Relationship Management): customer profile and loyalty, conversion rate, etc;

• Web data: Google Analytics, advertising campaigns, customer journeys, etc.

External data

Data from external sources complements the internal view with a broader perspective of the market.

Examples of key sources to exploit:

• Statistics Canada and Institut de la Statistique du Québec: updated economic, demographic and sectoral data;

• CNESST: information on the labour market and regulations in Quebec;

• BDC and Bank of Canada: economic studies and sectoral analyses;

• Chambers of commerce and trade associations: information on market players and trends;

• Sector databases and private studies (Nielsen, Euromonitor, IBISWorld, etc.);

• INSEE: public statistics for European markets.

By cross-referencing several sources, you reduce the risk of bias and increase the reliability of your analysis.

Analysing and interpreting results

Once the data has been collected, the challenge is to make sense of it. The aim is not to accumulate figures, but to identify concrete lessons to guide your decisions.

Identifying key trends

Group the information according to the main themes of your study: demand, supply, environment.

Identify strong signals (growth, changes in behaviour, innovations) and weak signals (emergence of new needs or players).

Identify opportunities and threats

• Which niches or segments are still under-exploited?

• What risks could hinder your development?

• What market developments could become growth drivers?

Identify clear lines of action and priorities Based on your findings, draw up concrete courses of action:

• Adapt your offer or your prices.

• Redefine your distribution channels.

• Reposition your communications.

• Identify new partners or target markets.

Get help with your market analysis

Market research is a real decision-making tool, enabling you to invest in the right place, at the right time, with the right strategy. By understanding your environment, your customers and your competitors, you increase your chances of success and considerably reduce the risks associated with your business decisions.

At Mallette, our marketing and strategic research experts will be with you every step of the way, from data collection to results analysis, to turn your ideas and projects into concrete, profitable strategies.

Discover our full market research and feasibility service and give your projects the solid foundations they deserve.