A market research template is the roadmap to research arrangement. It contains all the necessary steps with the plan of actions that should be done to gather the required data.

In this article, we prepared information about market research applications and advantages, as well as recommendations on how to write templates. This will provide you with basic information about the market research organization.

Market Research Applications And Advantages

It Reduces the Risk of Product and Business Failure 

One of the main advantages of market research is that it can reduce the risk of business failure. Depending on the research type, its aim, and coverage, market research can mitigate problems related to brand performance, product failure, and overall business performance.

It Helps to Forecast Future Trends

Market research can support future trends forecasting. Even more, in most cases, comprehensive market research is the main way to mine the data about trends and market development directions. Though trends may be explained in market periodicals, market research provides prompt and more rapid insights.

Gives You an Advantage Compared to Your Competitors

Competitive advantage in the market is the genuine result of market research, however, the research should be properly conducted. Underperformed and immature research can’t bring any betterments, but rigorous obedience to the research procedures can strengthen business competitiveness.

Assists You in Planning More Strategically 

Besides the above-stated application and advantages, generally speaking, market research is the only reliable source for strategic planning. All of the market players from multinational corporations and specialized magazines to business owners and singular scientists use methods and tools of market research to boost their strategic intelligence.

How to Write a Market Research Plan/Template?

These are the Elements of a great market research plan:

Overview or Summary

In the final part of the article, we will provide you with the guidelines related to the market research plan (template) creation. The initial step here is the creation of the research overview or summary. Briefly (2 or 3 paragraphs) describe your research, as well as the most important things related to it.

Objectives

After the summary creation, you have to define the research objectives. Here you need to think about the reasons for the research and what you want to achieve in its process. Formulate and state clearly 3-10 objectives, which can be clearly understood by all the participants.

Deliverables (or Outcomes)

Set your research target in a way that you exactly know what you want to obtain. For example, you may want to know the number of respondents, product features, brand characteristics, market channels, or direct competitors.

Target Audience

The fourth step is the negotiation about the target audience. A target audience consists of target groups, buyer personas, or industrial professionals which can be categorized by size, age, gender, market behaviour, habits, and other features.

Sample Plan

After the clarification of the target audience, make it more visible by detailing the number of respondents. It is called a sample, or the number of respondents from the research population that reflects the general structure of the target audience but with fewer people.

Research Methods

At this stage of research planning, define the methods you would like to use. You may pick up a single method or a couple of them. Nowadays the most popular method of market research is the consumer survey, but you may also use focus groups and paneling. 

Timeline

All the previous work should create the basis for a good understanding of your research itself. Now, it is time to settle time and budget questions. Specify the overall research timeline and adjust the proper timing according to your needs.

Budget

One of the final steps is to set the research budget. You may spend your own money, or ask them from other involved parties. The good news is that there are relatively inexpensive types of market research. For example, online market surveys may be conducted with no a relatively small amount of money. 

Ethical Concerns or Conflicts of Interest

Finally, to settle up all the basic work, please think about ethical concerns and possible conflicts of interest. Additionally, if needed, create a privacy policy and a disclosure agreement. All of the above-stated should make your research sound and well-tuned.