By Kate Zuritsky | 07/16/2025
What do TikTok® stars, Amazon® “just for you” suggestions, and pumpkin spice coffee at Dunkin’® have in common? They’re all powered by market research and industry trends designed to help those businesses understand consumer behavior and reach their target audience.
Whether it’s hosting customer focus groups, monitoring social media engagement, or conducting surveys, market research is key in developing successful marketing strategies. So if you’ve ever wondered why that sneaker ad followed you from the brand’s website to your Instagram® feed, now you’ve got an answer!
If you’re interested in a career in marketing – or just curious about industry trends and consumer buying habits – you’re in the right place! Understanding how to gather and analyze data through market research is a powerful skill that can help connect brands with their target customers.
So what are the top research methods for marketing and how do you conduct market research?
What Is Market Research?
Market research is the process of using competitive analytics, statistics, and consumer data to understand market trends, buying habits, and your target customers. “Technology has dramatically improved marketing research,” says Dr. Lindan A. Moya, an instructor of marketing and business at American Public University (APU). “Companies can now track customers who visit their website and use pop-ups to offer discounts, collect email addresses, and mobile phone numbers.”
With the right market research tools, businesses can gain valuable insights into areas like:
- What your customers need, want, and value
- How your product or service stacks up against the competition
- What the emerging trends, market opportunities, and potential gaps in the industry are
By gathering and analyzing this data, marketers can make informed decisions, refine their strategies, and better connect with their audience. Market research is a critical component of any business strategy and a major way to ensure you remain competitive in your market.
Why Should You Conduct Market Research?
Market research is a crucial step for businesses aiming to better understand their target market, industry trends, and the competitive landscape. By analyzing things like consumer demographics, household income, and consumers’ purchasing behavior, companies can make more informed marketing strategies and create the products and services that meet real demand.
It also helps businesses identify pain points and potential obstacles. Market research methods can reveal how your brand performs against competitors, explore consumer attitudes, and optimize resources.
How to Grow Your Market Share
If you want a competitive edge and grow your market share, understanding how to gather and analyze customer data for insights is crucial. From online surveys to focus groups, market research helps you uncover insights about your target audience and market segment. The data you gather allows you to:
- Conduct an effective competitor analysis
- Craft stronger marketing messages
- Build brand loyalty
- Tap into new revenue opportunities
Primary vs. Secondary Market Research Methods
Market research methods can be divided into two categories: primary market research and secondary market research. Depending on the method, this research may take place in a natural or controlled environment.
Primary research is the process of collecting new, firsthand data directly from your target audience. It includes both qualitative (exploratory and descriptive) and quantitative research (measurable and statistical) approaches.
On the other hand, secondary market research is a separate category that relies on existing sources to gather insights. These sources include:
- Public domain data
- Government databases (especially useful for mining economic indicators)
- Industry reports
“At the most basic level, market research methods encompass any tool that helps companies position their products and understand consumer needs,” says Dr. Moya. “The most common types are split between primary and secondary research. The actual methodologies used to gather information are qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods.”
Primary Market Research
Have you ever organized a focus group or sent out a customer survey to gather information about a product or service? If so, you’ve conducted your own primary market research. Conducting primary research involves collecting data directly from your audience, whether they’re customers or prospects, to gain insight into their preferences, needs, and behavior.
“Primary marketing research is defined as data that is newly collected,” explains Dr. Moya. It allows brands to gain a deeper understanding of their target market and make more informed decisions about how to position their products and services. This type of market research uses methods and techniques – such as focus groups, customer surveys, and social listening tools – to gather data on consumer preferences, behaviors, and opinions.
Secondary Market Research
“Secondary marketing research is second-hand research,” says Dr. Moya. “In other words, it’s about using research that was previously conducted.” Also known as desktop research, this method utilizes data that’s already been collected and published by other sources.
Secondary research can help a business save time and money, freeing up space and costs associated with conducting and designing research. It can assist with finding new trends and insights and highlighting market opportunities and potential risks.
Secondary research can be considered exploratory or explanatory. However, it’s usually used to explain the causes and consequences of a specific problem using existing data.
“Examples of secondary research are scholarly papers, government data, and industry trade publications,” adds Dr. Moya. “Secondary research can be a valuable part of an overall marketing research plan.”
Various Research Methods
There are various ways to conduct market research. These methods include:
- Qualitative research
- Quantitative research
- Competitive analysis
- Focus groups
- Market research surveys
- Social listening
- Data collection
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is the process of collecting and analyzing descriptive data – such as audio, visuals, or text – to understand people’s beliefs, experiences, and motivations. This type of market research provides rich, in-depth insights into complex social issues by focusing on meaning and context.
Gathering qualitative data may involve conducting interviews, running focus groups, and implementing survey research. Once data is collected, researchers will:
- Organize it
- Conduct a statistical analysis
- Look for patterns
- Identify recurring themes and deeper insights
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is a method that market researchers use to collect and analyze numerical data. It’s often used to gain a competitive advantage by uncovering consumer values and behaviors and comparing different groups and segments.
“Quantitative data can be analyzed with various statistical methods to make predictions and draw inferences, which can then be used to make business decisions,” observes Dr. Moya. “For example, survey results may reveal that a certain demographic is more – or less – likely to purchase a new product.”
Competitive Analysis
If you’re trying to understand how many competitors are in your industry and how to outperform them, you’ll need to conduct a competitor analysis. A competitive analysis can provide a high-level overview of your competition. It also enables you to get a closer look at specific areas of business, such as customer experience, pricing, market size, and marketing campaigns.
A competitive analysis can also involve observational research, such as monitoring how competitors interact with customers or promoting their products and services. This type of research helps you to:
- Identify your business’s strengths and weaknesses
- Spot industry trends
- Determine successful strategies
- Gain a better understanding of your place in the market
Focus Groups
Another popular type of primary research is a focus group, which is an “example of a qualitative methodology,” according to Dr. Moya. Brands and market research companies use open-ended questions and exploratory research to encourage participants to share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
“Focus groups, as the name implies, consist of a small group of people and a facilitator,” explains Dr. Moya. “These groups are often used to gather customer insights and observe customer interactions, which can then be used to create a survey instrument to collect information from a larger audience.”
Participants typically come from a demographically diverse background – grouped by segments such as age, gender, profession, or ethnicity – to reflect the target market. These segments help businesses to understand customer preferences and needs in the market.
Market Research Surveys
“An example of primary marketing research is a market research survey, which is a quantitative method,” says Dr. Moya. If you’re looking for a less time-consuming and easy way to collect raw data from your target market, surveys – whether in person or via an online form – can reveal everything from demographics to consumer opinions and their desires.
Surveys can also help determine a specific level of market saturation by providing insight into customer preferences. Some of the most common types of surveys include:
- Brand personality
- Consumer behavior
- Competitor research
Social Listening
“Social media can help marketers track trends and gain a better understanding of their target audience,” states Dr. Moya. “However, it is essential to understand which social media platforms are being used by which customers.”
Social listening (also known as social media listening) is the process of monitoring, identifying, and analyzing conversations about your brand across various social media platforms. This form of marketing analytics and competitive analysis helps you better understand consumer opinions, spot audience pain points, and learn about how people really view your brand. With social listening, you’re paying attention to comments, conversations, and hashtags for observational market research.
She adds, “In the early days of social media, some scholarly research showed that younger people with college degrees tended to use social media more frequently than older adults without degrees.”
Data Collection
Data collection refers to locating, analyzing, and reviewing data that was already collected by private companies, academic institutions, or government agencies. Unlike primary research, this process doesn’t involve collecting data, which is time-consuming and costly. Instead, it focuses on using relevant data that already exists.
Useful sources of secondary data include:
- Public domain data such as census records, sales data, or labor statistics
- Government databases
- Industry reports
- Academic publications
- Research centers
Data can also be collected from online repositories, digital libraries, or company websites. But before you use the data, make sure it’s legitimate, relevant, and timely.
How Has Technology Transformed Market Research?
As artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology tools continue to evolve, so does the way brands gather and analyze consumer data. From AI-powered platforms that gather insights in real-time to predictive analytics and social media monitoring tools, modern marketing research goes far beyond yesterday’s methods.
“Companies can track clicks and likes and use social media to reach their current and future customers,” explains Dr. Moya. “None of these rapid responses were possible before the internet.”
Today’s tech-driven approach offers more speed, precision, and flexibility. With immediate feedback and real-time data, companies can track engagement, refine messaging, and improve the customer experience immediately.
What Degree Is Best for Market Research and Brand Management?
According to Dr. Moya, “A marketing degree is the best foundation for a brand manager, because a brand manager is in charge of the entire promotion of a product.”
Brand managers play a crucial role in shaping how a product is viewed, promoted, and positioned in the market. With a solid foundation in marketing, you’ll gain the essential skills and knowledge needed to manage all aspects of branding: from market research to competitive analysis to campaign planning and execution.
“Understanding marketing research helps to determine who, what, where, and why,” she explains. “It is also important to understand marketing and advertising strategies, and to be able to work with advertisers to design campaigns.” In addition to strategic thinking, brand managers need to collaborate across an organization’s departments, dive deeper into insights, and make sure marketing efforts align with what the consumer wants and the business needs.
The Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing at APU
For adult learners seeking to upskill their abilities and learn the fundamentals of marketing, marketing research, and other relevant topics, APU provides an online Bachelor of Arts in Marketing. In this academic program, students will study a variety of topics, including branding, marketing strategy, and the principles of supervision.
Students also have the option of choosing one of several concentrations, such as:
- Digital marketing
- Retail management
- Analytics
- Internet-web technology
- General
In addition, this B.A. in marketing has specialty accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP®). This specialty accreditation ensures that this program has been checked for high quality by higher educational professionals.
For more information on this degree program, visit APU's business and management degree program page.
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