Market research is the process used to determine how
viable a service or product is within a certain market using data collection
methods, statistical representation, and analysis.
Market research allows a company to correctly identify
and discover the target market and to get opinions and other feedback from
consumers about their interest in the product or service. The Coffee Industry through
its many private and public stakeholders have conducted and commissioned a
wealth of surveys in many markets worldwide.
However, they are more abundant for the established
export markets in Europe and North America.
There are three main objectives of research:
Coffee producers, processors, and retailers must
execute market research as a means of understanding their customer - increasing
customer satisfaction, retention, and growth.
There are two levels to market research: primary research and secondary research.
Primary research Constitutes qualitative or quantitative research executed by the company or outsourced to a third party
Qualitative
research
is constituted by focus groups, one-on-one
interviews, or ethnographic research. Quantitative research is a
research strategy that focuses on quantifying the collection and analysis of
data and includes methods such as surveys, questionnaires, and polls.
Qualitative market
research is the study of the factors that influence people's behavior within a
specific market. For example, in the consumer coffee industry, the aim of
qualitative research might be to understand consumers' motivations when they purchase
or consume coffee and why. Qualitative research usually focuses on relatively
small sample sizes, allowing for in-depth analyses of the subjects.
One of the most common
types of qualitative research is the focus group. Focus groups are small
discussion groups of usually 6 to 8 participants with diverse backgrounds and
perspectives but with a unifying characteristic in relation to a product or
brand. They might, for instance, like a specific brand of coffee, or they're
all familiar with a type of coffee. A market researcher often functions as a
moderator as the participants openly discuss and opine about the subject. Focus
groups can be web-based as well. As a cost-effective alternative to in-person
groups, online focus groups might discuss topics on social media platforms, on
message boards or by video chat software.
Quantitative research focuses on numbers, logic, and an objective stance. Quantitative research focuses on numeric and unchanging data and detailed, convergent reasoning rather than divergent reasoning. It looks at the statistics and not the person. Surveys and polls are the main types of quantitative research used to collect and collate market data. The larger the number of respondents the better the quality of data collected. The collected data is then analyzed through the use of graphs and tables which visualize the data into clear information
Secondary research Is the use of research already done and published. Secondary information is data that an outside entity has already gathered. This can include population information from government census data, trade association research reports, or presented research from another business operating within the same market sector. The International Coffee Organization has a compilation of research data available for use.
Research is collected to analyze for use in identifying modes of action regarding your business and/or product. Uses of research is as follows:
Intelligence about the qualities that customers prefer in products and why such qualities are useful can go directly into creating new goods. For example, if qualitative research shows that most participants prefer coffee from a sustainable background, that information could be used to increase investment and production in the sustainable coffee sector.
Key markets can be defined from quantitative research. From large sample sizes, you can put the data collected into graphs or tables to define which gender, age groups, ethnicities, etc. can be seen as the key markets. Defining the key markets is important to create an efficacious marketing campaign.
Focus groups and one-on-one interviews can reveal how individuals feel about the tone or style of a marketing campaign. Analyzing their reactions and opinions will inform marketers' efforts to create marketing strategies that can appeal to the widest range of people. This representation of feedback can lead to more effective marketing campaigns. Increased efficiency in marketing will produce greater returns on investment in marketing, product development, and other key areas
It is important for all key stakeholders to carry out more extensive research and to use said research to inform the decisions going forward. Some critical information to uncover through research:
Every country is unique, and each coffee-producing country would benefit greatly from some strong data on their local coffee markets. This would create a more effective and efficient use of market spend that would see significant results as mentioned times before. It is greatly advised that key stakeholders in the coffee industry either carry out more professional market research through the use of third parties, and/or utilize the data available to advise operations going forward. The world is now data-driven, ensure your industry is too.
