Originally published on Medium.
I have often been asked about the contribution of user research compared to market research and its place in the innovation process.
In this article, I propose to revisit these two fundamentals, which are not opposed but can often be complementary.
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When a product is commercialized or the concept is developed and ready to be launched, market research provides a quantitative analysis (most often). It is a tool for analyzing and monitoring performance and opportunities, appreciated by managers in companies.
The exploitation of the results allows for analyzing trends and making forecasts to adapt a strategy and optimize production. In some cases, it can also be used to convince stakeholders such as investors who expect concrete projections on projects with a significant risk dimension.
Data is obtained through questionnaires distributed to a target audience to obtain interpretable information, most often quantitatively. Economic performances of a sector are studied in parallel through open or more often private sector databases.
Results are studied with more or less advanced analysis tools. At a minimum, an Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet will be used. Otherwise, analysis can be pushed with technologies like R or by getting into the code if data is massive to exploit what we like to call "big data."
To obtain a sectoral market study, you can contact economic research and market analysis firms. You will then have access to all important information to know about your sector: trends, competition, strategies/performance of companies, etc.
Good to know: if you don't want to spend thousands of euros on a study, go to the nearest CCI. CCIs have partnerships with recognized research firms (Xerfi, Echos études, Euromonitor etc.). You can consult sectoral studies (sometimes niche) for free.
If, on the other hand, you want a custom study, not on a sector but on a particular product, go to a polling or marketing firm. And if you have the skills, you can also conduct your own research with your in-house teams!