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Market Analytics vs. Market Research: What's the Difference?
Businesses need market intelligence to survive the test of time and to stay relevant to their consumers’ needs. They get this market intelligence through various means, the ultimate goal, however, is to know what the consumers like, what they want and what they don’t. Methodologies to collect data could include personal interviews, focus groups, mystery shopping, consumer surveys, and big data. The data collected through all these methods varies in quality and type and thus, the way the data is analysed and the results it produces varies too. However, all kinds of data produces consumer insights which are helpful in business decision making. Some of the methods of data collection mentioned above correspond to market research while some correspond to market analytics. Through both these methods, important consumer insights are generated.
Market research
Market research is a very old method of data collection and analysis and is functional and useful even today in the age of big data and analytics. Market research involves directly getting in touch with the consumers to generate feedback with regard to brand management, development of new products and consumer perception around products and brands. In depth studies are commissioned and designed to generate feedback for specific purposes. The studies are then conducted among the target audience directly to get actual feedback from them about the values and perceptions they harbor about the brand or product. Research conducted can be of two kinds - qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research looks search deep seated customer beliefs and how they impact the brand or product. Quantitative research on the other hand is done to corroborate the findings of a qualitative research or numerically back insights. The shopping behavior and consumer usage habits can also be tracked in real time through market research done through mobile and online platforms. A mix of qualitative and quantitative studies can provide a holistic view of the consumer perceptions and thus, help in creating better products, advertising campaigns and other market communication. However, this has to be a regular process and often accounts for huge sums of money on part of the brand.
Market analytics
Analytics has also been around for a long time but has gained prominence in the past few years. In fact, with the advent of big data, analytics has become a staple for almost all businesses. In the past analytics was done on important business health metrics such as sales data and profit ratios of an organization and the results were utilized to course correct the errors. However, the rise of internet of things (IoT) changed all of this. The number data collection points increased dramatically. In fact, data can now be collected at every consumer touch point one can imagine and thus, companies are flooded with data. Market analytics helps in culling the right set of data to enhance various aspects of market efficiency. By conducting analyses on the various data sets, market analytics adds to the information about consumers and their purchase behaviors to what they already know through market research.
What is the difference between market research and market analysis?
Market research and market analytics are two methods of gathering market intelligence and can be considered as two different phases of data collection. Market research deals with consumers directly and is thus, the primary research phase of data collection. Market analytics on the other hand is the analysis of data collected through various sources and hence, can be called the secondary research phase. Both these phases are linked to each other and are helpful in corroborating each other’s results or providing new insights. However, they can each function as an independent method of research as direct consumer touch can be established through either method. As previously discussed, market research comprising qualitative and quantitative methods is an expensive affair and not all companies can afford it. Market analytics, on the other hand, can be conducted even on the social media or email data through Google analytics and hence, even companies with very small research budgets can afford it.
However, the use of both in tandem amplifies their advantages. Through market research marketers can know what the consumers want in terms of products or communication. Through market analytics they can know the actual purchase behaviors and patterns, online as well as offline through POS data which the consumers may not otherwise share with the brand. One of the uses of the market analytics database can be to corroborate the findings of market research in terms of purchase behavior.
Market research and market analytics have both evolved over the years and the process will continue. The comparison between the two as two separate methodologies may not be right in today’s context. Rather, they should be seen as complementary methodologies for gathering market intelligence. Those interested in a career in market research or market analytics must enrol themselves in a marketing management course.
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