How to do a secondary market research effectively?

"Company Name" AND "raised" OR "round" OR "deal" OR "closed" OR "announced" OR "equity" OR "debt" OR "investment" OR "invested" OR "funded" OR "investor" OR "investors" OR "backed" OR "acquired" AND “current year” OR ------- OR “founded year”

If you are into market research and this looks like Greek to you, then it is worth your time to understand this simple string that is used to find the deal amount, year of funding, investors etc. for a funding round. We use this string and similar variations of these to find data in our Google search results when we are doing secondary research. When we do quantitative market research, many of us find it difficult to find data but if we follow Google Search guidelines to search data then we can find difficult data points quickly and accurately.  Therefore before you start any secondary market research activity, you need to create the search strings. These strings need to be beta tested so that they give closer to accurate results. Based upon the beta test which can be done internally within the team and the results incorporated, it can be fine tuned and applied to the actual project. This makes the work much easier and helps to find data quickly.

Secondary research helps to gather different type of information about customers, market or competitors and these parameters will influence the research methods you choose. These data can be represented in the form of tables and graphs and an explanation provided on the data. This helps the end user to get a clear idea on the market demand of their product or services. Successful businesses make profits by understanding their customers and identifying their needs. Good customer research helps you choose products, tailor your marketing and develop sales tactics for the people in your market based on reliable, accurate information.

Customer research should be part of your overall market research and should be conducted regularly. While your market research looks broadly at your customers, competition and industry to identify who you will market to, customer research provides more in-depth information on the needs, wants, expectations and behaviors of your customers. It is also important to understand their purchasing behavior and attitudes with regards to brands and products. Testing new product or marketing concepts with potential customers is also a good way to prepare for a launch to see if your work has potential to translate to success.

There are different ways to gather information (from primary or secondary sources) and different types of information to gather (quantitative and qualitative). You may use any combination of these research approaches to get the results you need. Based upon information that I found in the Queensland Government Business website, secondary research includes information that we can derive from the following sources:

• Information on the internet
• Existing market research results
• Existing data from your own stock lists and customer database
• Information from agencies such as industry bodies, government agencies, libraries and local councils.

Secondary research allows you to make the most of existing information about your market. You may use secondary research to get an initial understanding of your market. It is often faster to analyze than primary data because, in many cases, someone else may have already started analyzing it. However, when using secondary research be careful how you interpret it, as it may have been collected for a different purpose or from a market segment that isn't relevant to your business. Also make sure that any secondary information isn't out-of-date, as the market can change quickly and this will affect your results.

Other important points when starting with a secondary research work is how well the data is structured. The data and the report thereof should make sense and help the client take important business decisions. Client investment running into hundreds of thousands or even a few million dollars depending on the size of the company depends on the report. Therefore even the best market research companies when they initiate a project are very careful that the report is well structured so that the right interpretations are derived.

Whether you're just starting your own business or are already operating, you need accurate and up-to-date information to help you make informed decisions. Researching and understanding information about your target market, competitors, location and industry will allow you to recognize opportunities for change and growth. For any market research project, the first source of information is whitepapers, research articles and any previous work that has been done on the subject and is available in the public domain. There are also paid reports that can be used to derive the required information.