Market Research Value for Food & Beverage Processing Businesses
When you take that first bite into a perfectly prepared food item, chances are it's gone through many rounds of research and testing. In fact, market research is one of the most important steps in the decision making and product development process. Skipping it can be detrimental to the launch and long-term success of your products. Market research can give you a better understanding of:
- Who your customers are, where they live and how they shop
- Current and emerging food trends
- Your customers' needs and expectations
- Packaging design preferences
- Service delivery models
How to Perform Market Research
Whether your food & beverage processing operation is experienced in market research or just getting started, the following steps can be a useful guideline to ensure you're collecting the right information. However, keep in mind that food & beverage processing business is different in terms of how many products they produce, what their competitive landscape looks like and what their unique value proposition is. This proposed method of collecting data is adaptable based on the factors above, amongst many others.
- Identify Your Target Market
The first step is to narrow down who your best customers are. This means gathering their demographic data, including geographic characteristics, spending patterns and whether they're an individual consumer or a small business. - Assess Your Market's Spending
Habits and Preferences
From there, gain an understanding of how much your target market is willing to spend on your product. In addition, try to determine what specific qualities your product possesses that your target market either likes or potentially dislikes. - Review Consumption Trends
Once you know a bit more about your audience, learn what's already happened within the market in regards to your actual product. Look at both past product launches and the future of your product's niche. - Project Your Target Market
Ask yourself how large your target geographic area is and how many of your key consumers reside within that region. Don't forget to consider what competitors you'll be grappling with. - Analyze The Competition
After you've identified your competitors, take a closer look at what they're doing. Where are they successful? How are they marketing their product? - Outline Your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Threats
Often referred to as a SWOT analysis, this step offers you a chance to identify both internal and external factors that can support or potentially threaten your product's success.
Once you've completed these research tasks, you should have a clear picture of the customers you need to reach, the areas you should be present in and the steps you'll need to take to launch your product successfully.
That being said, market data research can be a time-consuming activity that is easily coloured by an internal bias, potentially jeopardizing the outcome of your research to lead you down an incorrect path. It can be useful to work with an impartial, outside consultant to help develop your market strategy or to develop a business plan, particularly when exploring a new venture.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
