Why We Love Market Research

Good marketing starts with listening. Getting input from your current or future customers, or understanding how your users behave, is the best way to do it. It is one of the reasons we love market research, and also because we are a little data-obsessed around here.

Market research gives organizations the insights they need to make decisions, reduce risk, and connect more authentically with their audience. Without it, you are just guessing. Big corporations have long understood the power of research, user input, and validation testing to shape new products and services, improve existing offerings, or gauge the success of a campaign before launch.

There are many types of research and methodologies you can use for different purposes. Let’s break down some of the most common ways to get input from your current or future customers.

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

We often find that people don’t really know the difference between qualitative and quantitative research. And that is OK. Most people don’t need to. We get paid to know. But if you are planning to launch or market a new product or service, knowing the difference can come in handy.

• Qualitative research explores the why. Focus groups, interviews, and open-ended surveys uncover beliefs, motivations, and barriers.

• Quantitative research measures the what. Online surveys, polls, and data analysis give you numbers you can use to validate patterns at scale.

Tried and True Methods

• Focus groups: Small discussions that reveal how people feel and why.
  Good for testing reactions to new ideas, marketing messages, or program concepts before a wider launch.

• Surveys: Efficient tools for capturing broad input.
  Use when you want feedback from a larger audience or need quantifiable data to confirm trends.

• Interviews: In-depth conversations that dig beneath the surface.
  Better for uncovering nuanced perspectives, personal stories, or complex decision-making processes.

• Community research: Meeting people where they are, in language, in culture, in context.
  Use for reaching underrepresented groups, ensuring cultural relevance, and building authentic connections.

Other Research Methods

• Validation testing: Checking whether ideas, creative campaigns, or product concepts resonate before investing heavily. This often builds on other methods like focus groups or surveys. Example: running A/B tests on ad creative or piloting a new service with a small group.

• Usability testing: Watching how people interact with a website, app, or tool to uncover friction points. Example: observing where users get stuck in a sign-up process or abandon a checkout page.

• Ethnographic studies: Immersing in a community or environment to see how people use products or services in real life. Example: watching how families use meal kits at home or how park visitors navigate reservation systems.

Other Ways to Get Customer Insights

There are other ways to get input. “Formal research can be time-consuming and expensive, but it doesn’t always have to be,” says co-founder Cynarah Alcántara, who often leads our market research and analytics efforts. “There are also cost-effective ways to keep listening.” Here are a few of her go-to recommendations:

• Analytics: Most websites come with built-in analytics, but connecting to Google Analytics 4 (G4) provides deeper insights on who is visiting and how they interact with your site.

• Social media analytics: Even without social media paid tools, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn give you data on what is resonating with your audience.

• Polls on social media: Use built-in polling features to get quick feedback on things like product preferences or content ideas.

• Online reviews: Encourage reviews on Facebook, Google My Business, or through a reputation management tool. They reveal a lot about customer sentiment.

• Feedback forms: Keep them short and focused, whether online or printed in person, so completion rates stay high while still giving you useful input.

“Focusing on data and customer feedback allows you to fine-tune your messaging. When I was leading enrollment marketing at the University of Puget Sound, I was told students only cared about location, programs, and student life — and that parents cared about careers, safety, and financial aid. But when I dug into the data from our recruitment platforms, I saw a different story. Students were also worried about paying for college and finding jobs after graduation. We shifted gears and began providing students with information on financial literacy and career outcomes, just as we did for parents. Without the data, we would have missed that insight.” - Co-founder Cynarah Alcántara,

Our Market Research Work

MCA Marketing brings years of experience conducting market research for clients including the University of Washington, Delta Dental Foundation, Make-A-Wish, and Seattle Parks and Recreation. Most recently, we facilitated focus groups with Latino business owners to inform the creation of a new Latino entrepreneur and business resource in the South Sound.

Our research findings don’t just sit in a report. We turn them into actionable, strategic recommendations that help clients move forward confidently with new products, services, or initiatives, and into core marketing foundations like value propositions, target audiences, and key messaging.

For ongoing insights, we also provide clients with monthly reporting that covers website, social media, and other analytics. Understanding user behaviors helps us optimize content and improve engagement and conversions.

Market research is not about collecting data for the sake of it. It is about building strategies and programs that reflect real needs and solve real pain points.

Interested in how research could guide your next initiative? Let’s talk. Contact us to explore how MCA Marketing can design the right research approach for your organization.