Want answers? Ask the right questions
“Errors using inadequate data are much less than those using no data at all.” — Charles Babbage
In this edition:
Your business is as strong as your commitment to research
Peloton picks up on what competitors can’t see
Stay fit through the holidays
EXPLAINER
Like it or not, research is your business
Market research.
You’ve seen, read and heard about it. You know it’s important to your business. Maybe you’ve even done it once or twice but don’t enjoy the process — it’s okay to admit that.
So how’s our advice any different? Nothing much changes until your perception of research does so let’s make a strong case for it in a few words.
Think about your entire business: customer, product, team and other stakeholders. What’s the one thing that could wipe you out or make you the best in your industry?
With no knowledge of your market, you may offer customers a solution they’ve outgrown or a competitor may emerge with a better product that decreases your sales. In such cases, it’s easy to blame the team or marketing when it’s a product problem.
Or maybe everything is going perfectly — you have a large market share and customers think they’re satisfied but have a lingering problem.
Someone else builds a complementary product to fill that gap and now you have an unexpected competitor or a potential partner.
Research makes the difference
Market research is how you stay in the know on all these dynamics so you’re constantly innovating, not just reacting to competitors.
It can help you in the big and small including:
Confirming existing and emerging customer needs
Refining your services to sustainably meet demand
Better positioning and messaging to attract the right customers
Rescoping team roles to ensure quality service
Embedding research as a regular part of your business doesn’t mean adopting rigid techniques.
Get creative, try different approaches and make it work for you. It’s easier for your team to adopt this practice when it’s sustainable.
In the next few editions we’ll be delving into different aspects of market research to help you make confident decisions.
SPOTLIGHT
Market research makes the difference
Speak to your customers before rebranding or changing your product [Read]
Customer-driven marketing campaign increases sales nine-fold in three years [Read]
Research turns a personal problem into a sustainable business model for this startup [Read]
RUNDOWN
Data-driven decision making in action
What we found
Peloton Marketing Strategy: Uncovering Key Lessons For Rapid Growth
What we like
Workout classes aren’t new and with so many offered at gyms and studios, Peloton needed to think differently about customer retention. Market research supported this goal in two areas:
Business model
A competitor analysis revealed top competitors used exclusivity to shape pricing and lure customers to locations. Peloton switched things up with an in-home bike, a subscription service and a vibrant community selling convenience instead.
Community management
They survey customers after a ride then suggest lower intensity sessions like meditation to keep them on the bike. They also have a leaderboard to encourage competition and do shout outs for milestone rides at the start of a session.
These efforts have resulted in a 95% retention rate.
What you can do
Be obsessed with your customers’ needs
Unmet customer needs (even if small) could be the hidden opportunity in a saturated market. Customers buy solutions to their problems, not products or services. Be a master student of their pain points.
Build a product customers aren’t just curious about but love using
Acquisition doesn’t equate to retention. Repeat customers could be sampling competitor products so keep adapting to their needs. Stay open to building from scratch so the product does most of the marketing for you.
Engineer feedback into the product and customer experience
Engaged customers love questions so don’t be afraid to ask them. Resistance could mean they’re not satisfied or were never the right customer. This gets you much closer to your ideal customer profile and responses provide marketing messaging.
HEALTH ED
Doing the most for your fitness during holidays
Slowing down may be the key to balance in holiday seasons according to fitness coach Mitchelle Adagala.
In a recent post, she shared three areas where you can adjust your training with examples
Frequency — the number of sessions per week
Volume — the length of each session
Intensity — the types of sessions
On the flipside, you can take advantage of the down time to maintain or step up your training then slow down once the holidays are over.
Your holiday, your choice.
Sherlock Holmes said it best, “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.” Market research isn’t a checklist item but the foundation of all business decisions.
There are many ways to do it starting with desktop research (yes, reading this article counts) and speaking to your customers.
Whatever you do, back as many decisions as you can with data.
Stay active, keep innovating.