Conducting market and customer research gives you insight and data on local and global market trends that will help you make decisions when starting or growing a business.
Market research is a broad term covering:
Many commercial entities sell market research reports, and these are useful because they give you a market overview, and an objective view of the market. The UT Library has market research sources here.
Industry associations also provide data and statistical reports on markets and future trends.
Data and statistics can also be taken from the U.S. Census and by using search engines and social media, you can explore trends in the market and discover what customers are searching for.
Market research involves data and statistics for
Customer research involves data and insights into
When you should do customer research
When developing and changing aspects of your business, including offerings to customers, it's important to research the customer's response to the actions you're taking, including research into:
There are several methods you can use, including:
Use a combination of market and customer research to keep up to date with market trends and to build customer profiles.
Handbook of Marketing Scales by 
Handbook of Market Research by
In this handbook, internationally renowned scholars outline the current state-of-the-art of quantitative and qualitative market research. Aspects covered include topics on data-related issues, methods, and applications. Data-related topics comprise chapters on experimental design, survey research methods, international market research, panel data fusion, and endogeneity. Method-oriented chapters look at a wide variety of data analysis methods, including chapters on regression, structural equation modeling (SEM), conjoint analysis, and text analysis. Application chapters focus on specific topics relevant for market research such as customer satisfaction, customer retention modeling, return on marketing, and return on price promotions.
Interviewing and Representation in Qualitative Research by
Interviewing and Representation in Qualitative Research explores the processes of interviewing as itself a project intimately involved in contemporary debates around knowledge, freedom, power, ethics, modernism postmodernism, and globalisation. What makes the book distinctive is its focus on interviewing not just as a tool to be used within other frameworks such as case study, action research, evaluation and surveys, but as an approach to organise a project as a whole, to provide frameworks for organising perspectives on the multiple 'worlds' of everyday life. It is argued that every project, every methodology, every theoretical perspective has its own rhetorical framework that interacts with the 'world' as subject of study or focus for intervention. The interview, as defined in this book, is both the process of constituting and de-constructing world views - it is the inter-view, the place between worlds. Without the 'inter-view' no dialogue and no alternatives as a basis for difference, change, and development would be possible. The inter-view as conceived in the book is fundamental to qualitative research as an emancipatory project. Research practice is thus placed in the context of philosophical, theoretical and methodological debates, taking the reader beyond many introductory texts, making it suitable for all students and researchers who wish to advance the frontiers of their research and engage with contemporary social and political realities.
Qualitative Research Methods by
Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact is a comprehensive guide on both the theoretical foundations and practical application of qualitative methodology. This book leads readers through the chronological progression of a qualitative research project, from designing a study and collecting and analyzing data to developing theories and effectively communicating the results-allowing readers to employ qualitative methods in their projects as they follow each chapter. Covers topics such as qualitative theories, ethics, sampling, interview techniques, qualitative quality, and advice on practical fieldwork. Provides clear and concise guidance on how to design and conduct sound research projects. Easy-to-follow instructions on iterative qualitative data analysis explain how to organize, code, interpret, make claims, and build theory. Throughout, the author offers her own backstage stories about fieldwork, analysis, drafting, writing, and publishing, revealing the emotional and humorous aspects of practicing qualitative methods. Now in its second edition, this thorough and informative text includes new and expanded material covering post-qualitative research, phenomenology, textual analysis and cultural studies, gaining access to elite and difficult to access populations, persuasive writing, novel interviewing approaches, and more. Presents innovative qualitative data collection methods and modern representation strategies, such as virtual ethnography, photovoice, and mobile interviewing.
Social Media, Sociality, and Survey Research by
Provides the knowledge and tools needed for the future of survey research. The book is organized around the central idea of a "sociality hierarchy" in social media interactions, comprised of three levels: broadcast, conversational, and community based. This book offers balanced coverage of the theory and practice of traditional survey research, while providing a conceptual framework for the opportunities social media platforms allow. Demonstrating varying perspectives and approaches to working with social media, the book features: Ways to approach data collection using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, Alternate methods for reaching out to interview subjects, Design features that encourage participation with engaging, interactive surveys.
Survey Research Methods by
Author Floyd Fowler provides students and researchers who want to collect, analyze, or read about survey data with a sound basis for evaluating how each aspect of a survey can affect its precision, accuracy, and credibility.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Generic License.