Consumer-facing industries like packaged goods and consumer electronics spend a tremendous amount of time agonizing over market research, but B2B industries like manufacturing can often be seen placing less emphasis upon it.
Perhaps this trend exists because the general public’s tastes are difficult to presume or because larger volumes of consumer goods need to be sold in order to turn a profit. Perhaps it also exists because B2B industries pride themselves on long-standing relationships, where personal observation and experience is considered as good of a teacher as any survey.
Regardless of the justification, manufacturing must recognize that performing market research on current and potential clients can always help their service offerings, regardless of their veteran status. At the very least, it can tailor marketing pitches that help clinch valuable production contracts. At most, market research will inform strategies that improve performance and revenue generation for years to come.
For companies who want to understand better how to approach market research for manufacturing and why it is so crucial, consider these following suggestions.
Start with a Narrow Focus
Broad research questions generate broad data, often with many discordant conclusions that can be drawn from them. While an all-encompassing “state of the manufacturing market” study can be useful, it will be awkward to implement, expensive to follow through and generate lean, sporadic insights that may not be actionable.
Instead, approach your market research for manufacturing with a specific question, such as, “What portion of product companies intend to use additive manufacturing within the next five years?” or “what is the typical expected defect rate of a production run?” Questions like these can reveal answers that make decision-making easier while also pointing to peripheral ideas that could make up the next research question.
Consider Outsourcing Your Recruitment
Manufacturing market research often asks tough, technical questions with an eye towards forward-thinking insight. As such, very few people will be qualified to respond, especially if you have a narrow focus like aftermarket vehicle parts for one vehicle model. Small sample sizes can lead to statistical errors and misrepresentative data, so obtaining as many respondents as possible is paramount.
Professional research recruiting can locate the subjects you need, and they can pre-screen them for their qualifications to ensure that they will have the right expertise to deliver the information you need.
Ensure Your Vendor is Experienced in Manufacturing
Full service research companies who have many years of experience helping manufacturing clients can help you formulate good-quality, industry-focused questionnaires and interview procedures that yield high-value responses while accounting for bias and error. Companies without the needed manufacturing experience may tend to produce less-usable data because of their unfamiliarity with the nuances of the field, which would show in their research design.
With these quality assurances built-in, you can be more confident that the research results you yield will genuinely help drive your profitability and success.
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