Top 20 questions that research could help you answer

Market research can give you valuable insights into your market, your competitors, your products, your marketing and your customers. Here are 20 questions that market research can help you answer

1. Who are your current customers? Who is currently buying your product or service?
2. Where do your customers congregate online? Are there particular social platforms or online groups where you can reach them?
3. What common traits do your customers share? What are these people's lives like and how can your product or service make it better?
4. Why are other people not buying your product or service? Which products and services do they choose instead and why.
5. Who would be interested in buying it in the future?
6. How many other people like this are there that you are yet to reach?
7. What general trends are affecting these people's lives at the moment?
8. Where would people buy your product or service from? Are there new routes to market you could and should be exploiting?
9. When, where and how would potential new customers use or consume it?
10. Why would they buy it? What need are they wanting to satisfy?
11. Who is your real competition?
12. What image do people have of your brand vs your competitors' brand?
13. What would be the ideal image for your brand to have? Does your current brand align with customer expectations or does it need a refresh?
14. What do target customers really think about your business? What do they think about the different aspects of your product or service (name, packaging, features, branding, advertising, pricing...)?
15. How are people using your product or service? If they are using it in a way you did not intend, it could present an alternative way for you to market the product.
16. How can you make your product or service better? What improvements could be made to your product or service to meet people's needs even better?
17. What is the single most important benefit your brand should be seen to be offering - and why would people believe this to be true?
18. How can you communicate that benefit to the people you're interested in attracting?
19. What is the right price to charge? Is a low price giving an impression that your product is low quality?
20. What other new products or services could you offer people?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you can formulate your marketing strategy, create your brand vision for your brand and develop a roadmap for getting there.