Market Research: Easy Hack to Find Consumer Pain Points and Desires

Today’s marketplace is full of options. There is an unlimited supply of products with varying features.

If you decide to sell products in this competitive market, you must research your potential customers.

You have to find out their pains and desires. That’s where the real challenge starts. How do you find out their pains and desires?

Voice of the customer (VOC):

Marketers often reference voice of customer (VOC) data when researching market and consumer demand.

They survey customers online and in person. They employ staff to survey people in shopping malls or kiosks or even go door to door.

This is a massive task that costs a lot of money.

Marketing agencies often undertake these tasks for their clients and charge hefty amounts in fees.

I don’t have any issues with VOC data. However, VOC data can be quite convoluted.

When we feel we are under scrutiny, we want to put our best selves on display for social approval.

If someone asks me about my favorite movie, I will mention the names of famous movies. I will not tell the name of a lesser-known movie even though I like it a lot.

If you ask your friend about their favorite food, they will say Italian, Spanish or French cuisine.

They won’t say they like burgers and chips from MacDonald’s. It’s not as appealing as the previous options.

Indirect Voice of the Customer (IVOC):

If people are surveyed indirectly, they can be quite honest. That’s why people are very honest with online reviews on Facebook, google, or review sites.

If we are not watched, we put our guard down and show our true selves.

People can be brutal with their comments on social media when they are against a certain opinion.

This often provides the best data to research your target market and consumer.

If you go through the customer comments in Amazon, Google, and Facebook reviews, you can find out all the problems and wish lists of your target customers.

Conclusion:

There are gold mines of customer pain points and desires if one looks at the right places.

It is just waiting to be mined by the savvy marketer to make riches from it.

You can design your product based on this feedback on existing products.