In today’s competitive environment, a company’s success is closely tied to its ability to understand and sense customer needs and adapt to market changes. Research is not just a “luxury” tool — it is a strategic instrument that helps make empirically grounded, confident decisions and build sustainable relationships with customers.

What are the benefits of conducting research?

• Reduced risks – before introducing a new product or service, research helps determine whether it will meet the needs of potential customers and how well it aligns with current market demands.
• Increasing and strengthening customer loyalty – by regularly monitoring customer satisfaction, a company can react proactively and in a timely manner, making necessary adjustments to its offering and responsibly improving customer experience.

Promoting growth – data on customer behavior and market trends enables the identification of new business opportunities, strengthens competitiveness through precise positioning, and helps create something truly unique.

Why is it important to monitor customer satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction is one of the key indicators influencing a company’s reputation and profitability. A dissatisfied customer often not only ends the collaboration but also shares their negative experience with others. In contrast, a satisfied customer can become a positive ambassador for the brand.

Research methods that best help track customer satisfaction

• Surveys (online, in person, by phone) – a way to obtain quantitative data and measurable insights, providing a clear picture of the current situation, strengths and weaknesses, risks, and opportunities.
• Focus group discussions – excellent for testing new products, generating ideas, and gaining a deeper understanding of current and potential customers — decision-making, key perception and attitude drivers, motivating factors for collaboration, and more.
• Individual interviews – an in-depth understanding of customer motivation and emotions, especially suitable when the research topic touches on something very private or sensitive

Social media monitoring – real-time data that enables tracking brand sentiment and mentions of the brand or company across various media platforms and social network channels, as well as proactively responding to potential crisis situations.

Which questions are the most effective?

Effective research is based not only on numbers but also on understanding why customers think the way they do. That is why it is important to combine both quantitative and qualitative questions in the research process.

Quantitative research methods are based on questions with numerical answers. They allow measurement of phenomena and identification of trends. These questions are structured, easy to analyze, and enable comparison of results over time. For example: “Yes or no? How often? How much? To what extent?” Such questions provide clear indicators but do not always reveal the underlying reasons. In contrast, qualitative research methods use questions that help understand and explain the causes of phenomena. They help uncover motivation, emotions, fears, attitudes, and specific areas for improvement. For example: “Why? What feelings or associations arise? What could change or improve this? What is the ideal scenario?” These questions provide context to the numbers and reveal what truly shapes the customer’s experience.

Ideally, when it is possible to combine questions from both methods, you gain detailed quantitative indicators as well as an in-depth understanding of why the results are as they are, what improvements are desired, and what recommendations can be made for enhancing a product or service.

How to choose the right target audience?

Defining the target audience is critically important in the business process, as it influences the structure of the offer, its promotion through sales channels, and the communication strategy. Typically, the target audience is identified by analyzing the shared characteristics of customers.

Examples:

• Socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, place of residence, income level, education level, household composition, etc.).
• Consumer lifestyle (values, behavior, habits, mobility, rituals).
• Interests and needs – both emotional and rational (individual openness to innovations, critically important product or service features, the role of a specific product or service in daily life, factors motivating a purchase).
• Decision-making process (especially important in the B2B segment – who is the decision-maker, who practically executes the purchase, who are the influencers/advocates, and who are the end users).

In the research process, one of the most important steps is a carefully considered and precise definition of the target audience. In research, the target audience is the group of respondents that best represents the segment we want to study, understand, and gather data about. Choosing the appropriate target audience ensures the representativeness of the research results (the data reflects the real situation), the objectivity and usefulness of the data for further decision-making (data is collected from the right people), and the accuracy of the data (focused, clearly interpretable, without unnecessary “noise” or irrelevant information).

When conducting research, the target audience is defined based on clear sampling criteria, where respondents’ experience plays a key role. Participant eligibility is determined, for example, by specific experience—customers who have made a purchase within the last six months—or by certain values and daily habits, such as regular use of public transport, among others.

• Demographic and behavioral data – age, location, purchasing habits, etc.
• Value-based segmentation – focusing on customers who generate the highest profit, make purchases at least once a month, and so on.

Decision-makers in the B2B environment – not only the end users but also those who influence the purchasing decision.

What constitutes valuable, high-quality research results?

The value of research results lies not only in numbers but also in their interpretation and practical application. High-quality research data means that it is:

• Representative – reflecting the real situation within your target audience.
• Accurate and reliable – obtained using a methodologically sound approach.
• Actionable – providing clear directions, not just descriptive information.

Research is a powerful tool—but only when used wisely. Research results can help shape new strategies (for products, pricing, communication, or customer service), highlight priorities for future activities and business development (clearly outlining the scale of importance), and enhance communication by delivering more impactful messages.

If you want to obtain valuable research results that support confident, data-driven business decisions and guide your business toward growth, contact us—we will help make it happen.