Optimizing costs for operations, especially for market research, is always one of the top concerns in businesses. Finding a way to balance between efficient spending and receiving quality work is not a simple task. Businesses need to have insights into the types and phases of market research, factors affecting cost, and choose reliable travel market research firms.

Understanding the major types of market research

Understanding and identifying the proper type of research helps businesses avoid wasting resources. Usually, market research companies provide services based on two forms: Syndicated research and custom research.

Syndicated research is conducted independently and has a broad research subject, such as an industry. The research results can serve the whole market, so it is often more cost-effective.

In contrast, Custom research provides insight into a brand and serves a specific client, who sponsors the study and owns the research results.

Understanding the steps of doing market research

Market research is a complex process with many phrases and tools. It often consists of the following steps:

• Define research topic and objectives
• Build research methodology, questionnaire and sample
• Collect data
• Analyze data
• Results (reports, etc.)

Businesses need to understand the goals and requirements at each step as the complexity and criteria of the steps will also affect the overall research cost.

Identifying cost drivers to adjust

After understanding the steps in market research, we need to identify the factors that affect costs. Each research phase has its costs. After the researchers consider whether the adjustment affects the accuracy of the study results, they can address the costs based on the target phase and study design.

Specifically, the researcher can modify the existing questionnaire instead of creating a new one. Moreover, for small trials, businesses should limit the use of overly advanced technology and define the proper scope of implementation.

During the survey phase, we can optimize costs by conducting online surveys instead of face-to-face or phone interviews, reducing time for focus groups, the number of open-ended questions and analyses needed to maintain costs.

In the reporting phase, businesses can choose top-lint reports instead of in-depth reports. At the same time, they can reduce travel costs by online seminars/workshops.

Choose a specialized travel market research company

The cost of conducting a study can vary widely, depending on the method, technology, approach, level of analysis, and reporting. Choosing a research company with experienced research teams, quality analytical processes, and data processing will reduce risk and increase the accuracy of market research results.

Market research is an important activity that helps travel businesses make important decisions. Therefore, the optimization of implementation costs should go hand in hand with ensuring the accuracy of the results when doing market research. Reducing costs but in exchange for poor quality research will also be a waste for travel businesses.

 

Marketing budgets in recent years have been glooming due to the effects of pandemics, high inflation or supply chain disruptions. However, the spending on market research shows a completely different picture with growth recorded.

COVID-19 is the barrier but also the momentum

While overall budget growth may have slowed, the market research budget performed well. Companies are attempting to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their existing clients and target audiences.

According to Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, a media company in the UK, the number of businesses increasing investment in market research has increased rapidly, from a net balance of 0.7% in Q3/2021 to 7% in Q4/2021. It is the strongest increase recorded by the company over the past decade or so. Previously, in Q2/2020, the pandemic made many businesses tighten their spending, including market research budget.

After the pandemic was controlled, the situation has completely changed. Businesses of all industries realize they must understand their customers better than ever before. Consumers are changing much and fast. If businesses do not understand and respond to them in time, they will soon lose their position in the market. That’s why many businesses decided to increase their market research budget.

What businesses got with a market research budget boost

Market research will provide businesses the data they need to make optimal decisions, increase profits, attract potential customers, satisfy existing customers, and make effective marketing strategies, etc.

With a higher budget, they can get bespoke studies, customized to their needs and purposes. As a result, the decisions made will be more accurate.

In the tourism industry, a year after the “aftershocks” of COVID-19, it has not yet recovered. In the re-emergence of the epidemic, and the economic difficulties, tourists will change in behavior, psychology, preferences and trends again. It will be a big problem for many businesses and destinations if they cannot track and understand travelers. To get data, businesses can look to market research companies. With their advice and direction, businesses will have enough data for decision making and operation planning.

 

Research is an important activity that leads to operation and product improvements, planning as well as market expansion for the business. In recent years, investment in market research has increased significantly in large enterprises in many industries, including tourism, when they realize the benefits of this activity.

Why is market research important?

Market research helps companies understand their customers as today, they have too many sources of information to make decisions. By proper research, businesses can minimize costly risks, have strategic advantages over competitors and cope with changes caused by the pandemic.

The goal of market research is to provide useful information for companies to make right decisions. To obtain the information, businesses are willing to pay a certain price.

The cost of Market Research

Factors affecting cost

The cost of market research depends on many factors such as target audience, methodology, type of research, samples, etc. Market research is considered a time-consuming, complex, and quite expensive process, but it is effective.

For example, an online survey on 100 respondents will not cost as much as a phone survey or in-depth interview on the same sample size. In-person surveys usually require the cost of venue, facility, travel,… Or the smaller number of samples will be less expensive than the bigger one. Nevertheless, the smaller the sample size is, the larger the error will cost, a quantitative survey of 10 or 20 people will not be representative and hardly offer reliable results.

How much does market research cost?

Sectors such as Consumer Non-durables, Media and Entertainment, and Pharmaceuticals invest the most in this activity, followed by Government or non-profit organizations, Financial/Banking, Telecommunications, Retail, etc. The tourism industry has not yet invested too much in market research. However, facing big and unpredictable changes, travel businesses and destinations should soon consider investing.

Companies mostly spend from 5-20% of their annual revenue for research and development.

In general, market research does not have a fixed or average cost because they are often unique and serve different purposes.

 

Set budget and Choose a market research company

It’s very difficult for a business outside the market research sector to determine the number of samples, the type of survey, the way to build a questionnaire, quantitative or qualitative research, etc. The best way is consulting with a good market research firm.

This market research firm should be the one with high expertise, reliability, provide quality and transparent data with proven methods of data collection and analysis. Having cooperated with many domestic and international partners will be a big basis for businesses to choose a market research firm.

Businesses just need to set their budget, purpose and demand for market research, they will be provided bespoke reporting and research solutions as they wish. In case businesses haven’t yet set their reasonable budget, a market research company can propose a suitable quote.

Market research in general and tourism market research in particular remain strange concepts in Vietnam. However, in the post-pandemic uncertain context, making data- and insight-driven forecasts is more important than ever. Instead of guessing based on impersonal feeling and judgment, people gradually care more about surveys and researches.

Refer to 4 criteria below to choose a quality, and cost-effective market research company that can meet and match business requirements.

Variety and flexible solutions

A flexible and willing-to-adjust company will advise you on the best approach and methodology. They will also create a custom research project to meet your objectives. With its agile and flexibility, that market research company will always say yes to you and find out the most suitable solution for your demands.

Responsive to the market

The marketing strategy depends much on market research results. Therefore, when a research company can promptly react and update quickly with the market, your business strategy will be able to act faster and more effectively. Experienced companies can identify issues and forecast before they happen. Thanks to that, you can make decisions more rapidly and suitably with the current situation.

Transform data into insights

Insight is things deep inside a specific object. It is created based on aggregating and connecting data points together. Data can provide an overview of the subject we study, while insight helps us gain a deep understanding of it. That’s why it’s very important to find a market research company that can transform raw data into valuable insights.

Cost-effective

After finding a market research company that meets your requirements of specialty and techniques, cost is the next one you should consider.

Market research is often said to be extremely expensive. In fact, cost-effective market research does exist such as online surveys and email surveys. When the proposal is over your budget, let’s discuss extending the deadline, or reducing some of the depth in the report. A good company knows how to listen to and please their customers.