What is market research?

Market research is the systematic study of a market — who the customers are, what they need, how big the demand is, and who else serves it — to reduce the risk of decisions like entering a market, launching a product, or changing prices. It combines primary research (surveys, interviews) with secondary research (existing reports, public data).

Classic market research is project-shaped: a question, a study, a report. Competitive intelligence is its always-on counterpart, continuously tracking the competitor slice of the market. Most small teams need less formal research than they think and more ongoing awareness than they have.