Polaris Marketing Research Reports on New Product Research Using Social Media

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Companies that have the budget for traditional new product research are also looking to social media to compliment their traditional marketing techniques.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) June 25, 2012

Polaris Marketing Research Inc. reports different methods of New Product Research using social media as a platform. It’s extremely important to conduct research before introducing a new product into the market. Traditional new product research can be expensive, and many small companies may not have the budget to conduct this research, so many companies are looking to social media as an alternative. Companies that have the budget for traditional new product research are also looking to social media to compliment their traditional marketing techniques.

Social media can be a great method to gather information through customers for new product ideas, as well as testing ideas, because of its mass reach and the speed at which information is shared. One thing to keep in mind is that social media research is directional, whereas traditional marketing research is representative.

There are many different forms of social media and hundreds of sites and applications. In a Business Horizons article published in 2010, there were six social media classifications defined: blogs (e.g., Twitter), social networking sites (e.g., Facebook), collaborative projects (e.g., Wikipedia), content communities (e.g., YouTube), virtual social worlds (e.g., Second Life), and virtual game worlds (e.g., World of Warcraft).

Just like in traditional new product research, when launching a project utilizing social media, the initial step is to establish your goals and objectives. Part of this includes deciding on what forms of social media you will use to conduct the research. Some forms might not be right for your objective or your target audience. For example, for introducing a new product, YouTube would be great for showing demonstrations of the product. Twitter would be useful if you need to reach a large audience and receive quick feedback. If your objective is to monitor and receive feedback on an existing product, establishing a Facebook page for your company is not only a great way to build brand loyalty, but it helps engage the consumer with the product as well. Having a Facebook page would also allow for co-creation with your fans.

The next step is collecting the data by posting videos, questions, and polls and gathering the information through comments and feedback. Again, your objectives and target audience will determine which collection methods are best. Asking a formal question in a blog would perhaps receive more feedback than the same question in an informal forum, like Twitter. Once you’ve created the conversation, monitor for feedback and engage your audience by responding to the feedback. Ongoing conversations are key in getting the information you seek. Once you have this information, organizing and recording the responses is the next step. Through analysis of the data, insights and trends will begin to arise.

Once the information is collected, decisions will be made. To keep the conversation ongoing, communication to the customers is a must. Introduce the new product to customer via social media and keep the customers engage in the process. Fans and followers are likely to talk about a new product to their own friends and followers, increasing awareness and word-of-mouth.

About Polaris Marketing Research

Founded by Jan Carlson, Polaris Marketing Research is a full-service firm that provides state-of-the-art online interactive marketing research reporting, interviewing and data collection, quantitative and qualitative research expertise and personalized project management.
Atlanta-based Polaris Marketing Research is affiliated with the Council of American Survey Research Organizations, the American Marketing Association and the American Society for Quality.

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