There’s Real Power in Virtual Assistants for Market Research

Research is creating new knowledge.

The more you poke and pry, the more you gain.

And this is exactly why market research is a formidable front in your business. By looking at consumer behavior and economic trends, you can take advantage of what everybody else has seen and thinking.

To get a leg over the abundant competition, hiring virtual assistants for market research is a great start.

From taking phone calls and managing emails to making reservations, entrepreneurs and business owners have always understood the value of assistants in their daily business activities.

This is precisely the reason why it is not at all surprising that the demand for assistants has been growing over the years, and has gone beyond, as to being “virtual.”

But with market research, how can a virtual assistant positively affect such a pivotal task?

If you must know, virtual assistants are flexible and can make an enormous impact in whatever business matter you put them into. But even more so, when it comes to conducting research.

Let’s dig deeper into what we mean by that, by exploring the incredible ways virtual assistants for market research can support your business.

What is Market Research?

Market research is the systematic approach to gathering data about the target market and the competition. The main thing is to create a go-to marketing strategy based on that information.

Through market research, an organization gains extensive insight into the customer wants, likes and dislikes; all through empowering the company’s decision makings.

There are different types of market research which we gladly listed below.

Brand Awareness
Competitive Analysis
Consumer Insights
Customer Segmentation Research
Demand Estimation
Sales Forecasting
Trendspotting

What is a Virtual Assistant?

By simple definition, a virtual assistant is a trained professional who offers personal virtual assistance services to a company or an entrepreneur.

The following are types of virtual assistants that you may want to consider hiring.

Customer Support Virtual Assistant

This remote worker offers support to an entrepreneur by providing assistance to customers, catering to their needs and concerns.
Content Creation Virtual Assistant

A trained professional who creates and markets content — from writing, editing, optimizing and publishing every type of content you need.
Marketing Virtual Assistant

What does a marketing virtual assistant do?

A marketing VA supports the digital efforts of the marketing team by running campaigns, updating the website and doing social marketing.

What Does a Virtual Assistants for Market Research Do?

Before getting into the details of what virtual assistants for market research bring to the table, let’s first define what is a market research VA.

So, virtual assistants for market research are contractual workers who are highly capable of conducting research, pertaining to the market, specifically the consumers while doing it from the comforts of their home.

In essence, they do what a typical market researcher does, with the exception of face-to-face communication.

Compared to in-house employees, working with a virtual assistant is very cost-effective; holding as much as 78% operational cost reduction. At the same time, hiring one offers you a talent pool beyond borders.

But enough of the bragging benefits, let’s go to the fun part of which task should be delegated to a market research VA.

Conducting Basic Research

Market research does not stand alone —research means action. It has to be spread all throughout the business tree, easily consumed by each department’s specialized knowledge.

That being said, a good market research virtual assistant comes in handy in conveying the principles and application of a conducted research. They can do basic lectures on how to efficiently use gathered information, and can even go through the fundamentals.
Sales Forecasting

Sales forecasting helps predict the future, at least in matters of trends.

So, while you lead the company to Promise Land, you can let your virtual assistants for market research take charge of jotting down current numbers and going over the historical data, comparing past and present notes for better business decision-making.
Competitor Research

“The ability to learn faster than your competitors is a competitive advantage.”

Especially in business, ahead or not, you should never let up because the competition is technically one click away from winning your customers.

So, here’s a breakdown of the things a market research VA can do to outperform your best rivals.
- Identify competitors
- Make a competitor’s profile
- Determine the pricing, product and promotional strategies
- Identify the competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
Consumer Research

Remember the saying that a customer’s perception is your reality.

That one never fails in all aspects of the business. The wants, needs, dislikes, habits and beliefs of your target audience play a pivotal part in crafting your business strategies.

Consumer research is one task your market research VA can handle, so you can do both; attract customers and keep the current ones loyal.
Prepare Marketing Reports

In 2023, every company spends roughly 13.6% of its total budget on marketing. But more than money, companies also invest effort and time to do promotions.

This is not flash news at all, marketing is the ultimate customer grabber; builds awareness, pushes engagements and affects buying decisions.

However, marketing materials are not made equal. So, to sort out what works and what doesn’t, you can entrust your virtual assistants for market research to make a thorough report of these efforts.

In a presentation, you can see how and what campaigns are generating leads, and bringing in revenue.
Demographic Analysis

In Greek, demography translates to “describing people.”

This makes perfect sense since businesses often consult with demographic studies to be able to reach customers. By splitting the population into groups, companies can easily identify the potential market size.

Your market research virtual assistant can draw out demographic surveys to understand certain characteristics of your target audience and potential market. This plays an important part in making adjustments to enhance service levels.
Trendspotting

Assessing trends allows you to predict trends before they even hit the mainstream. And while you’re at it, you could also examine whether these movements are pertinent to your business. How’s that for power?

In trendspotting, you can rely on a market research VA to sweep all channels, from social media, industries and customers. They can weigh the cost and benefit of a trend, giving you your time and money’s worth.

Again, trendspotting is more than just jumping on a bandwagon or a twist in the gut, it is grounded in numbers and data analytics.

Marketing Research VS Market Research: The Difference

With so many job descriptions getting thrown in business today, we understand that when it comes to marketing research and market research, you stand a bit confused.

While from the outset they read the same, if not for the extra 3 letters of the other, they are actually different.

In general, marketing research pertains to all aspects of marketing. It is a process of collecting information and utilizing it to crack marketing challenges. In terms of reach, it’s a lot broader and extends to not just market information but to product research and customer preference as well.

On the other hand, market research centers around the customers. It is mostly used to comprehend the target market better, and how they respond to a product or a service.

You see, they’re more like close relatives than actual twins.

Verify Market Need in an Economical Fashion with Virtual Assistants for Market Research

As an entrepreneur and business owner, you have to always look for ways to enhance business operations.

And when it comes to getting the market information you need, a virtual assistant can be your trump card.

By taking care of your market research, your newly hired remote help can verify the market need, avoid costly errors and make your service/product more effective, leading up to success in the market.

So, with that in mind; it’s not a matter of why you should hire an offshore professional. It’s more like, you MUST hire virtual assistants for market research.

Do it today, and start making a difference!