Market research is a vital contributor to any company’s success. Though many businesses conduct this research through professional agencies, not everyone is aware that there’s another option — do-it-yourself (DIY) market research. Innovative DIY platforms are becoming a popular option for startups and major global brands alike, offering a modern, efficient and economic means of performing survey research.

What Is Do-It-Yourself Market Research?

Do-it-yourself market research, more commonly referred to as DIY market research, is exactly what the name suggests — it’s when an individual uses software to conduct market research themselves instead of going through a service or agency that does it for them. This method involves the use of online research tools, typically through self-serve market research platforms. These platforms comprise many sophisticated tools and features that enable users to collect and evaluate data quickly and efficiently.

DIY survey research software allows researchers to connect with web users by distributing online surveys and questionnaires via email or through their websites. Once respondents provide answers to these questionnaires, the software’s built-in tools will analyze the data in real time without the need to outsource to a data processing company or research agency.

The Importance of DIY Market Research

DIY survey research, like all market research, helps researchers gain valuable insights about consumer preferences, opinions, attitudes, behaviors and concerns, enabling businesses to gauge how successfully they’re connecting with their customer base. With this information, an organization can determine what is and isn’t working within its business model and identify opportunities, evaluate marketing strategies and make adjustments as needed.

Other reasons companies use DIY market research platforms include:

  • Evaluating competitors.
  • Identifying strong points.
  • Understanding customer needs.
  • Making informed business decisions.
  • Setting business goals.
  • Managing risks.
  • Identifying business opportunities.
  • Creating relevant marketing materials.

The Benefits of Using DIY Market Research Platforms

Though conducting market research through a professional company has its perks, there’s a reason DIY survey research is becoming more and more popular for companies across practically every industry. This research method is attractive to businesses because it brings them many advantages they can’t get through an agency.

When you use self-serve market research platforms to gather valuable data for your company, you’ll benefit from:

Cost savings: When you use DIY tools, you can conduct valuable market research at a much lower price than you would with a professional market research service.

Ease of use: DIY market research platforms are designed to be as user-friendly as possible, meaning they don’t require much skill, practice or training to use. Many of them have built-in survey templates, automated reporting tools and other features that facilitate seamless use.

Speed: While research companies can take months to deliver results, self-serve platforms enable you to generate data on your terms instead of relying on someone else to complete the project, resulting in faster turnaround.

Unlimited use: With DIY market research platforms, your research opportunities are limitless. You can conduct research as often as you want or need to.

Ownership: You’ll retain full ownership of all the information you collect when using do-it-yourself market research software. Your data will never belong to anyone but you.

Customization: Self-serve market research platforms allow you to customize questionnaires based on your individualized goals and objectives. You can control the types of questions, number of questions and question content to get the most relevant information for your application.

When and Why Do Companies Use DIY Market Research?

Many companies choose to use DIY platforms for their market research because they have limited budgets and cannot afford to hire a third-party organization. Other companies are less concerned about cost and more focused on getting their market research results more quickly than they could with research agencies.

Some organizations prefer self-serve platforms for confidentiality purposes. They don’t want to share internal data with an outside source and value the privacy and security that comes with DIY methods.

Try Lucid’s Innovative Self-Serve Market Research Platform Today

If you’re looking for a streamlined DIY survey research software that’s user-friendly, effective and efficient, choose Lucid. Our survey sampling platform connects buyers with online communities within their target markets that are willing to participate in survey opportunities. This innovative platform is designed to pave the way for anyone in any industry to make data-driven decisions based on responses derived from real people.

Whether you’re looking to gather insights for an academic study, a political poll or an ad campaign, our community of over 350 suppliers and more than 400 million respondents can help.

Contact us to learn more about the Lucid Marketplace today.