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We know what you’re thinking: Why self-serve insights when you’ve got a trusty analytics team, first-party data, consultancy hours, and supporting agencies on hand?

And yes, they’re all valuable sources of insights, but they share a problem that using a self-serve consumer research platform like GWI doesn’t: they eat up time. 

In contrast, having the right self-service platform at your fingertips can massively accelerate your “speed to insight”, delivering three big benefits that we’ll now explore.

1. Keep all your teams aligned with a primary source of truth

You don’t need a background in analytics to take advantage of what data can do for you.

With GWI, pretty much anyone in your organization can – and quite probably should – become an expert on your customers. Our intuitive, on-demand insights platform also means embedding audience data into your workflows, tools, and processes is easy thanks to our nifty API and other connections. 

What we’re really talking about here are the benefits of democratizing access to data across your organization. The right platform makes global data readily accessible and actionable for every one of your teams, which in turn drives better decision making.

From ready-made dashboards to downloadable reports, having the latest insights on tap helps align teams with what’s relevant to your customers right now. Access to fresh research also means you can snatch opportunities away from competitors by serving the right message, to the right customers, at the right time. 

2. Make decisions faster 

The post-pandemic business landscape continues to shift rapidly. As data analysts come under more pressure to deliver insights for multiple projects at once, bottlenecking is an increasingly common problem that can delay decision-making. You might even find that consumer behavior has changed while you were waiting.

The point is, speed to insight matters. Like early mammals running rings around lumbering dinosaurs, the more agile a business is, the faster it can react to changes in the market, optimize campaigns, and build strategies based on the freshest insights – all of which turns data into action.

With on-demand audience data, you can dive in and grab the answers you need to get decisions over the line at a speed that suits you. It’s also a neat way to support your agency and data teams, giving them back valuable time to focus on more pressing tasks, which in turn can drive productivity and revenue.

3. Check your persona assumptions at the door

Are you 100% sure your customer personas are still 100% accurate? 

An obvious example is the cost of living crisis and how it continues to impact the world of retail as people cut back spending in the face of rising inflation. 

And even if you do somehow manage to bottom-out their current thinking, what’s true of your customers today may not be true tomorrow. As our data repeatedly shows, change is the only constant:

• Over a quarter of US Gen Z say they often make impulse purchases, up 14% YoY
• The number of luxury fashion buyers who say standing out in a crowd is important is down 19% in South East Asia
• For US baby boomers, “finding inspiration for purchases” as a reason for using social media has risen from 9th to 5th place since mid 2021

The point is, changes like these have the potential to impact any number of sectors, from travel and automotive, to luxury, and consumer tech. 

The solution? Relevant, granular insights that can complement your first-party data, something that’s particularly important if you’re a DTC business.

Easy access to always-on insights means you can quickly see where consumers are spending their hard-earned money, then tap into these revenue streams while they’re still hot. 

Similarly, visibility of the emerging trends shaping consumer behavior – on both a global and a local scale – means you can monitor audiences across markets, compare your assumptions against the latest data, and adjust your corporate personas accordingly. 

What’s not to like?

It’s easy to assume that if you’re the same age as someone, you’ve had similar life experiences. That holds up to some extent; people start and end school at roughly the same time, for example. But while life’s milestones represent moments of relatability, they neglect the unique experiences that shaped who we were as individuals at that time. And this is why looking beyond demographic consumer data is so crucial to really knowing your audience.

By digging deeper into psychographics, we can explore how consumers really feel, and where key differences in their views, habits, lifestyles, and preferences lie. So when it comes to Gen Z, one of the most diverse audiences around, what’s fact and what’s fiction? We’re here to set the record straight. 

Who are Generation Z?

Gen Z are the generation after millennials, and before Gen Alpha, so roughly speaking, they were born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s. 

They’re the first generation of “digital natives”, never knowing a world without the internet. This, coupled with the fact they had a worldwide pandemic and a cost of living crisis to contend with during their formative years, has profoundly impacted their personality and values, making them a fascinating audience to get to grips with. Here are 8 Gen Z characteristics worth knowing – according to real consumer data.

Key characteristics of Generation Z

1. They’re growing up
2. They’re prioritizing saving money
3. They love to travel
4. They’re prone to anxiety
5. They see gaming as more than a hobby
6. Their environmental attitudes aren’t as strong as you think
7. They might define AI adoption
8. They shape culture through social media

1) They’re growing up

You might think of Gen Z as young consumers who are glued to their phones. But in reality, they’re climbing the corporate ladder, buying their own homes, getting married, and starting families; and by default, coming into contact with new products and services for the first time. Think of some of the more routine things in life, like home insurance, mortgages, and dishwashers. 

11% of Gen Z expect to get engaged or married in the next six months

While this speaks to older Gen Zs, the youngest in this generation are only just entering higher education. These formative years highlight the differences between Gen Z on each side of the age spectrum, with some saving for a wedding, and others saving for textbooks. It’s true they might share some characteristics, but shows why you need to look beyond age alone.

2) They’re prioritizing saving money

In 2022 we saw stories published surrounding Gen Z’s luxury spending habits. Some benefitted from time living at home during the pandemic, meaning they could save their hard-earned money rather than spending it on rent.

They’re the generation most likely to say they save as much money as they want to each month, but also the most likely to say their priority for 2024 is saving more money. So why are these young consumers so cash-conscious?

40% of Gen Z households are in the low-income bracket – and 25% more likely to be so than the average consumer

While life moves on, and this generation grows up, rising costs are putting pressure on and curbing their ambitions. Brands need to keep this in mind as future Gen Z consumers behave differently down the line.

3) They love to travel

Gen Z’s standout priorities for 2024 are centered around self-enrichment: things like starting new jobs, learning new skills, reading more, or finding love. And while they aren’t as likely as their older counterparts to say traveling more is a priority, 38% of Generation Z are still looking to explore more this year – at home and abroad.

Since Q2 2022, the number of Gen Z who’ve purchased domestic vacation tickets in the last 3-6 months has grown 15%

While only 1 in 10 are buying vacations abroad, 1 in 4 have been buying domestic vacations in the last 3-6 months – a figure that’s rising. We’re seeing ambition balanced by budget constraints, and Gen Z are taking advantage of domestic vacation planning for cost and convenience.

4) They’re prone to anxiety

Of all generations, Gen Z are most likely to say they’re prone to anxiety. This is especially the case among those in Austria (2.15x more likely than all consumers), Taiwan (1.98x), and Germany (1.98x). To make matters worse, the number who say this is on the rise.

29% of Gen Z say they’re prone to anxiety

There’s a lot of context for why this might be. Climate change no doubt will affect them most, home ownership feels like a distant prospect for many, and Covid hit their studies hard. The worry here is that it’s a growing issue, with the number of Gen Z prone to anxiety increasing in 31/51 markets we’ve tracked since Q3 2022.

As more Gen Z enter the workplace, it’s a big factor for employers to consider. Workers who say their employer offers mental health support have a better work-life balance, better overall workplace culture, and a better salary/compensation. These workers are typically more engaged and satisfied, and benefits like these have become a necessity for attracting and retaining top talent.

5) They see gaming as more than a hobby

Which of these do you think is the least off-putting conversation topic for Gen Z singletons on a date: sports, pop culture, or gaming? As it turns out they’re the most likely of all generations to play games, and even as they grow older and take on more responsibility, they’re still finding time for serious button mashing.

75% of Gen Z gamers have played online in the last month, rising to 81% for Gen Z with children

Gaming is ingrained in Gen Z’s culture. Brands looking to hook this generation should dip into psychographic data to capture the unique way Gen Z interacts with this activity, as this will better inform accurate depictions of gamers in their marketing campaigns.

6) Their environmental attitudes aren’t as strong as you think

Many see Gen Z as the environmental generation, taking to social media to voice their concern about climate change. But for all the posts or the protests you might see, it’s not so black and white.

Gen Z are as likely as any other generation to say helping the environment is important to them

There’s nothing distinctive about their environmental views, so we can look at other generational attitudes to give a more rounded perspective. Gen Z are the least likely generation to say they always try to recycle, while millennials are more likely to pay extra for an eco-friendly version of a product, and baby boomers are more likely to want brands to be eco-friendly.

So while there’s some truth to what you hear about Gen Z, it’s important to have a 360-degree view of their attitudes. Eco-consciousness is something all brands should have in mind by now, as it impacts consumers beyond Gen Z alone.

7) They might define AI adoption

AI took the world by storm in 2023, and there’s no doubt people have a mix of excitement and concern about the technology. Many don’t trust AI tools, and some aren’t comfortable using them – but surprisingly, the same can’t be said for Gen Z.

In 12 markets, 68% of Gen Z say they’ve used an AI tool in the past month, with ChatGPT their preferred platform, followed by Google Bard and Bing AI Chat. They’re using these tools frequently but, more than that, are confident with their output too.

59% of Gen Z say they trust AI-generated information a lot/completely, compared to just 33% of baby boomers

As AI becomes a mainstay, how Gen Z use the technology could be looked at as an advantage for employers. By putting the right systems in place for testing and security, and making training and upskilling a focal point, AI adoption might pick up very quickly.

8) They shape culture through social media

Social media is central to Gen Z’s life. 86% say they’ve brought it up in their conversations in the last week, compared to 47% of baby boomers. The platforms they use shape the culture they consume, but this is where some new perspectives come in. 

Outside China, Gen Z are the generation most likely to use TikTok (no surprise there), but they aren’t the generation who say they spend most of their time on it, or believe it has the most influence in shaping culture trends – that honor sits with baby boomers. Who knew?

For Gen Z, Instagram is the app that’s really shaping their imagination. They’re the generation that’s most likely to use the platform to find content, and least likely to use it to keep in touch with friends or family. For brands, it’s not just about being on the platforms consumers are spending the most time on, but understanding the apps that shape their culture.

The bottom line 

There’s far more to Gen Z than stereotypes may suggest. They’re carving their path in a very uncertain world, juggling their desire to seek adventure wherever they can with their need for stability by saving for a rainy day.
While they may be young, they’re due to overtake millennials as the largest generation, so if brands want to stay relevant, they really need to pay attention to today’s “it” consumer, and the unique pockets of diversity within this audience pool.

A quick internet search of baby boomer stereotypes will inevitably return some common, and often unfavorable, narratives. But just how many, if any, of them are actually true? Baby boomers are one of the most diverse audiences around, so what’s fact and what’s fiction. We’re here to set the record straight.

Who are baby boomers? 

Born between 1946 and 1964, baby boomers were raised during a time of economic prosperity, optimism, and social change. Now in their late 50s to 70s, baby boomers represent a diverse group of people – some are still working or have children at home, while others are retired and seizing the day.

As with any generation, there are stereotypes which surround boomers, but we’re only interested in the facts. So, after crunching the numbers, here’s 10 baby boomer characteristics worth knowing – according to real consumer data.

Top 10 baby boomer characteristics

1. They’ve got cash to splash
2. Boomers are still very much a part of the workforce 
3. Their social media footprint is growing
4. More boomers are moving towards content creation
5. Baby boomers are more tech-savvy than you may think
6. Current advertising doesn’t resonate well with them
7. Boomers are advocates for the environment
8. Baby boomers want brands to be authentic and traditional
9. They’re avid gamers
10. Baby boomers are a happy-go-lucky bunch

1. Baby boomers have got the cash to splash

Baby boomers are said to be the generation who were in the right place at the right time, making them the wealthiest generation on the planet. This wealth, combined with the freedom that comes with a later stage of life, means they’re able to splurge more than younger consumers.

Globally, compared to Gen Z, baby boomers are more likely to say they buy new products online each week, own a credit card, and have high purchasing power. 

They have cash stashed away too. Over 4 in 10 baby boomers who save money say their current financial reserves would cover basic living expenses for 6 months or more.

Not only that, but they even share pretty similar spending behaviors with their younger counterparts. If we look at what Gen Z and baby boomers are planning on buying in the next 6 months, a vacation is at the top of both their lists. 

When tapping into baby boomers, brands should move beyond assumptions and stereotypes and appeal to their interests and values. This generation has strong purchasing power, but marketers need to understand their needs based on real consumer data.    

2. Boomers are still very much a part of the workforce

Marketers often portray baby boomers enjoying carefree retirements; some are, but it’s not representative of the whole generation. 

Far from putting their feet up, almost 4 in 10 baby boomers are either in full-time employment or are self-employed. 

While it’s fair to suggest that some are still working to give themselves a cushion for retirement against the rising cost of living, around a fifth describe themselves as ambitious and career-focused; they generally enjoy working. Nearly 8 in 10 are satisfied with their current job, while retired consumers in this generation are just as likely as their working counterparts to describe their mental health as good or excellent.

Among those who are satisfied with their job, our research highlights the importance they place on setting strong objectives – they stand out for saying they have a clear understanding of their personal goals and the company’s strategy. 

As baby boomers have been working for longer than younger generations, they hold a wealth of knowledge which companies will want to hang onto for as long as possible. Our research not only helps marketers better understand how to portray this generation, but also gives businesses a heads up on how to keep baby boomers happy in the workplace.

3. Their social media footprint is growing

Gen Z are often criticized for spending too much time on their phones, but out of all generations, baby boomers are the ones spending increasingly more time on social media. 

Over the last two years, the amount of time they spend on social media has grown by almost 10 minutes, while Gen Z time fell 12 minutes. 

As platforms shift their focus to short form, visual, and video content, baby boomers are keeping up with these trends. As you may have guessed, Facebook is their favorite platform, but the number of boomers who regularly use Instagram and TikTok is climbing. And with that, comes some interesting shifts in behavior…

4. More boomers are moving towards content creation

It probably won’t come as a surprise that content creation is still more popular among Gen Z than baby boomers.

But the number of boomers who’ve shared their own blog post or video in the last year has grown 11%, while the number of Gen Z who have has fallen by 12%. 

As older consumers increasingly engage with social media, they’re also moving into content creation. And it’s creating a buzz, not just among their peers, but younger audiences too. 

Gym Tan is a good example here. The 60-something TikToker has over 190,000 followers and has gained popularity for her fashion and beauty videos. Demonstrating her influence, last year a dress Gym wore in one of her videos quickly sold out on Abercrombie & Fitch’s website after gaining exposure from her modeling it on TikTok.

Now, brands are beginning to take notice as more companies reach out to older influencers to form partnerships. 

5. Baby boomers are more tech-savvy than you may think

It’s often assumed that older generations lack technological confidence compared to their younger counterparts, but it turns out boomers are actually pretty big tech adopters.

While generational tech confidence gaps exist in some markets, the narrative fluctuates worldwide.

Baby boomers in several countries actually maintain stronger tech confidence than the general population.

In markets like France, Greece, and Spain for example, boomers are less likely than the average population to say they’re confident using new technology. But for boomers in the likes of Turkey, Sweden, and the UAE, the opposite is true. Just another reminder that some of the characteristics of this generation could do with a rethink.

6. Current advertising doesn’t resonate well with them.

Another baby boomer characteristic is that they feel advertising is missing the mark. The tech company CreativeX analyzed thousands upon thousands of global ads and found that just 4% of those cast in them were aged 60 or above. 

As such, they’re the generation least likely to feel advertising is representative of them, and the least likely to buy from brands they see advertised too. 

Many advertisers can fall into the trap of portraying stereotypes when it comes to representing older audiences, which can be inaccurate and harmful. For example, a common stereotype is that baby boomers are less progressive than other generations, which our data proves to be untrue.

Baby boomers are more likely than the average consumer to be interested in other cultures, believe everyone should have equal rights, or even that immigration is good for their country – especially in markets like South Africa, Croatia, and Portugal.

This is where brands may be coming unstuck with this audience. The more represented consumers feel, the more responsive they’re likely to be to brands that have made an effort to resonate with them. 

7. Boomers are advocates for the environment.

If we asked you to think about advocates for the environment, you’d probably picture a younger audience. 

But baby boomers are actually 14% more likely than Gen Z to be interested in environmental issues and 65% more likely to say they always recycle.

So the old stereotype that baby boomers don’t care about the environment is inaccurate. 

Having grown up before the proliferation of single-use plastics, boomers’ formative habits lend themselves well to eco-conscious choices. In the US, they’re more likely than the average consumer to purchase seasonal produce, repair their clothes where possible, and reuse things like bags. 

While activism captures headlines, boomers’ everyday actions quietly move the needle on green living. 

8. Baby boomers want brands to be authentic and traditional.

It’s not just Gen Z seeking brand authenticity – boomers want it too, particularly those in the Philippines, Poland, and Thailand. So brands should bear this in mind when targeting boomers in these markets. 

It’s not just authenticity baby boomers want from brands. Being traditional and reliable are also important qualities. 

Boomers’ desire for brands to be traditional gives companies with heritage the opportunity to double down on this attribute in their marketing when engaging with this audience. 

Ultimately, baby boomers want to buy from trustworthy companies. It’s why things like a company’s eco credentials matter; baby boomers look for brands that support local suppliers and prioritize environmental responsibility. 

9. They’re becoming avid gamers

Baby boomers might not fit the typical gamer demographic, but their gameplay time has seen meaningful growth – increasing 5 minutes a day on average in the last two years (+22%).

Just to put this into perspective, Gen Z still play games for an hour more every day, but this figure has actually dropped by 10 minutes over the same period – while boomers’ playtime has continued to rise. 

When it comes to preferred gaming genres, puzzles lead among baby boomers, but shooter and action-adventure titles closely follow in popularity. So while they still prefer a slow-paced puzzle, don’t count boomers out of intense, fast-paced games just yet.

10. Baby boomers are a happy-go-lucky bunch.

When it comes to values in life, baby boomers’ top value is having a positive attitude; they’re 9% more likely to say this than the average consumer. Their mental wellbeing is pretty strong too.

In the US, 9 in 10 baby boomers rate their mental wellbeing as being good or very good, which is significantly higher than younger generations.

Even though baby boomers have good mental health, they aren’t really into self-care products, over a third of the generation don’t buy them, compared to just 12% of Gen Z. Baby boomers are more likely to say spending time with friends and family is their form of self-care, so when it comes to brands engaging with them or depicting them in campaigns, they should lean more into their positivity and social connections.

The bottom line 

There’s far more to baby boomers than outdated stereotypes may suggest. As a diverse group with significant spending power and influence, brands should pay close attention to truly understanding this audience.

While the next generation grabs headlines, baby boomers are redefining what it means to be 50+ in the modern world. By recognizing baby boomers’ diversity, aspirations and purchasing power, companies have an opportunity to build strong brand loyalty with this demographic. 

Choosing the right consumer research platform to support your brand’s growth, reach, and impact is a big decision. When you’re on the quest for the best option, choosing a solution based on factors like price or reputation alone just won’t cut it. 

Becoming an expert on your audience starts with knowing which company you can trust to help you make data-led decisions.

Making the right choice starts with having all the facts in front of you. 

Want to figure out the best option for you? Step right this way.  

GWI vs. MRI Simmons: Finding the best platform for your team

1. What GWI does
2. What MRI Simmons does
3. GWI vs. MRI Simmons: The overview
4. GWI vs MRI Simmons: The details

• Platform
• Smart tools and features
• Data coverage
• Data sets
• Use cases
• Survey methodology

5. Which is the best fit for your team? 

What GWI does

GWI is modernized consumer research – global, on-demand, and accessible to everyone, not just data experts. It uses active data collection and surveys representing over 2.8 billion consumers to give you answers the moment you need them, meaning no more waiting weeks or even months (as with traditional market research) to get exactly what you need.

What MRI Simmons does

MRI Simmons is a trusted provider of consumer data that has specialized in US-specific insights for over 60 years. The company offers an in-depth survey with broad coverage that uses a combination of address-based probabilistic sampling and traditional surveys to collect data. 

GWI vs. MRI Simmons: The overview

While MRI Simmons has been around for decades, GWI brings a fresh approach to consumer trends with both US and global insights. 

To give you the best like-for-like comparison, let’s focus on a US-specific data set, GWI USA. Want a global view? Check out GWI Core, a flagship survey of online audiences, covering 53 markets worldwide. 

*Based on a review of publicly accessible information on MRI Simmons website

GWI vs. MRI Simmons: The details

Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty. 

Platform 

MRI Simmons’ main tool is the Catalyst platform. It offers interactive charts, custom formatting, data visualization options, shareable reports, and dashboards that streamline collaboration. 

GWI’s modern, design-led platform gives you the power to create and explore unique audiences from over 250K profiling points so your audience analysis is on point from start to finish. 

You can choose from pre-built dashboards on trending topics, or build your own so you have complete control over your data. Plus, you can smoothly share your findings with your team to make sure everyone has one consistent view of their audiences.

Want to see more of GWI’s platform in action? Get a sneak peek with an interactive demo in just one click. No login needed. 

Smart tools and features

MRI has as an API and other features like MEMRI – an analytics tool with access to over two decades worth of consumer and media data, but it doesn’t appear to have launched any AI features yet. They also offer Audience Activation. 

The GWI platform has a wealth of data available along with built-in AI features that allow you to create charts on the fly with instant charts, quickly generate top data points using instant audience insights, and blend different data sets together for a holistic view of consumers with their API. 

GWI Audience Activation lets users target real people by pushing audiences from GWI’s platform into digital campaigns. The audience is modeled by Dynata and available to purchase from LiveRamp. Syndicated segments or bespoke segments can be bought or pushed through the platform, saving time and energy.

GWI also has RLD (respondent level data) with very large samples. That means access to answers from more people which can be especially useful if you’re doing segmentation work or planning digital activations for your target audience. With responses to every single question, you have the power to carry out more advanced analysis, get a more consistent view with harmonized data, and activate better campaigns.  

Data coverage

MRI’s data focuses exclusively on US consumers and brands. Surveys are conducted twice a year and released quarterly.

GWI’s data coverage is much broader with fielded surveys released every quarter (both global and US) that include new respondents every time. US coverage represents 250 million+ people aged 16+ from all 50 states. Zooming out globally, coverage includes 53 markets (Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) representing 2.8 billion internet users. 

Data sets

Because MRI is solely focused on the US, it doesn’t offer insights on international markets. According to their website, available data sets include national and local studies, print studies, and focus studies on trends in retail, sports, TV, and cannabis. 

GWI has a wide range of data sets that track global trends and zero in on sector-specific insights. In addition to the flagship survey, GWI Core, and GWI USA, it has separate data sets specific to Kids, Alcohol, Automotive, Tech, Gaming, Sports, Travel, Work, and Luxury along with Zeitgeist – an up-to-the-moment data set released every month that hones in on trending topics. There’s also GWI USA Plus, a free add-on to GWI USA, that explores important social and environmental issues like sustainability, DEI, activism, and mental health.

Use cases

Every team needs a research solution for different reasons and specific circumstances.

The key use cases for MRI Simmons include planning, messaging, activation, strategy, and engagement. 

GWI is designed to help teams nail their brand, marketing, and product strategies. Key use cases include media planning, brand health, content marketing, product development, market sizing, and pitching. 

Brands and agencies like Google, Microsoft, Publicis, and Mediacom use GWI to drive serious ad sales, make their campaigns land, and guarantee their strategies stand out. 

Marketing and insights teams use the platform to self-serve insights to help them build campaigns that resonate and reach the right audiences, making sure they’re advertising in the right places and in the right way by tapping into their mindsets. 

ONE Championship, the world’s largest martial arts organization, recently used GWI to uncover strategy-defining insights on how to resonate with American fight fans – a move that would lead to 46% audience growth over a six-month period.

With GWI, brands and PR teams can create products customers want to buy and keep the pulse on how the brand is performing. Media teams can optimize media buying, identify exciting partnerships, and win new business.

Survey methodology 

According to their website MRI Simmons uses a blend of different methodologies from traditional surveys to probabilistic and address-based sampling.

GWI uses online sampling which provides more frequent samples than a probabilistic methodology. With a qualitative and quantitative approach to research, you can balance depth and detail with objectivity to boost the accuracy of your findings and enrich your campaigns. 

Which is the best fit for your team? 

Both MRI Simmons and GWI offer in-depth coverage of American consumers. 

For brands looking for US-specific insights, MRI Simmons offers a great solution. But for businesses looking to expand into new regions and gain a competitive edge, who need consumer insights for the US and beyond, GWI may be better suited. GWI gives you the power to go global and zoom in on local trends, offers standout smart tools and features to overlay data and compare markets, and lets you deep dive into specific areas with extensive data sets. 

GWI’s design-led platform and AI-powered features are a great option for teams that may be less experienced with data and conducting market research. Now you don’t have to be an expert to put your brand on center stage.

Every business wants to promote its products, supercharge its content strategy, excel at consumer research, generate leads, boost sales, and increase brand awareness – all with minimum hassle and maximum impact.

The question, of course, is how? And that’s where marketing tools for business come in.

Apps, platforms, solutions – call ‘em what you like, they’re all ultimately about one thing: making or saving money for businesses like yours. Actually that’s two things, but let’s not split hairs.

There are literally hundreds of marketing tools for businesses out there, so to make your life easier we’ve rounded up 19 top examples that are worth your attention. But before we dive in, let’s quickly define “marketing tools” so we’re all on the same page.

What are marketing tools?

In this context, “marketing tools” refers to a broad sweep of techniques and resources delivered via digital platforms. Different business marketing tools serve different purposes, so businesses often use several tools simultaneously. The question, of course, is which ones are right for you?

The 19 best marketing tools for business

OK, “best” is relative as it’ll depend on your goals and budget. Scalability and customer support will almost certainly be important, as will compliance and privacy features.

But the ultimate test of “best” is probably our old friend ROI. The key question for any tool is: will it deliver a demonstrable return on investment, for example by opening up new revenue opportunities, or delivering efficiency savings? So for this blog we’ve defined “best” as the potential to produce benefits. If that’s wrong then we don’t want to be right.

Now we’ve agreed our criteria, let’s meet the 19 marketing tools for business you need to know about, grouped by function.

Consumer research tools

As the name implies, consumer research tools gather information about your consumers’ lifestyles, behaviors, needs, and preferences, usually in relation to a particular product or service.

Examples of consumer research in action include finding ways to improve consumer perception of your product, creating buyer personas, and defining market segments, all of which help you market your product to different types of customers

1. GWI

That’s us, so we’ll try to keep this objective: GWI is a global consumer research platform that offers instant access to data representing the views, behaviors, and interests of nearly 3 billion consumers in 53 markets. With insights available on-demand and an intuitive workflow that doesn’t require in-depth research expertise, GWI has become the go-to tool for agencies, brands, and businesses.

GWI shows exactly what drives buyers, giving users the answers they need, when they need them. In addition to our flagship Core data set,  – the world’s largest ongoing study of online audiences – our specialist data sets cover the US, alcohol, automotive, consumer tech, gaming, luxury, sports, travel, work, and kids.

Want to know more about other players out there? Then check out our recent review of market research companies

Web analytics tools

Web analytics tools analyze the behavior of your site visitors by tracking, measuring, and reporting on site traffic, visitor source, and user clicks. Web analytics tools shed light on what your users are actually doing on your website, information you can use to amplify what’s working and fix what isn’t.

2. Google Analytics

Google Analytics collects user activity data from your website on things like session duration, pages visited per session, where users are coming to your site from, and the bounce rate of individual users. It’s free, easy to install and use, and offers customizable reports, dashboards, and data collection.

Currently part of the Google Marketing Platform, Google Analytics launched in 2005 and is now one of the world’s most widely used web analytics services. As of late 2023, Google Analytics 4 is used by around 13.5 million websites globally.

3. Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics is an event-driven, user-orientated analytics platform that helps you identify, understand, and improve the metrics that drive business online. Like all web analytic tools it tracks user behavior on your site, information that helps you make better product and marketing decisions.

In terms of functionality, Kissmetrics focuses on data discovery and visualization, keyword tracking, and funnel analysis. Compared to Google Analytics, the industry consensus seems to be that Kissmetrics is a little more user-centric and better at behavior-based data tracking, while Google Analytics is more effective for event tracking.

Social listening tools

Social listening is a powerful solution for brands who want to keep their ear to the ground, gathering the raw, unmediated thoughts and opinions from consumers who’re posting on social media. Many social listening tools store data for as long as a couple of years, making them great for trend analysis that needs to compare current and past conversations.

4. Brandwatch

Brandwatch is the world’s leading social listening platform, collecting data from 95M+ sources including blogs, forums, social networks, news sites, videos, and review sites.

The Brandwatch platform features a “social inbox” that lets you manage all incoming social media mentions, comments, messages, and reviews in one place. Brandwatch can analyze thousands of conversations in real-time to help you understand how a campaign is performing or a potential crisis is unfolding, as well as monitoring the tone and impact of relevant brand mentions. The result helps brands create winning content that engages their consumers. 

5. Buzzsumo

BuzzSumo is a cloud-based content research tool that helps marketers and creators discover the topics that are currently trending, find the most engaging pieces of content, and discover new outreach opportunities.

In practice that means identifying the content that’s receiving the most shares, links, and comments – making Buzzsumo a sort of on-demand helpline for anyone who needs to know what’s currently blowing up big.

CRM tools

CRM – customer relationship management – tools help organizations track their customers as they move through the different stages of the buying journey. That information helps marketing and sales teams streamline their processes and build stronger customer relationships, which in turn can translate into higher sales and improved profitability.

6. HubSpot

HubSpot is a CRM platform containing a suite of marketing, sales, service, operations, and content management tools that help you deliver the best experience for your customers.

Specifically designed to support businesses as they scale, Hubspot is an all-in-one solution built around five integrated main products – or Hubs – that align sales and marketing teams, foster sales enablement, boost ROI, and optimize inbound marketing strategy to generate more qualified leads.

Ultimately HubSpot’s platform helps users grow their business faster by focusing on what matters most: their customers.

7. Zendesk

Zendesk is a customer service and engagement platform designed to help you streamline customer interactions, boost efficiency, and grow customer satisfaction.

It allows you to centralize customer inquiries from a range of channels including email, chat, social media, and phone calls. This consolidated approach simplifies communication and makes sure every customer query gets noticed and dealt with correctly.

A key feature of Zendesk is its ticketing system which automatically organizes and prioritizes customer requests. Zendesk’s reporting and analytics tools also provide valuable insights into customer interactions, helping you identify trends, areas for improvement, and opportunities for growth.

Lead generation tools

This group of marketing tools helps you attract, capture, and nurture leads – in other words, people who’re potentially interested in your goods or services. By automating and streamlining the lead generation process, these tools make it easier for companies to identify and engage with their target audience.

8. Zapier

Zapier automates tasks and workflows to boost lead generation by automatically connecting apps and services without the need to build any integration yourself.

It’s basically the “glue” that enables hundreds of web apps and services to work together seamlessly, linking and synchronizing their functionality so recurring processes – like running email or social campaigns – execute automatically.

This sort of automation simplifies complex procedures, reduces human interaction and error, and frees up your time to focus on other more valuable tasks.

9. Unbounce

Unbounce describes itself as a “conversion intelligence platform”, combining an AI-powered drag ‘n’ drop landing page builder with conversion optimization features like sticky bars, pop-ups, and overlays, in order to generate leads, clickthroughs, and signups.

In action, Unbounce optimizes traffic by automatically directing visitors to their optimum landing page, helping you drive leads and build higher-converting campaigns in a way that lets you scale your marketing to reflect your goals.

Email marketing tools

Email marketing uses the humble email to promote products or services by keeping customers up to date about what’s new in your world. It can play a vital role in lead generation, brand awareness, relationship building, and customer engagement between purchases.

10. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a highly respected one-stop shop for email marketing. It lets you manage email lists, design emails, automate campaigns, and keep track of different metrics, all from a single dashboard.

Mailchimp is easy to use, even for those who’ve never put together an email campaign before. It includes customizable templates, a drag ‘n’ drop email designer, list management and segmentation tools, automated campaign support, and analytics and reporting. Mailchimp also offers a ton of integration options for other platforms and tools, helping you streamline workflow and automate regular marketing tasks.

11. MailierLite

MailerLite is an easy-to-use email marketing service that lets you create professional emails, pop-ups, workflows, and websites thanks to features like newsletter creation, website and landing page building, and e-commerce product selling.

Features that go beyond the basics of email marketing mean you can collect cross-channel data and send targeted emails. It’s also known for its extensive range of features – even for users who choose MailerLite’s free plan – including campaign reporting, email automation, subscriber list management, and result tracking.

SEO marketing tools

SEO marketing tools help sites to rise up search engine rankings by providing data and alerts about the overall health and success of a website. They uncover areas of opportunity and identify weaknesses or issues that could prevent you from getting the visibility you want on the all-important SERP – aka search engine results page.

12. Ahrefs

Ahrefs offers many essential SEO features such as keyword research, competitor analysis, backlinking analysis, tracking positions of pages, and comparing SEO visibility scores.

Its user-friendly interface makes Ahrefs easy to navigate, and you can access and analyze lots of data on various SEO operations like organic traffic metrics and search results page rankings. Ahrefs also has a huge collection of SEO tools you can use to boost your results page ranking and grow your sales.

13. Semrush

Semrush is an all-in-one SEO marketing tool that helps you formulate, maintain, and improve digital marketing campaigns. You can quickly recognize patterns and trends, helping you review your on-page SEO and identify any areas that need to be optimized for more efficient lead generation.

Semrush also shows which keywords your competitors are using and how they’re ranked. You can see how you stack up against your competitors, and make data-driven decisions around the right keywords to target in order to boost organic search and Google ad campaign results.

Website optimization tools

The ultimate aim of web optimization is to give users the best possible online experience, so these tools collect data on how people are using your website – information you can use to see which features or content are working well and which aren’t.

14. Hotjar

Hotjar describes itself as a “product experience insights platform”, combining user behavior analysis and customer feedback to help you understand what users do on your site and why they do it.

Hotjar provides detailed heatmaps so you can see exactly where customers spend time, or whether they’re just scrolling through pages quickly without clicking on anything. Hotjar also offers survey tools to get feedback about your products and services directly from customers. Last but not least, Hotjar allows you to automate the entire process of collecting insights.

15. ScreamingFrog

ScreamingFrog is a site crawler that analyzes a site’s structure to identify any technical issues that could impact its search engine ranking – things like broken links, duplicated content, or missing title tags.

ScreamingFrog can also generate an xml sitemap for your site, analyze page titles and meta data, and carry out data scraping to find out which keywords drive most traffic to your site – all of which helps with competitive analysis.

Product development tools

These tools help product teams manage the product development process from ideation to launch and beyond. Product managers, designers, and engineers use these tools to develop new products and services, update existing offerings, and create internal products.

16. Unleash

Unleash is an open source website feature management tool that offers multiple ways to create and manage “feature toggles”. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a feature toggle – sometimes known as a feature flag or switch – lets developers turn website features on and off (in other words, make them visible or hidden from users) without the need to change any code.

The result streamlines development workflows, accelerates software delivery, and helps teams control how and when they roll out new features.

17. Trello

Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes projects into “boards” that give you a single, unified view of who’s working on what, and where each project is in its development cycle.

Trello’s interface uses a visual metaphor called “kanban”, a Japanese word that translates as “visual card”, each of which contains details about a task. You can then organize these cards in whatever way you like on a virtual whiteboard to represent the different stages of the production process – to do, doing, and done – with everything fully shareable with all team members.

Project management tools

Project management tools help plan, organize, and manage projects. Depending on the sophistication of the individual platform, these tools can manage project estimation and planning, scheduling, cost control and budget management, resource allocation, collaboration, communication, decision-making, quality management, time management, and so on.

18. Asana

Asana is a cloud-based task management system/dashboard that lets you manage, communicate, and organize your tasks and projects in one place, with a big emphasis on collaboration and productivity.

Asana lets you keep track of who’s responsible for each stage. It centralizes all the information related to your tasks, including necessary steps, due dates, and so on. It’s also really flexible, meaning you have complete control over what kind of work to track and exactly how to use its tools. 

19. Wrike

Wrike is designed to help with two high level tasks: project management, and team collaboration. Its project management features let teams track dates and dependencies, manage assignments and resources, and track time via an interactive Gantt chart, a workload view, and a sortable table you can customize to store project data.

Wrike’s team collaboration features support colleague conversations, asset creation, and decision-making across teams. They include Wrike’s live co-editor, discussion threads on tasks, tools for attaching and editing documents, and tracking changes.

Last words

So there we have it folks. As we’ve seen, business marketing tools provide companies with valuable analytics that can guide their decision-making. By monitoring KPIs, conversion rates, and customer engagement, the right tool – or more likely tools – can support specific marketing objectives and streamline marketing activities like promoting a product or services, optimizing content strategy, generating leads, boosting sales, and increasing brand awareness.

Marketing tools FAQs

What are marketing automation tools?

Marketing automation tools take care of repetitive tasks like email sends and social media posting. The result frees staff to focus on more productive activity, as well as making message customization much easier.

What are digital marketing tools?

Digital marketing tools help businesses attract, engage, sell, and retain business online. This could cover everything from social media and advertising, to content optimization.

How do you create a marketing strategy?

The first step in creating an effective marketing strategy is to clarify your business objectives and marketing goals. After that you need to understand your clients, create your message, agree a budget, determine your channels, and finally measure your success.

When it comes to understanding modern American consumers, guesswork just won’t cut it. With transformative changes affecting the way we shop, behave, and consume media, it’s no secret that in-depth consumer research should be at the heart of every strategic marketing, product, or business decision you make. 

There are a myriad of US market research companies out there armed with customer insight platforms, smart research tools, and AI-powered features that give you the answers you need. But which is best for reaching your US target audiences? Whose data can you trust? With so much choice, it can be tough to figure out which market research company is the right fit for your business needs. 

To help you make that decision (‘cause we’re nice like that), we’ve put together a no-nonsense rundown of the best market research companies for US consumer insights right now, outlining the specialist areas and key use cases you might consider them for. Grab a hot drink and settle in. 

Oh – and if you’re interested in the best market research companies in the UK, we’ve got a shortlist of those worth skimming through too. 

How to choose the right US market research company

It sounds obvious, but every US market research company is different. The type of consumer data they collect, and how they deliver it to you really varies. So before you commit to a research partner, think carefully about the kind of support you need – and crucially, how quickly you need it. Start by asking these six questions:

1. Do they know about your audience? 
2. Do they have expertise in your industry/category, with a proven track record of success?
3. Do they conduct the right kind of research to answer your questions, with a sound and trusted methodology? 
4. Are they transparent about how they collect and analyze data to ensure quality?
5. Do they have the capacity to provide fast results, with regular client communication?
6. Most importantly, will they understand your long-term goals and add value to your business?

If you can answer “yes” to each of these questions, you’re on the right track to finding the perfect partner. But if you want more guidance on how to drive research forward, here’s our list of the leading US market research companies worth considering, in no particular order. Well, except for us – obviously.

Top 18 US market research companies worth considering

It would be crazy if we put together a comparison piece on US market research companies and didn’t mention our very own AI-enhanced, on-demand consumer research platform. So let’s start there.

1. GWI

GWI is modernized consumer research, with an intuitive platform that instantly puts high-impact US consumer research at your fingertips.

Location: New York, USA (with additional offices in the UK, Greece, Czech Republic, and Singapore)

Specialisms: Every business has questions about its audiences; GWI has the answers. Get a window into your target audience’s world, on demand, with our easy-to-use consumer research platform. Our GWI USA data set covers an 80K+ annual sample, representing the views, behaviors, and interests of 250 million US consumers in all 50 States. Need to go beyond the US? Delve into our global flagship survey representing nearly 3 billion consumers in 50+ markets worldwide.

Understand today’s diverse Americans in seconds, with deep psychographic consumer insight spanning key topics like social media, mental health, DE&I, and attitudes toward brands. And if you need fast answers on something really specific? Ask your US audiences any question you like with our custom research solutions.

Use cases include: 

• Marketing strategy (ad targeting, brand health tracking, content marketing, and media planning)
• Revenue growth (media ad sales, winning pitches and retaining key clients)
• Product development (product expansion, improvements, and partnership and collaboration opportunities)
• Competitive advantage (market differentiation, market sizing/expansion, and sponsorship opportunities)

If time’s of the essence, why not try our free interactive demo right now?

2. MRI-Simmons

A long-standing provider of US consumer insights, collected through address-based probabilistic sampling, and online and in-person interviews.

Location: New York, USA

Specialisms: MRI-Simmons offers a complete view of the American consumer – providing consumer research via a national study, print studies into magazine ad readership, and focus studies for deeper insight into emerging tech and cultural trends. Data is based on a representative sample of over 50K+ US consumers in 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), with surveys conducted twice a year. 

Use cases include:

• Audience profiling
• Market sizing
• Media planning

3. Suzy

An integrated, AI-driven enterprise platform combining “quant, qual, and high quality audiences” into a connected research cloud.

Location: New York, USA

Specialisms: Using AI to drive research, Suzy has three main product offerings – Suzy Insights, Suzy Live, and Suzy Audiences – and offers real-time customer insights delivered with “agency-quality rigor”. Pulling data from an active, engaged community (via surveys, interviews, and focus groups), its platform helps teams understand US consumers, explore purchase journeys, validate ideas, optimize marketing assets, and more.

Use cases include: 

• Audience profiling
• Concept testing
• Product development

4. GfK

AI-powered market intelligence that solves critical questions in the decision-making process, and helps drive sustainable growth.

Location: Nuremberg, Germany (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: GfK “drives growth from knowledge” by providing a holistic view of US consumers’ buying behavior and the dynamics impacting markets, brands, and media trends. With particular expertise in consumer and shopper intelligence, Gfk’s research methods include surveys, point-of-sale data analysis, and wider market monitoring. It also offers strategic consultancy to help businesses make great decisions.

Use cases include: 

• Competitive advantage
• Market segmentation
• Product development

5. Nielsen

A global media leader specializing in TV, video, and radio audience and data analytics.

Location: New York, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Nielsen is a powerhouse of market intelligence, “connecting clients to audiences, growth and new opportunities”. It explores nuanced consumer behavior, preferences, and market dynamics to give media brands an edge. You may be familiar with Nielsen ratings – its renowned audience measurement system for TV viewership – which have been a deciding factor in many shows being renewed or canceled over the years.

And in case you didn’t know – GWI has an ongoing Fusion partnership with Nielsen that delivers advanced media insights and analytics to our customers. A pretty solid choice of market research partner, if you ask us.

Use cases include: 

• Ad targeting
• Competitive advantage
• Media planning 

6. Bixa

A business intelligence and market research company that helps clients “drive data-backed business decisions that enhance customers’ lives.”

Location: Virginia, USA

Specialisms: Bixa gives businesses a springboard to sustainable growth by helping them “build meaningful connections” with customers. It shares targeted business intelligence for a deeper understanding of US audiences, market dynamics, and emerging trends. Ultimately, it helps businesses with strategic decision-making. Data derives from diverse sources including surveys, consumer feedback, and in-depth industry analysis. 

Use cases include:

• Brand health tracking
• Market expansion
• Product development

7. Morning Consult

A real-time “decision intelligence” and custom research tool, powered by consumer opinion polling.

Location: Washington, D.C., USA

Specialisms: Morning Consult provides timely consumer opinions and market insights, alongside current economic data and political trends.  Daily surveys and insights give businesses the agility they need to pivot strategies quickly and effectively. Analyzing niche audiences and underserved buyers in 100+ countries (including the US), it’s also useful for identifying new market opportunities.

Use cases include:

• Brand health tracking
• Market sizing
• Political risk analysis

8. Ipsos

Equipping clients with market intelligence tools to help them make “smarter decisions, faster and more consistently across markets”.

Location: New York, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Ipsos is a global market research company that sources consumer data from surveys, behavioral analysis, and social listening. With specialist insight into the lifestyles, media habits, and purchase behavior of financially-successful Americans (via its Affluent Survey), it also pays particular attention to public opinion. This helps brands tune in to changing market trends and benchmark how well they’re received by consumers.

Use cases include: 

• Brand health tracking
• Digital marketing strategy
• Sentiment tracking

9. Lucy

An AI-driven “knowledge management” tool that helps enterprises keep pace and make fast decisions through predictive analytics.

Location: Minnesota, USA

Specialisms: Putting AI at the heart of market research, Lucy “exists to amaze, delight, and empower people with knowledge”. Generating US insights via machine learning algorithms, it rapidly analyzes a blend of large data sets, social media interactions, and consumer behaviors. Lucy is trusted by 18+ Fortune 1000 companies to deliver advanced analysis at speed – saving time while boosting organizational productivity. 

Use cases include:

• Competitive advantage
• Digital marketing strategy
• Trend forecasting

10. Comscore

Leading digital audience insights and media performance analysis, that helps businesses generate more ROI from their advertising.

Location: Virginia, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Sharing real-time US consumer insights on media consumption, Comscore provides effective digital marketing and advertising solutions across several veins (including TV and advertising). Using its robust, reliable suite of tools, clients can explore demographics to understand American audiences, then optimize ad targeting and wider marketing strategies for better engagement and return on investment.

Use cases include: 

• Ad targeting
• Digital marketing strategy
• Media planning

11. Kantar Marketplace

A market research company offering relevant, robust data about global and local audiences in an increasingly connected world.

Locations: New York, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Kantar serves industry-leading consumer insights across TV, radio, print, and digital – all unpacked in its Target Group Index (TGI) survey. Based on a representative 700K+ sample across 50 markets, data is collected online and through offline consumer panels. Analyzing attitudes, behaviors, media consumption, and brand/product use, Kantar promises “decision-quality insights in as little as a few hours.” 

Use cases include:

• Ad targeting
• Market segmentation
• Media planning

12. 1+1 Research

A full-service fieldwork company supplying tailored market research solutions to companies across the globe.

Specialisms:  1+1 Research provides bespoke market research services for its clients, such as consumer opinion mining and sentiment analysis. Depending on a company’s needs, US consumer data can be collected through focus groups, online surveys, industry analysis, and CATI (computer-assisted phone interviews) among other methodologies – ideal for those with unique industry requirements who need a bit more flexibility.

Use cases include:

• Brand strategy
• Custom research
• Market segmentation

13. Gartner

Expert market research company that delivers practical solutions for fast, informed decision-making and measurable impact.

Location: Connecticut, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Gartner is a global name in market research for good reason. Its on-demand diagnostics, insights, frameworks, rankings, and benchmarking tools help businesses work smarter, not harder to get ahead of modern Americans in the digital world. Valuable insights are sourced from a mix of market analysis, surveys, and expert consultations, and outline the impact of new technology on US businesses and consumers alike. 

Use cases: 

• Competitive advantage
• Customer experience
• Digital marketing strategy

14. Toluna

A real-time consumer intelligence platform that helps clients figure out what matters to their online audiences, fast.

Location: Connecticut, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Subscription-based Toluna Start offers automated solutions that put market research into its clients’ hands. Collating US survey data from a global community of engaged consumers, its platform users get a dynamic view of digital preferences and behaviors to help them validate their strategies and implement feedback in a real-world environment.

Use cases include:

• Concept testing
• Marketing strategy
• Product development

15. Statista

A global data and business intelligence platform aggregating statistics, market research reports, and key insights on over 80,000 topics.

Location: New York, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Statista is a household name for timely US market and consumer insights, designed to “empower people with data” on key topics such as the economy, military, and population. Solutions include analysis of behavior and media usage (via Consumer Insights) and trend forecasting (via Market Insights). Data coverage also extends globally, with a representative 1.7M+ sample across 56 countries.

Use cases include: 

• Content marketing
• Market sizing
• Winning pitches and retaining clients

16. SIS International Research

A full-service consulting firm supplying market intelligence and consumer research solutions to businesses worldwide.

Location: New York, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: SIS is a US market research company with specialist experience across various industries, including B2B, supply chain, and healthcare market research. It sources data and strategic insights from a global network of field researchers, alongside consumer surveys and interviews. SIS helps businesses benchmark against competitors and create tailored strategies for success – even as market dynamics change.

Use cases include:

• Competitive advantage
• Digital marketing strategy
• Market expansion

17.  Forrester Research

A US market research company that helps global organizations excel with technology and deliver on consumers’ changing demands.

Location: Massachusetts, USA

Specialisms: Combining traditional, in-house market research with a modern, tech-driven mindset, Forrester Research offers deep consumer insights along with recommendations for tech adoption strategies. It takes data from consumer surveys and expert market assessments, with findings analyzed by its team of experts. Clients benefit from clear results and a deeper understanding of nuanced consumer behavior in their industry.

Use cases include:

• Customer experience
• Digital marketing strategy
• Market differentiation

18. Resonate

US market research and consumer intelligence experts, offering AI-powered consumer data and predictive insights. 

Location: Virginia, USA

Specialisms: Resonate operates through “rAI”, its unique AI consumer intelligence model that gives clients a holistic view of their US audiences. Blending online behavioral data with surveys, psychographics, and real-time consumer interactions, it takes an in-depth look at what makes Americans unique, and the “why” behind what they do. Ideal for crafting highly targeted, effective marketing strategies backed by granular insight.

Use cases include: 

• Audience profiling
• Brand health tracking
• Digital marketing strategy

[H2] Those are our top market research recommendations, now it’s over to you

Nineteen US market research companies, with nineteen different ways to tackle US consumer research. Hopefully you’ve come away from this blog with a clearer idea of exactly what you need from a research partner, and who you can trust to get the job done. We’ll leave you to digest.

Here at GWI we publish a steady stream of blogs, reports, and other resources that dig deep into specific market research topics.

But what about the folks who’d appreciate a more general overview of market research that explains the big picture? Don’t they deserve some love too?

Of course they do. That’s why we’ve created this overview guide focusing on types of market research and examples. With so many market research companies to choose from, having a solid general understanding of how this sector works is essential for any brand or business that wants to pick the right market research partner.

So with that in mind, let’s start at the very beginning and get clear on…

Market research definition

At the risk of stating the slightly obvious, market research is the gathering and analyzing of data on consumers, competitors, distributors, and markets. As such it’s not quite the same as consumer research, but there’s significant overlap.

Market research matters because it can help you take the guesswork out of getting through to audiences. By studying consumers and gathering information on their likes, dislikes, and so on, brands can make evidence-based decisions instead of relying on instinct or experience. 

What is market research?

Market research is the organized gathering of information about target markets and consumers’ needs and preferences. It’s an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness.

If a business wants to know – really know – what sort of products or services consumers want to buy, along with where, when, and how those products and services should be marketed, it just makes sense to ask the prospective audience. 

Without the certainty that market research brings, a business is basically hoping for the best. And while we salute their optimism, that’s not exactly a reliable strategy for success.

What are the types of market research?

Primary research 

Primary research is a type of market research you either conduct yourself or hire someone to do on your behalf.

A classic example of primary research involves going directly to a source – typically customers or prospective customers in your target market – to ask questions and gather information about a product or service. Interviewing methods include in-person, online surveys, phone calls, and focus groups.

The big advantage of primary research is that it’s directly focused on your objectives, so the outcome will be conclusive, detailed insights – particularly into customer views – making it the gold standard.

The disadvantages are it can be time-consuming and potentially costly, plus there’s a risk of survey bias creeping in, in the sense that research samples may not be representative of the wider group.

Secondary research 

Primary market research means you collect the data your business needs, whereas the types of market research known as secondary market research use information that’s already been gathered for other purposes but can still be valuable. Examples include published market studies, white papers, analyst reports, customer emails, and customer surveys/feedback.

For many small businesses with limited budgets, secondary market research is their first choice because it’s easier to acquire and far more affordable than primary research.

Secondary research can still answer specific business questions, but with limitations. The data collected from that audience may not match your targeted audience exactly, resulting in skewed outcomes. 

A big benefit of secondary market research is helping lay the groundwork and get you ready to carry out primary market research by making sure you’re focused on what matters most.

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is one of the two fundamental types of market research. Qualitative research is about people and their opinions. Typically conducted by asking questions either one-on-one or in groups, qualitative research can help you define problems and learn about customers’ opinions, values, and beliefs.

Classic examples of qualitative research are long-answer questions like “Why do you think this product is better than competitive products? Why do you think it’s not?”, or “How would you improve this new service to make it more appealing?”

Because qualitative research generally involves smaller sample sizes than its close cousin quantitative research, it gives you an anecdotal overview of your subject, rather than highly detailed information that can help predict future performance.

Qualitative research is particularly useful if you’re developing a new product, service, website or ad campaign and want to get some feedback before you commit a large budget to it.

Quantitative research

If qualitative research is all about opinions, quantitative research is all about numbers, using math to uncover insights about your audience. 

Typical quantitative research questions are things like, “What’s the market size for this product?” or “How long are visitors staying on this website?”. Clearly the answers to both will be numerical.

Quantitative research usually involves questionnaires. Respondents are asked to complete the survey, which marketers use to understand consumer needs, and create strategies and marketing plans.

Importantly, because quantitative research is math-based, it’s statistically valid, which means you’re in a good position to use it to predict the future direction of your business.

Consumer research 

As its name implies, consumer research gathers information about consumers’ lifestyles, behaviors, needs and preferences, usually in relation to a particular product or service. It can include both quantitative and qualitative studies.

Examples of consumer research in action include finding ways to improve consumer perception of a product, or creating buyer personas and market segments, which help you successfully market your product to different types of customers.

Understanding consumer trends, driven by consumer research, helps businesses understand customer psychology and create detailed purchasing behavior profiles. The result helps brands improve their products and services by making them more customer-centric, increasing customer satisfaction, and boosting bottom line in the process.

Product research 

Product research gives a new product (or indeed service, we don’t judge) its best chance of success, or helps an existing product improve or increase market share.

It’s common sense: by finding out what consumers want and adjusting your offering accordingly, you gain a competitive edge. It can be the difference between a product being a roaring success or an abject failure.

Examples of product research include finding ways to develop goods with a higher value, or identifying exactly where innovation effort should be focused. 

Product research goes hand-in-hand with other strands of market research, helping you make informed decisions about what consumers want, and what you can offer them.

Brand research  

Brand research is the process of gathering feedback from your current, prospective, and even past customers to understand how your brand is perceived by the market.

It covers things like brand awareness, brand perceptions, customer advocacy, advertising effectiveness, purchase channels, audience profiling, and whether or not the brand is a top consideration for consumers.

The result helps take the guesswork out of your messaging and brand strategy. Like all types of market research, it gives marketing leaders the data they need to make better choices based on fact rather than opinion or intuition.

Market research methods 

So far we’ve reviewed various different types of market research, now let’s look at market research methods, in other words the practical ways you can uncover those all-important insights.

Consumer research platform 

A consumer research platform like GWI is a smart way to find on-demand market research insights in seconds.

In a world of fluid markets and changing attitudes, a detailed understanding of your consumers, developed using the right research platform, enables you to stop guessing and start knowing.

As well as providing certainty, consumer research platforms massively accelerate speed to insight. Got a question? Just jump on your consumer research platform and find the answer – job done.

The ability to mine data for answers like this is empowering – suddenly you’re in the driving seat with a world of possibilities ahead of you. Compared to the most obvious alternative – commissioning third party research that could take weeks to arrive – the right consumer research platform is basically a magic wand.

Admittedly we’re biased, but GWI delivers all this and more. Take our platform for a quick spin and see for yourself.

And the downside of using a consumer research platform? Well, no data set, however fresh or thorough, can answer every question. If you need really niche insights then your best bet is custom market research, where you can ask any question you like, tailored to your exact needs.

Face-to-face interviews 

Despite the rise in popularity of online surveys, face-to-face survey interviewing – using mobile devices or even the classic paper survey – is still a popular data collection method.

In terms of advantages, face-to-face interviews help with accurate screening, in the sense the interviewee can’t easily give misleading answers about, say, their age. The interviewer can also make a note of emotions and non-verbal cues. 

On the other hand, face-to-face interviews can be costly, while the quality of data you get back often depends on the ability of the interviewer. Also, the size of the sample is limited to the size of your interviewing staff, the area in which the interviews are conducted, and the number of qualified respondents within that area.

Social listening 

Social listening is a powerful solution for brands who want to keep an ear to the ground, gathering unfiltered thoughts and opinions from consumers who are posting on social media. 

Many social listening tools store data for up to a couple of years, great for trend analysis that needs to compare current and past conversations.

Social listening isn’t limited to text. Images, videos, and emojis often help us better understand what consumers are thinking, saying, and doing better than more traditional research methods. 

Perhaps the biggest downside is there are no guarantees with social listening, and you never know what you will (or won’t) find. It can also be tricky to gauge sentiment accurately if the language used is open to misinterpretation, for example if a social media user describes something as “sick”.

There’s also a potential problem around what people say vs. what they actually do. Tweeting about the gym is a good deal easier than actually going. The wider problem – and this may shock you – is that not every single thing people write on social media is necessarily true, which means social listening can easily deliver unreliable results.

Public domain data 

Public domain data comes from think tanks and government statistics or research centers like the UK’s National Office for Statistics or the United States Census Bureau and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences. Other sources are things like research journals, news media, and academic material.

Its advantages for market research are it’s cheap (or even free), quick to access, and easily available. Public domain datasets can be huge, so potentially very rich.

On the flip side, the data can be out of date, it certainly isn’t exclusive to you, and the collection methodology can leave much to be desired. But used carefully, public domain data can be a useful source of secondary market research.

Telephone interviews 

You know the drill – you get a call from a researcher who asks you questions about a particular topic and wants to hear your opinions. Some even pay or offer other rewards for your time.

Telephone surveys are great for reaching niche groups of consumers within a specific geographic area or connected to a particular brand, or who aren’t very active in online channels. They’re not well-suited for gathering data from broad population groups, simply because of the time and labor involved.

How to use market research 

Data isn’t an end in itself; instead it’s a springboard to make other stuff happen. So once you’ve drawn conclusions from your research, it’s time to think of what you’ll actually do based on your findings.

While it’s impossible for us to give a definitive list (every use case is different), here are some suggestions to get you started.

Leverage it. Think about ways to expand the use – and value – of research data and insights, for example by using research to support business goals and functions, like sales, market share or product design.

Integrate it. Expand the value of your research data by integrating it with other data sources, internal and external. Integrating data like this can broaden your perspective and help you draw deeper insights for more confident decision-making.

Justify it. Enlist colleagues from areas that’ll benefit from the insights that research provides – that could be product management, product development, customer service, marketing, sales or many others – and build a business case for using research.

How to choose the right type of market research 

Broadly speaking, choosing the right research method depends on knowing the type of data you need to collect. To dig into ideas and opinions, choose qualitative; to do some testing, it’s quantitative you want.

There are also a bunch of practical considerations, not least cost. If a particular approach sounds great but costs the earth then clearly it’s not ideal for any brand on a budget.

Then there’s how you intend to use the actual research, your level of expertise with research data, whether you need access to historical data or just a snapshot of today, and so on.

The point is, different methods suit different situations. When choosing, you’ll want to consider what you want to achieve, what data you’ll need, the pros and cons of each method, the costs of conducting the research, and the cost of analyzing the results. 

Market research examples

Independent agency Bright/Shift used GWI consumer insights to shape a high-impact go-to-market strategy for their sustainable furniture client, generating £41K in revenue in the first month. Here’s how they made the magic happen.