Imagine you need to buy new office chairs. Which process is more likely to get you quality, comfortable seating - researching customer reviews, build methods, and competitive pricing while also going to stores to try them out, or buying the first chair you see because it looks cool?

If you don’t do your research, you’re making a blind decision. You might get a decent chair, but you could just as easily wind up with a disagreeable piece of garbage. The same holds for business decisions. You can’t make good ones if you don’t do your research.

Market research enables data-driven decision-making. “Going with your gut” has its place, but when it comes to critical choices, the more information you have, the better your decision is likely to be. Market research takes emotion out of the equation and replaces it with facts. Data-driven decisions help businesses in several ways:

- Get to know your customers

- Develop products your customers want

- Understand competitive pressures

- Refine your marketing efforts