The alcohol beverage industry has experienced unprecedented growth over the last decade, with industry giants siphoning up smaller partners and entrepreneurs attempting to break into the space amidst increasing competition. With such a rapidly growing and turbulent industry, it’s no surprise that alcohol market research firms have become increasingly sought-after professionals for industry players looking to stay ahead of the game. So how can these research firms help and what sorts of questions should you ask? Here are some commonly asked questions about alcohol market research firms.
What services do alcohol market research firms provide?
Alcohol market research firms provide a range of services specific to the drink industry. These services include market research, competitor research, trend research, opinion research and consumer insights. Market research helps alcohol beverage producers understand the competitive landscape, assess consumer trends and behaviors, identify opportunities for product innovation and identify strategies for success. Competitor research assists in understanding the competitive dynamic of the sector, understanding competitive pricing and strategies for product launches. Trend research helps identify growth opportunities, understand changing consumer demands and identify emerging markets. Opinion research measures consumers’ attitudes and opinions towards established brands and any potential new entrants to the market. Consumer insight focuses on understanding consumer purchase behaviour, preferences and decision-making processes.
How do alcohol market research firms obtain their data?
Alcohol market research firms use proprietary techniques and a variety of data sources to answer vital investor and business questions. They rely largely on survey data (usually online or telephone) in order to obtain pertinent data from their target market, as this requires little or no cost to use and can be conducted quickly. Alcohol market research firms also use secondary data sources to supplement their survey information, such as industry reports, demographic reports, economic reports and news reports.
What are the benefits of using an alcohol market research firm?
The benefit of using an alcohol market research firm is that it allows companies to move quickly and accurately in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment. An experienced alcohol market research firm has the industry experience to be able to quickly identify and accurately measure customer reaction to different product offering, pricing structures and even brand positioning. Market research also allows companies to better understand the industry competition to ensure their product offerings are competitive and to accurately understand customer needs in order to increase their value proposition. Finally, market research firms often have expertise in areas outside of customer demographics and behaviors, such as packaging and labelling design, allowing companies to recover lost brand equity.
Are there any potential challenges of using alcohol market research firms?
Potential challenges may arise due to the associated cost of using a market research firm as well as the potential for limited control and ownership of the research data. Another potential challenge is the ‘data overload’, as due to the sheer volume of different kinds of data available, it can be hard to truly understand what the data means for the business. Finally, due to the fast-paced nature of the industry, traditional market research firms may struggle to keep up with the speed of the market, meaning that companies may be left exposed to unknown changes.
