A primary goal of market research is to help inform business decisions. Whether creating a new product or making an existing product better, the function of market research involves collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing data, which hopefully produces valuable intelligence or “insights” that help managers and executives make better decisions.

A core area of market research is understanding a brand’s target audience (e.g., needs, desires, attitudes, behaviors, etc.). This information helps to shape the most relevant/desirable value proposition in a brand’s offerings to target customers. Additionally, understanding the “market” itself — specifically competing brands within a category — is also central to market research activity. Identifying how different brands are viewed within a category helps to identifying key competitive advantages and disadvantages for a particular brand, which helps inform brand positioning strategies (or how to compete more effectively against other brands).