Where should you start if you have no budget for market research?

Starting a new project can certainly feel daunting, especially when you don't feel you have the right tools or budget. But there's good news: When you have to be scrappy, there's data all around you. Step 1: Wrap your head around the problem as best as you can Whether it's bringing a new product or feature to market or developing a new marketing campaign, I like to start with an unbiased hunt for existing information because it may trigger ideas you wouldn't have if you defined scope too early. ...Read More

Absolutely! There is a ton of incredibly important data & insights in what you're probably already doing related to your product:  Web - Look where people are spending their time, dropping off, what is getting the most clicks Ads - Same as above. Target multiple groups with multiple creative, and see what drives the most engagement.  Customer Support - Your users are telling you what they need help with.  Product Analytics -- Retention & Happy Customers - Identify your most engaged, and ...Read More

Bonnie, Patti, and I always recommend getting in touch with your target audience/customers by any means necessary! One way to get started is to identify who has the best direct line to customers/consumers. Make friends w/ Customer Service team and make sure you’re aligned on best practices when reaching out to and speaking with customers. The people in your organization who can help you are usually in Sales, Social Media, Customer Service, UX, and Market Research. Pro tip: You can build an infor ...Read More

When you have no budget: If you already have a survey platform in place, conducting interviews and surveys of your own lists (customer & prospect databases) is free! You just need a way to recruit them. For interviews or smaller sample sizes, you may want to go directly through your customer success team who has relationships with your customers. For larger sample sizes, you may want to send a few emails to invite people to take your survey.  When you have a small budget: You may not be able ...Read More

If you can't secure a budget, it may mean that your research doesn't have sufficient buy-in from stakeholders or leadership. Getting alignment around the core problem/opportunity may be a better use of time than spinning cycles on research. Here's a quick story about how I conducted a leadership roadshow to secure budget/resourcing for research at ZipRecruiter: When I started at ZipRecruiter as the first PMM, I took the approach of "show how incredible your research is & the budget/buy-in wi ...Read More