Most Effective Methods for International Market Research
Clarke Ricks
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI 690: Policy and Strategy in Global Competition
Dr. Hicks
April 8, 2021
Most Effective Methods for International Market Research
Considering expanding into an overseas market? If so, you’ll need to do international
market research, and there are many different methods involved. The difference between
good and bad market research can make the difference between the success and failure of
your product, and this is even more true when launching in foreign markets.
All the various challenges and obstacles of market entry are compounded when you
enter a market with different cultures, customs, languages, laws, and infrastructure to what
you’re used to dealing with in your domestic market. Without conducting rigorous research
beforehand, you risk being poorly prepared for an already challenging process.
This article will look at some of the most effective methods for international market
research, the things you’ll need to consider compared to domestic research, and some tips
on how to make each one work.
The three main types of data
Before we explore the methods available to researchers, it’s important to look at the
three main types of data you will be aiming to collect:
Secondary data
This refers to data that was not collected specifically for the task at hand (in contrast
with primary data). It can involve things like government records, business reports,
information from NGOs, and scientific publications.
Secondary data is usually the easiest to collect and makes a good starting point for your
international market research. When researching in a foreign market, it’s important to
consider linguistic differences and the fact that certain data may be less accessible for
political reasons.
Survey data
This is a blanket term for all the data you gather through speaking to real people in your
target market. There are many ways to collect it, including face-to-face surveys and
interviews, electronic methods like email surveys, via telephone, and more.
When dealing with an international market, surveys can be extremely effective as they
offer a direct connection with your target customers in your new market. However, there
are challenges to overcome around language barriers and cultural differences.
Experimental data
Experimental data is gathered through an experiment. In market research, this can take
many forms. For example, you could divide customers into groups and offer one a full-price
product and the other a discounted product, then measure which has more uptake.
Once again, experimental data is a useful tool when researching an international
market, since it yields real-world findings and allows you to draw concrete insights about
how your product will be received.
It’s worth noting that primary data simply refers to any information collected solely for
the task at hand, so survey data and experimental data can be considered primary or
secondary depending on the source.
1. Overseas business research
The research conducted by other businesses can be an extremely useful starting point
for your market research. This data may have been collected by businesses in your space, or
not. It may have been collected by businesses based in your target market or some other
location.
Business research is valuable because it’s an example of another organization that has
done some of its work for you. You can learn a lot about the business trends, cultural
differences, market, laws, and more from the research of other companies.
However, this is always just a starting point. No business in the world will have exactly
the same set of questions, challenges, and needs as yours, and nobody will have the same
product and audience for it. For effective market research, you’ll have to do your own work
too.
2. Collecting foreign government information
Governments collect a tremendous amount of information about their populations and
the business within their borders. This includes demographics, geography, and culture,
which can be extremely useful when planning your marketing and choosing where to sell
your product.
In addition, government data can provide valuable insights on the legal challenges you
might face when entering a new market, and the various regulations you’ll be required to
comply with as you market and launch your product. Much of this information is readily
available on government websites.
3. Collecting information from NGOs
Non-governmental organizations like charities can be excellent sources of data due to
their work in research. NGOs may provide more accurate and up-to-date data than
governments in developing regions of the world, which can lack the infrastructure to collect
information properly.
4. Face-to-face research
One-to-one interviews and focus groups can both be highly effective market research
methods. They afford you a direct insight into what your customers think, what they want,
what they worry about, what their pain points are, and how they feel about your
competitors, among many other things.
However, doing face-to-face research in an international market comes with a unique
set of challenges. The logistical demands are higher — you’ll need to locate and hire venues
and work with interviewers on the ground, which may be harder than doing so back home.
You’ll also need to consider linguistic differences, which means hiring interpreters or locally-
based staff.
Another challenge here is cultural differences. For example, some Middle Eastern
cultures treat interviews with suspicion and it may be difficult to gather a meaningful
sample group.
5. Attitude scales
Attitude scales — like the Likert scale — allow respondents to give a score on how they
feel about a question or statement, usually on a scale of “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly
Agree”.
There are many benefits to using this type of research method in international markets.
It tends to transcend language and questions can be easily translated. It’s also easy to
distribute and can easily be done either in person or electronically.
However, there are still challenges. Some cultures, such as Japan, may be unwilling to
give strong responses, leading to many neutral answers and no meaningful takeaway.
6. Text message (SMS) survey
Text message surveys involve sending out a series of questions to a group of
respondents via SMS. It’s quick, easy, cheap, and allows you to reach a large number of
people. You won’t get detailed responses from this kind of survey, and it tends to miss out
on nuances, but it’s potentially a good way to get lots of feedback with minimal effort.
The drawbacks are that it’s dependent on mobile access. Many countries around the
world lack this — Laos, for example, has a mobile phone penetration of just 53.4%. This
makes it harder to distribute your surveys to a significant number of people.
7. Online survey
There are many different types of online surveys available to you when conducting
international market research. Email, social media, and web forums are just a few examples
of places you can connect with respondents and distribute surveys and questionnaires.
Online surveys are one of the cheapest and easiest ways to gather information and can
be done from anywhere in the world with no need to hire additional staff or deal with
logistics in your target market. You’ll get fast responses, and surveys are also easy to
translate into multiple languages.
There are some challenges involved, however. Anything involving the internet is
dependent on internet access in your target market, which may be very low in some parts of
the world. This method works well in areas like North America and Europe but is poorly
suited to countries like Eritrea, where only 14% of the population uses the internet.
8. Mobile web survey
This method involves distributing surveys via smartphones through applications or
some of the other online methods mentioned above. In many countries, smartphone
ownership exceeds computer ownership, making this a valid alternative.
In other countries, however, very few people own smartphones. Pakistan is one
example — smartphone penetration here is just 18.4%. However, if your target market has a
high smartphone penetration, this can be a very reliable research channel.
9. Remote Face-to-Face
In recent years, we’ve all seen an explosion in the use of video chat software like Zoom
and Microsoft Teams. Today, this is used regularly to communicate with friends and family,
attend work meetings, and even see your doctor. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this
trend and forced us to rely on remote communication for almost all of our social
interactions.
This technology applies to market research and is ideally suited to researching foreign
markets. Now, face-to-face interviews and focus groups can take place entirely digitally,
removing the need to send team members abroad or hire people in your target market.
There are still limitations, of course — it relies on your audience having access to
electronic devices which can lead to skewed results (for example, you end up interviewing
only younger and more affluent people). It should be combined with other methods for best
results.
Market research is an essential but often challenging process, and it becomes harder
when you try to do it in a completely new market far from home. Fortunately, market
researchers today have access to a wealth of methods and tools, many of which did not
exist even in the recent past. Get in touch to learn how Kadence can help you
conduct international market research as effectively as possible, allowing you to mount a
confident and informed market entry.
