5 Tips for Doing Market Research in a Recession

First off, here's a couple quick definitions that marketers commonly use:

Primary Research

This is on the ground work collecting data either through interviews, focus groups, or surveys. Tons of firms specialize in this and it's typically pretty pricey. There is also much debate about how good this can be for new innovative products, as customers very rarely can articulate what they want. They're much better at reacting and saying what they don't like about the status quo. Case in point: Apple doesn't do focus groups.

Secondary Research

These insights come from "secondary" sources such as published studies, books, research firms, trade pubs, etc. This is much more affordable to do as well and is a good way to get a pulse on big trends.

With this in mind, here's 5 tips for doing your own market research on the cheap:

1. Don't Build a Thing
   Instead, do the 8.5" x 11" inch development exercise. Craft your idea, list its benefits and potential features on one page, and then call 100 potential customers. Sounds scary huh? It is at first but this saves you enormous engineering costs, helps identify potential customers for your first sale, and provides the insights you need to have your customer's pain points front and center. See this Inc.com article
2. Use your public and university libraries
   Using their terminals, libraries typically have access to great database resources like Lexus Nexus and EBSCOhost. Using these resources you can also tap their inter-library loan for various articles or hard to find books that deal with your subject in detail. Cost is typically under $5. Click here for Montana State University's page.
3. Use business school interns
   These can be great opportunities for students to get real-world experience working on business problems. Remember you'll want to frame the questions in bold brush strokes. I've found that undergrad students are decent at finding answers once the problem is defined but asking them to tell you what your business needs to succeed is a little bit of a stretch given their experience. Also, set high expectations and always gut-check their assumptions before they tear off down the path. You'll get better data and better morale.
4. Identify visionaries in your field
   Movers and shakers can tell you more about where your industry is headed in 15 minutes than 15 hours of secondary research will tell you.  (Look for what Malcolm Gladwell calls "Mavens"). Having a good background is great for gaining credibility in these conversations and for possible introductions to their connections. By the way, a great tip to approach these people is to throw the option out of an interview for your company blog once you're launched.
5. Figure out what needs constant monitoring
   Any research is a snapshot in time. The world changes fast and it's important to discern what is here to stay and what is a trend that needs to be monitored and compared against your original model. The fringe murky results from a good research project will always need more probing. Remember this when making strategic decisions.

Conducting market research is really not rocket science.  Actually, it can be a bit dull but a good review that includes potential customer interviews, third-party literature, and visionaries will usually yield a few market opportunities, the big competitors, and the challenges that lie ahead for getting a successful launch off the ground. 

One final note: You simply can't outsource the market research exercise completely.  Why? Only in rare cases does the firm doing the research truly understand your industry or product.  You'll end up paying a good chunk for them to educate themselves on your business.  As a result, it takes longer to get to the hard questions and the answers may not be questioned as deeply as they should be.  Remember their true interest lies in getting the next marketing research project with high billable hours and not in making you rich.  Getting your hands dirty in the data is invaluable for either managing a vendor or working on strategic decisions.  You just don't get the "ah-ha" insights from a written report.

Have a great guerrilla marketing research tip? Please be sure to leave it in the comments below.