How to Start Market Research?

If you’re about to launch a new product, enter a new market, or rethink how you’re positioning your brand—don’t start with the campaign. Start with the research.

For many New Zealand SMEs, market research can feel like something reserved for bigger businesses with bigger budgets. But in reality, it’s one of the smartest and most cost-effective ways to improve your digital marketing performance. It helps you avoid assumptions, reach the right people, and get the most from your spend.

Here’s how to start market research in a way that’s practical, manageable, and built to improve results.

Why Market Research Matters

Market research helps you answer two essential questions:

• Who is our audience really?
• What do they care about, and how can we reach them?

Without these answers, marketing becomes a guessing game. This is especially risky when launching in unfamiliar markets or with new products where there’s no existing search volume or trend data to lean on.

When KaffeLogic prepared to launch its premium benchtop coffee roaster into the US, there was no search data to guide the strategy. So we ran audience-specific research across three target states. This revealed distinct clusters of highly engaged consumers, along with regional and behavioural insights that shaped everything—from which interests to target, to how to position the product and where to launch first.

The result: A focused go-to-market plan based on actual demand, not broad assumptions.

Primary vs. Secondary Research (and When to Use Each)

There are two main types of market research:

• Primary research is collected directly—think interviews, surveys, or user testing. It’s ideal when launching something new or needing deep behavioural insights.
• Secondary research uses existing sources—industry reports, government stats, or Google Trends. It’s useful for understanding broader market patterns.

Often, the best approach is to combine both. Secondary research can help you validate trends or define a market, while primary research helps you uncover the specific behaviours, motivators, and objections of your target audience.

Define the Right Research Objective

Before you begin, be clear on what you want to learn. Start with your business or marketing objective and work backwards from there. Ask:

• Are we trying to validate demand?
• Understand what messaging will resonate?
• Explore audience behaviours in a new market?

A clear objective keeps your research focused and ensures the insights can be applied directly to strategic decisions.

One campaign, for example, needed to increase engagement around domain names. Research helped reveal a critical strategic insight: the issue wasn’t product knowledge—it was the way the offering was framed. So instead of promoting domain purchases as a one-off transaction, the strategy shifted to focus on building a secure and ownable digital identity. This repositioning led to stronger relevance, clearer messaging, and ultimately better results across campaign channels.

Challenge Assumptions (Especially in New Markets)

It’s easy to assume you already know your audience. But whether you're marketing locally or overseas, assumptions can lead to mismatched targeting and missed opportunities.

In the case of DataMasque, initial digital campaigns were shaped around product features and technical value. But through targeted market research, the team uncovered that senior IT and security decision-makers were more influenced by risk reduction and compliance outcomes than specs. Adjusting the messaging and creative to align with these drivers made the campaigns immediately more effective.

“Before market research, we were (admittedly) operating on our own presumptions but still wondering why our campaign results were failing.”
— Grant de Leeuw, CEO, DataMasque

Especially when expanding into places like the USA, where every state behaves like its own market—insight-driven strategy becomes essential. The right message, in the wrong place or to the wrong person, still misses the mark.

How to Start (Without Getting Overwhelmed)

You don’t need to launch a formal study or hire a full-time research agency. Here’s how to start small and smart:

1. Start with a question. What decision will this research help you make?
2. List what you think you know. Then test those assumptions.
3. Use what's already out there. Google Trends, Stats NZ, trade reports, or existing customer data.
4. Talk to real people. Interviews, surveys, even a few LinkedIn messages can surface powerful insights.
5. Look for themes. What surprises you? What repeats?
6. Apply it. Update your personas, change the message, adjust your targeting.

You don’t need a huge budget or a 100-slide research deck. You just need research that’s clear, focused, and helps you make better decision. The best research is the kind you can act on.

Ready to Make Smarter Business Moves?

If your marketing isn’t landing, or you’re exploring a new audience or market, start with research. It’s the difference between running campaigns and running effective ones.

At Web Antler, we help New Zealand SMEs turn insight into strategy. Whether you’re launching something new, scaling internationally, or just need better ROI from your current campaigns, we run research that directly informs targeting, creative, and media decisions.

Talk to us to find out how Market Research smart market research builds stronger marketing and how we can help your business turn insight into action—so your digital marketing strategy starts strong and stays sharp.