how to do marketing research when...
Do You Really Know What Your Customers Want? A Straight-forward Guide to Marketing Research
why read, when you can watch the same thing here 👇
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Do I truly know what my customers want?”—congratulations, you’re already on the road to better marketing. In this article, I’m going to talk about marketing research: what it is, why it’s crucial, and 5 specific scenarios where it can make all the difference. And yes, we’ll keep it straightforward.
Understanding Marketing Research (and how it differs from Market Research)
Market Research focuses on the broader market. It looks at demographics, market size, and industry trends.
Marketing Research focuses on your specific strategies. It digs into campaign performance, user behavior, and ways to improve your return on investment.
You can think of market research as gathering high-level information about your potential user base and competition. Marketing research, however, involves direct analysis of what your users do inside your product and how they respond to your campaigns.
Why Is Marketing Research Important?
Reduces Uncertainty
Every new marketing or product-related decision has some risk. Marketing research helps you confirm assumptions with data so you can make informed decisions about your next steps.Saves You Time and Money
Instead of guessing where to spend your resources, you can see which channels or features lead to the best results. By focusing on what is proven to work, you can avoid wasting your budget and time on ideas that won’t drive growth.
5 Common Scenarios Where Marketing Research Helps
Below are six scenarios where you can apply marketing research to get clarity and make better decisions.
Scenario 1: Website Engagement Drops
When your website engagement suddenly decreases, you may not know if it’s due to design issues, content problems, or broken code.
How to research this scenario:
Check Heatmaps
Use tools like PostHog to see where visitors are clicking or not clicking. Compare the current week’s data to previous weeks to spot changes.Group Users and Watch Session Recordings
Create a cohort of users who visited your site during the drop.
Compare it with a cohort of users from before the drop.
Watch session recordings to identify broken links or pages where users leave.
Plan Fixes and AB Test
Fix problems you discover, such as a broken button or an unclear header.
Run an AB test. Show half your users the old version and half the new version.
Continue monitoring engagement to see if the fix worked.
This approach helps you base your decisions on real user data instead of guesses.
Scenario 2: High Clicks, Low Conversions
You run a campaign and get many clicks, but very few conversions (like sign-ups or purchases).
How to research this scenario:
Build a Funnel
Outline the steps your users take:Click on the ad
Land on the page
Fill out the sign-up form
Confirm their sign-up or purchase
Identify Drop-Off Points
Track the number of users completing each step.
Find where users stop. It might be the landing page or the sign-up form.
Fix the Specific Step
If your form has too many fields, reduce them.
If your landing page is confusing, simplify the content.
AB Test
After making changes, run an AB test to compare the new version with the old version.
Check if conversions improve.
Scenario 3: Launching a New Feature or Product
When introducing something new, such as a “dark mode” feature, you want to measure how users respond.
How to research this scenario:
Use Feature Flags
Roll out the feature to a small portion of users first.
In PostHog, you can create a feature flag so only 10% of your users see the new feature.
Track Usage and Feedback
See how many users toggle the new feature on or off.
Check if usage time increases or decreases with the new feature.
Make Improvements
If engagement drops, investigate why.
If engagement goes up, release the feature to more users.
Test Different Groups
You can also test the feature with different segments, such as students or long-time users.
Compare their feedback and usage data to see if some groups like the feature more.
Scenario 4: High Churn After Onboarding
Some users sign up, complete the onboarding steps, but never return.
How to research this scenario:
Check the Last Page Viewed
Look at the last page users visited before they quit.
Identify patterns (for example, a page that confuses people).
Create a Cohort and Compare
Group users who left after one session.
Compare them to users who stayed.
Look at session recordings to see where they seem confused or frustrated.
Adjust Your Onboarding
Shorten the flow or add helpful tips during the process.
Show users what they can do right after onboarding to get immediate value from the product.
AB Test the Changes
Only update the onboarding for half your new sign-ups.
Compare results with the original onboarding.
If it’s better, roll it out to everyone.
Scenario 5: Active Users Are Not Upgrading
You have many active users, but they haven’t upgraded to your paid plans or premium features.
How to research this scenario:
Create Two Cohorts
One cohort for paying users.
One cohort for active but non-paying users.
Compare Behavior
Look at what paying users did right before they paid.
Compare that to what non-paying users do.
Find the Gaps
Maybe your product doesn’t solve a strong enough problem for free users to pay.
Maybe free users don’t realize the benefits of upgrading.
Nudge Users at the Right Time
If free users hit a usage limit, show a prompt about upgrading.
Offer limited-time discounts or extra features to encourage upgrades.
General Approach for Any Marketing Research
No matter the scenario, these steps remain similar:
Identify the Problem
Be specific about the issue. Examples: “Engagement dropped,” “Conversions are low,” or “Churn is high.”
Gather Data
Use analytics tools like PostHog to look at heatmaps, funnels, trends, and session recordings.
Analyze and Interpret
Look for patterns in the data.
Interpret the data carefully. Different individuals might see the same data and draw different conclusions, so discuss with your team.
Take Action
Make changes based on what you found in the data.
Focus on the area that clearly needs improvement.
Measure the Results (AB Test)
Always test your changes against the previous version.
Confirm that the change actually improves the metric you care about.
Roll out your successful changes to everyone once you have confidence in the data.
Marketing research helps you move from guesswork to data-driven decisions. By collecting and analyzing user behavior, you can see where people get stuck, what prompts them to pay, why they leave, and how you can improve. Each scenario above shows how to use tools like PostHog (or any similar analytics platform) to gather insights, test assumptions, and confirm that your changes work.
If you’re looking to optimize growth for your product, keep these guidelines in mind. Identify problems clearly, collect data in a structured way, analyze it without jumping to conclusions, implement improvements, and measure the results with AB testing. By following these steps, you’ll have a clear picture of what your customers really want and how to deliver it.
I can’t believe you are reading this article instead of watching the video above. 🤦🏻♂️