5 Must-Haves Before Starting Marketing Research for Your Product or Service Launch: A Guide for Start-Ups and SMEs
“I have an idea for a new business, but don’t know where to start…”
“I have the questionnaire ready, but stuck at data collection stage…”
We have heard this more often than you would think. If you have ever felt stuck – you are not alone.
Launching a new product or service is an exciting milestone. But in the rush to market, too many start-ups skip the groundwork of solid marketing research. Without reliable, actionable insights from real customers, even the best ideas risk falling flat.
Whether you’re testing positioning, pricing, or messaging, your expert market research process matters as much as the questions you ask. Before you begin, make sure you have these five essentials in place to set your study – and your launch – up for success.
1. Precisely Defined Target Segments
Don’t just say “millennials” or “urban consumers.” Define your target audience with precision – demographics, psychographics, geography, buying behaviour, and pain points. The more detailed your segmentation, the sharper your insights will be.
This is especially vital for start-ups with limited marketing budgets, as they head into market research for their product or service. You can’t afford to waste time or money surveying the wrong people.
Suraj Tambakad from Chatur Ideas illustrates this well:
“We needed to test the viability of our vendor collaboration and management portal. I used ThinkSurvey platform to conduct this study by carefully defining our target as working professionals, along with their seniority. Glad to say I am very satisfied, we got focused, actionable feedback.”
2. Collect Responses from the right channels
Collecting 1,000 responses is meaningless if they’re from the wrong target audience or full of random answers. Properly evaluate and validate the channels/sources from where you wish to collect responses from – be it on social media, emailing list or using online survey panel. Expert market research also include screener questions that filter for relevant respondents. Use logic checks to verify consistent, thoughtful responses.
Rashmit Arora, Co-Founder at NewNorm Foods experienced this firsthand when running a study for his food-tech start-up:
“I needed to collect 200 responses for my food-tech startup. Data captured was relevant to my business objectives. ThinkSurvey made sure the survey logic goes smooth.”
3. Flexible Sample Sizes
No One-Size-Fits-All. Start-ups and SMEs have different research needs at different stages. Early idea validation might need 20 in-depth interviews. Market sizing might demand 1,000+ survey responses across country. Make sure to define your sample size at each stage of the process, and go for data collection accordingly.
For expert market research, choose tools and survey softwares that adapt to your goals, without imposing rigid minimums or forcing you to overpay.
Sujitha Suresh, Director at Wrapsy, describes this flexible approach in action:
“For our initial analysis, we needed only 50 responses to refine our value proposition. Later, we scaled to pan-India study. Good job by ThinkSurvey. I was impressed by the customer service. I got replies to my queries almost instantly. Keep up the good work.”
4. Actionable Timelines & Milestones
Start-ups operate in high-pressure, fast-moving environments. A research study that drags on for months can kill momentum or delay critical decisions. Set clear milestones for each step: survey design, recruitment, data collection, analysis. Choose partners with a track record of proven start-up research and delivering on time.
Prabhat Saraswati, Manager at a well-known startup, highlighted the importance of the same:
“I appreciate the professional approach adopted by the company. Data was delivered on time. I liked the way it was arranged and presented.”
5. Clear, Insight-Oriented Objectives
Don’t collect data for data’s sake. Define what you want to learn or explore and how you’ll use it. It is time to go the old-school for expert market research. Grab your notepad and write answers to these questions:
- What decisions will this research guide?
- What hypotheses are you testing?
- What metrics matter?
Align your questions, sampling, and analysis with those goals to get truly usable insights.
Final Thoughts
Research isn’t a box to tick. It’s the foundation for a successful launch. By investing in clear targeting, quality screening, flexible sampling, ethical incentives, tight timelines, and sharp objectives, start-ups and SMEs can turn marketing research from a cost center into a growth driver.
Ready to launch smarter? At ThinkSurvey, we help Indian start-ups and SMEs run reliable, ethical, and scalable research studies to validate ideas, refine offerings, and win markets. Let’s talk about your next project.
