Everyone in the business world is aware of the concept of crowdfunding. It is the collective effort of pooling money through various means. These means generally include internet, non-prpfit organizations and supporting advertisement. Crowdfunding is often used for gathering financial support during crisis, disaster relief, artist support, citizen journalism, movie promotion, inventions, developments, civil projects and scientific research. Crowdfunding has effective use for business startups, which is where marketing research industry is concerned.
Will Crowdfunding End Marketing Research?
According to a recent report from Massolution, crowdfunding market is expected to reach $5.1 billion at the end of 2013. The huge expanse of this industry also proves that it is widely used by numerous established organizations from different geographical regions of the world. It is cited as the new source of lasting success for budding entrepreneurs. People from different backgrounds are using crowdfunding as a source of raising finances for noble causes. Celebrities are using it to collect money to produce their movies, while businesses like Microsoft are using them to help students and the needy to avail the necessary gadgets and instruments.
The entire process of collecting funds from supportive and enthusiastic public is a great concept to build brand advocacy. It also creates exciting takeover opportunities for budding businesses and small startups. Talking about its social influence, crowdfunding is a great way of creating awareness about burning social issues. However, it needs to be used correctly for the desired impact. This is where it lacks behind the tried and tested methods of market research. Although the widespread presence of crowdfunding could create potential threat for business research, its lack of aiming the right audience reduces long-term impact of this emerging market over business analysis.
Marking the target customers and understanding their mindset is the specialty of industry research. It helps in product designing and decision-making for startups. Researching the customers helps businesses gain customer insights and requirements from that particular product or service. This feature distinguishes industry analysis from crowdfunding by many miles. To put it in other words, crowdfunding is a great way to create awareness about your business as a brand. However, it is not useful to understand if the customers are finding it suitable. It also fails to provide information about the sustainability of the brand and essential improvements that you need to make a lasting impression.
Overall, one has to agree that there is no appropriate replacement for a thorough marketing research report. Companies need carefully collected market data and business intelligence solutions to lead their way towards success. However, combining crowdfunding in the process can always help entrepreneurs succeed rapidly.
