As the Australian agriculture industry is seeing significant change, the role of market research is increasingly important to understand the needs and wants of Australia’s agricultural community.

Market research conducted by an independent company can provide data, information and insights that can be used with confidence to assess business needs. Research can:

• identify issues and provide insights 
• identify customer demographics 
• explore sentiment about an issue or topic
• develop market segmentation
• uncover information that a company may not easily find on their own
• test concepts, products or marketing messages
• benchmark and track changes over time
• identify new opportunities
• provide valuable information about a brand, product or service such as:
  • awareness 
  • perceptions about your brand, product, performance or reputation 
  • potential market size
  • pricing
  • industry and competitive environment
  • lead generation or sales opportunities

Good market research has a clearly defined objective and asks the right people the right questions in the right way.

CLEAR OBJECTIVE

Good first questions to ask are “Why are we investing in this research?” What do we need to know?” “Who do we need to ask?” “What will we do with the information?”

THE RIGHT PEOPLE

The next step is to define who to survey and how to find them. They might be customers, farmers, suppliers, manufacturers, agronomists or other industry associate.

KG2 has a unique database of more than 200,000 famers and industry professionals. The database includes a wide range of verified characteristics such as farm type, region, farm size, income, age or product use. We work with our clients to select the best sample for their needs. If the target audience is customers or members, the database needs to be accurate and current. KG2 can assist in verifying the quality of a customer/member database.

THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

A survey questionnaire must be well structured, not too long, meet the objectives, and be easy for the respondent to answer. KG2 and its clients work closely together to develop a tailored, effective questionnaire.

Most questions are closed (e.g. yes/no, scaled or choose a response). However, including open-ended questions (where the respondent is not prompted in any way) are important as they often reveal unexpected insights and information.

THE RIGHT WAY

There are many research methodologies, each with its own benefits. KG2 will discuss and advise the best methodology for a project.

• Quantitative Research generally uses a CATI (computer assisted telephone interviewing) survey to large sample (more than 200) to provide statistically significant data. Online surveys can also be done but the response rate among farmers is typically very low.
• Qualitative Research (e.g. focus groups, individual in-depth interviews) is less structured and involves a small number of participants. This method is often used to identify ideas and issues which are then explored in a larger quantitative survey.

Regardless of the research method, KG2’s team of independent, experienced interviewers understand agri-business, are empathetic to farmers, and are trained to engage respondents and extract high quality information.

Market research is valuable at all stages of the business life cycle to inform and improve the quality of decision making, give context to performance and reputation, and to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. KG2 research focus on outcomes, but to get full value, the conclusions and recommendations must be acted on.