One of the things that can help a small business grow or understand its market better so that it can achieve business success is market research. But what exactly is market research? Well, this term actually refers to any organized or systematic effort to acquire information about customers or markets. It is an objective collection of data plus its analysis regarding your potential (target) market, your competition, and/ or your environment with the aim of understanding these better. And, since change is inevitable market research is never cast in stone, but a continuous process.
         
Now the information that is acquired through market research is valuable and can guide small business owners when they are making important business decisions as well as less important ones. Okay other benefits of market research include:

• helping a small business to take advantage over its competitors
• assisting a small business in reducing the risk involved with doing business 
• helping it to identify existing opportunities within the marketplace among others

But in spite of these advantages many small businesses are not recording any success with market research or getting the full benefit from it. This might be due to a number of reasons including inadequate research. Any way here are some of the barriers to conducting market research that is prevalent among small business owners below.

Financial inadequacy 

This as you would expect is where many small business owners falter. As a small business person if you know that you will not be able to carry out an in-depth market research, then you can take the next best alternative that is to pay for a good one. It might be expensive, but it should pay off in the long run. Complaining that you cannot afford this will most likely only lead you to taking one of two bad options; doing a shoddy work or paying for one that is insufficiently adequate.

                                   
Relying only on search engines

Indeed employing the use of search engines like Google on the World Wide Web is a very cost-effective means of getting information about practically anything. But information acquired through this medium for the sake of market research is only skin-deep. In other words, superficial and does not cut deep down into the nitty-gritty of the subject-area. Another thing here is that the information you get here might be ambiguous. Therefore, it will be of little or no use to your small business.  
















 Influence from others

Sometimes a barrier may come in the form of well-meaning family members and friends who may suggest obsolete trends to you without knowing what the current market situation is. Acting upon such suggestions will either make your business take some few steps forward or backwards with many backward steps taken in the worst instances. On the contrary, depending on industry analysis via a proper market research will provide you with true insight into policies as well as plans for sale increase in your market.    

Dependence on secondary research only

Market research falls under two categories; primary as well as secondary. For primary research to be undertaken there is a need for data collection through market survey and what have you. But as for secondary research this only requires reading and then analyzing previously acquired data. A business can start simply on the basis of a secondary research, but in order to progress further it is essential that primary research is conducted for such business in order to come face-to-face with the present realities of its target market.


Author Bio: The article is authorized by Jason Phillips. He is a professor by profession. His passion is wildlife photography. He has done his PhD in small business and has also written a book named market research Los Angeles.