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Most marketing teams think they know their customers—until a campaign flops or a competitor wins their business. The problem? Too many decisions are based on assumptions rather than real insights. When that happens, messaging falls flat, offers miss the mark, and budgets get wasted.
The fix? Customer research. And you don’t need a big budget or a dedicated team to do it effectively
Before exploring six free or affordable tools and tactics, we need to understand the two main types of customer research and how they work together.
Good research answers two key questions:
That’s where the two main types of research come in:
The best customer research strategies combine both approaches:
Let’s say website analytics show that many users leave your pricing page without taking action (quantitative). Without speaking to customers, you won’t know if they found the pricing confusing, thought it was too expensive, or were comparing options before deciding (qualitative).
With this information, you can make informed decisions about how to refine your pricing page, for example, simplifying the layout or clarifying the value of each plan. Instead of guessing, you’re making changes based on real customer insights.
Direct feedback is one of the easiest ways to understand what’s working (or not) for your customers. Here are some great tools to help:
Pro tip: Keep surveys short—5-10 questions max. Use open-ended questions to uncover insights beyond just numbers.
The best way to understand your customers is to talk to them. A quick conversation can reveal pain points, motivations, and decision-making processes that you’d never get from a multiple-choice survey.
Get started
Questions to ask:
Pro tip: Aim for 5-10 interviews to identify common themes.
Understanding your market means knowing what your competitors are doing, and where there’s a gap you can fill.
Useful tools to try
Pro tip: Don’t copy competitors—find the gaps they’re missing and position yourself accordingly.
Numbers don’t lie. Tracking user behaviour can tell you what’s working and what’s confusing your visitors.
Free and affordable tools
Pro tip: Set up goals in Google Analytics (like form submissions or downloads) to track actual conversions, not just traffic.
Customers are talking - you just need to listen.
Where to start
Pro tip: Use customer language from these conversations in your marketing. Speak the way they do, not how your brand thinks they should.
Your sales, support, and customer success teams are on the front lines. They hear customer frustrations, common objections, and recurring feedback every day.
How to use this data
Pro tip: Pay attention to objections customers raise before buying. These can be addressed directly in your messaging.
You don’t need a massive research budget to understand your customers. Start small with one or two of these methods and commit to gathering insights consistently.
Choose one tactic from this list and implement it this week. Even a single interview or survey can reveal insights that lead to stronger messaging, better marketing, and ultimately, more sales.