"Your stakeholders want market analysis. You want to design products people love. These goals should align, but most market research frameworks were built for MBAs, not designers. I'm a product designer who spent years treating market analysis as homework to rush through before "real work" started. Then I discovered that market analysis, done right, is design research with better data."
"Market analysis without a specific objective produces generic insights nobody uses. I define exactly what decision this research will inform. Entering a new market? I need broad landscape understanding and competitive positioning. Launching a new feature? I need tight focus on specific user segments and their current workarounds. Benchmarking competitors? I need behavioral data on why users switch between products. The objective shapes everything downstream. Nail this first."
Market analysis can serve designers when reframed as design research that uses higher-quality data. Defining a specific objective focuses research on the decision that needs to be made. Different objectives require different scopes: entering a new market requires broad landscape and competitive positioning; launching a feature requires focused study of user segments and workarounds; benchmarking requires behavioral data on switching. The research objective determines downstream methods and outputs, so clarify and nail the objective before collecting data or making design decisions. Collect data using design research sensibilities to improve product outcomes.
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