Whether you are trying to improve your existing business or launch a new killer product or service, market research should be your foremost priority.
Without market research, you are basically making your moves in the dark, basing your business strategy off intuition, the limited data you have and what you think the customers want…
Unfortunately that is rarely accurate or comprehensive, hence the need for market research.
What is market research?
Well as the name suggests, it’s research into your target market or customers, a data gathering process which enables analysis to generate crucial insights that will guide your business, marketing or product strategy.
There are various kinds of market research you can do ranging from target customer / market analysis, market competition research, pricing studies to brand surveys and many more.
All of these research types has the same process of:
- Defining the problem and research objectives
- Determine the research methodology
- Data collection
- Data cleaning and analysis
- Presentation of data-driven insights and results
Sounds complicated? Don’t worry, that’s what market research agencies are here to help you with.
They provide the proper methodologies, channels, data sources and people to ensure that you receive the most accurate, up-to-date and timely market data and analysis to make the best informed business decisions in time.
Do note that some agencies specialise in market data collection and analysis and insightful decision-making is expected on your part as compared to other full-service agencies who provide end-to-end consulting.
Why is market research so important?
Simply put, it is the difference between calculated risks and gambling.
Any business decision comes with significant risks, and whether your business succeeds or not depends on a series of internal decisions and external factors.
Market research informs you about the external factors (market, customers, laws and regulations, competitors, trends, etc.) , so that your internal decisions can take them into consideration.
Without that information, decision making becomes the equivalent of taking a shot in the dark.
While you can and should do your own market research, it is often a time-consuming and difficult process that your business may not have the right resources to perform.
Even when you do, the results may vary or cost more in time or resources as compared to professional agencies due to their expertise, proprietary data, ready audiences and economies of scale.
Hence these are some of our top recommendations for market research companies in Singapore in no order of merit.
Market Research Companies Singapore: The Top 10 Firms
1. Acorn Marketing & Research Consultants Pte Ltd
Acorn is the largest independent Asian research network with full service offices in 11 Asian countries having over 30 years of market research company experience. They pride themselves as deep generalists in the Asian market, covering every market research field and type with the singular belief of helping their clients understand consumers.
Their services include:
- Forward Positioning Research for Product & Service Innovation
- Market Segmentation & Modelling
- Customer Behaviour Research
- Customer Experience Studies
- Communications Testing
- Brand Positioning & Monitoring
- Pricing Research
- Mystery Shopper Survey
- Conjoint Modelling
Telephone: (65) 6733 6565
Email: singapore@acornasia.com
Website: https://www.acornasia.com/
2. Apeiron
various industries— Retail, Education, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Real Estate, Tourism and Service Industries. They focus on providing market research and intelligence reports for both local and international businesses in the Singapore and ASEAN market. They believe that no two businesses are the same and thus customise services based on the individual business needs.Apeiron is a Singapore based consulting agency with more than 15 years of experience across
Their services include:
- Market Research
- Feasibility Study
- Consumer Behavior Analytics
- Business Plan Development
- Business Expansion and Business Consulting
Telephone: (65) 6909 7482
Email: info@apeiron.sg
Website: https://apeiron.sg/
3. Blackbox Research
Blackbox Research is a leading independent research-centered agency in Singapore. The agency is known for its observations and commentaries on community trends in Singapore and South East Asia and its expertise in social communications and messaging.
Their services include:
- Full service quantitative and qualitative research capabilities
- Regular brand, product and advertising tracking programs
- CATI based telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews and in-depth interviews
- Central Location Testing
- Usage and Attitude Studies
- Choice Modelling and Segmentation Analyses
- Brand positioning research
- Copy testing
- Focus Groups and peer group ‘playback’ sessions
- Qualitative ad testing
- Ethnocentric research and comparative market studies
- New product testing
- Market intelligence and desk research services
- Corporation and brand reputation research
Telephone: (65) 6323 1351
Email: enquiries@blackbox.com.sg
Website: https://blackbox.com.sg/
4. The Nielsen Company (Singapore)
An S&P 500 company, Nielsen is one of the most influential consumer and markets research companies globally and they have been based in Singapore since 1971. Their market research combines both proprietary Nielsen data and other data sources to help their clients understand what’s happening now, what’s happening next, and how to best act on this knowledge in over 100 countries covering over 90% of the world’s population.
Their services include:
- Proprietary Nielsen Consumer & Markets Data
- Ad Intel
- Advertising Effectiveness Studies
- Audience Measurement
- Consumer Insights
- Launch Studies
- Market Opportunity Research
- Post Launch Studies
- Price and Promotion Studies
- Qualification Studies
- Retail Measurement
- Sales Measurement
- Shopper Surveys
Telephone: (65) 6672 6600
Email: Not listed.
Website: https://www.nielsen.com/sg/en/
5. Axanteus Research
Axanteus Research is a full-service independent market research firm based in Singapore covering most countries of Asia-Pacific. They provide a one-stop solution for market data, consultancy, and affordable research services across a wide array of industries.
Their services include:
- Concept Testing
- Consumer Analysis
- Brand Positioning and Brand Equity
- Product Development
- Market Analysis
- Demand Measurement and Forecasting
- Advertising Testing
- Product Testing and Product Optimization
- Competitive Analysis
- Market Segmentation
- Usability Testing and User Experience Research
- Market Analysis
- Brand Equity
- Awareness, Attitudes and Usage Research
- Sales and Distribution Channel Analysis
- Pricing Research
- Market Forecast
- Customer Satisfaction Studies
- Opinion Polling
Telephone: (65) 6332 6888
Email: contact@axanteusresearch.com
Website: http://axanteusresearch.com/
6. Joshua Research Consultants Pte. Ltd.
Joshua Research Consultants is an award-winning and fast-growing company with offices in Asia Pacific — Singapore, Malaysia and China. They focus on data collection services helping clients to gather insightful information to drive better, faster and more effective business decisions in Asia Pacific.
Their services include:
- Mystery Shopping
- Telephone Interviews
- Corporate Interviews
- Door-to-door Interviews
- Central Location Tests
- Online Surveys
Telephone: (65) 6876 7077
Email: info@joshuaresearch.com
Website: https://www.joshuaresearch.com/
7. InsightAsia Research Group Pte Ltd
Started in Jakarta in 1997, they are now headquartered in Singapore with offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines. They serve both local clients as well as international companies looking for multi country project management across APAC.
Their services include:
- Advertising Research - General
- Brand Research
- Consumer Research
- International Studies
- New Product Research
- Product / Sensory Testing
- In-depth Interviews
- CATI
- Mystery shoppers
- Online Surveys
Telephone: (65) 6338 4780
Email: hello@insightasia.com
Website: https://insightasia.com/
8. Media Research Consultants Pte Ltd
Media Research Consultants is an ISO-certified full-service consumer research consultancy affiliated with Mediacorp. They have helped some of Singapore’s best-known brands and government agencies discover deeper insights into their consumers for over 30 years.
Their services include:
- Brand Consult
- Comms Consult
- Campaign Consult
- Needs Consult
- Product Consult
- Experience Consult
Telephone: (65) 6255 7484
Email: info@mrconsultants.sg
Website: https://www.mrconsultants.sg/
9. Ipsos Singapore
Ipsos is an international market research giant founded in France in 1975 and is the 3rd largest market research firm worldwide. The firm has had an office in Singapore since 1995, and in 90 other countries, with over 18,000 professionals on their team servicing over 5000 clients. They believe clients need more than a data supplier, they need a partner who can produce accurate and relevant information and turn it into actionable truth.
Their services include:
- Market Strategy & Understanding
- Innovation
- Creative Excellence
- Brand Health Tracking
- Ipsos MMA
- Retail & Consumer Intelligence
- Retail Performance
- Observer
- User Experience
- Media Development
- Customer Experience
- Mystery Shopping
- Clinics and Mobility Labs
- Quality Measurement
- Employee Relationship Management
Telephone: (65) 6887 2434
Email: ipsos.sg@ipsos.com
Website: http://www.ipsos.com.sg/
10. InVeritas Research
InVeritas Research is a global full service quantitative and qualitative market research fieldwork company providing high quality data collection and market research services in Singapore since 2009. They specialise in reaching out to difficult to reach audiences and quality data collection across multiple geographies, industries and cultures.
Their services include:
- B2B Market Research
- Brand Market Research
- Face-to-Face Market Research
- Concept & Product Testing
- Consumer Market Research
- Consumer Online Panel
- Central Location Tests
- Omnibus Research
- Tracking Research
Telephone: (65) 6909 7482
Email: info@inveritasresearch.com
Website: http://inveritasresearch.com
The Bottomline: Choosing your Agency
Choosing the right market research company for your market research needs is essential as every agency has different expertise — be it in terms of service offerings or niches.
While it is often tempting to go for the cheapest or the most comprehensive and convenient agency, they may not be able to generate the same level of insights and list of research services as a specialised market research agency.
Of course, as a small business you may also want to consider first trying self-service tools like Google Keyword Planner, Facebook Audience Insights and similar for your market research.
