Basic Customer Research
If you want your marketing to work, you need to know who you’re really speaking to—and when they might think of you. That’s where customer research comes in.
This guide focuses on desktop research (also called secondary research), using publicly available information, industry reports, and desk-based tools. It’s a low-cost, scalable way to get started before you move on to surveys or interviews.
The goal here isn’t to map every single customer detail—but to answer one key question:
Who are the buyers in your category, and what triggers them to think of a brand like yours?
Why this is the single most important activity for any business
Category Entry Point (CEP) research is one of the most important strategic activities a business can undertake. It doesn’t just inform your advertising—it underpins innovation across your entire business model. From the products you design to the distribution channels you choose, from your keyword and content strategy to how you position yourself in social media and partnership ecosystems—everything becomes sharper when you know the moments your buyers are most likely to think of your category.
CEP research also serves as the foundation of competitive intelligence. It’s not a one-off exercise—it’s something you build over time. This initial desktop research is a light but essential starting point, with more advanced insights to come later through structured primary research.
Your Objective
By the end of this process, you should be able to identify:
- The key buyer segments for your industry in your chosen country
- For B2C, this means demographics (age, gender, income, household makeup, lifestyle etc.)
- For B2B, this means industries, business size, and job roles
- A list of Category Entry Points (CEPs): the moments, problems, or contexts where a buyer might think about needing your product or service.
Please note that if you are able to access IBIS World (research database) and they have a report for your industry and country, most of the following steps are done for you. We’ve provided additional options to compliment IBIS World insights, or to replace them if you are unable to source a report for your industry.
