Thanks to the boom of the Internet and Information Technologies (IT), up-and-coming businesses in 2024 have a better chance to succeed in their respective markets. Knowledge drives innovation and progress, allowing companies to find new ways to attract customers and outperform competitors. In the past, information was a lot more centralized, meaning top companies with superior resources could hold the industry in a chokehold.
Nowadays, thanks to the free and efficient transmission of data on the web, companies that use IT solutions effectively can outperform established brands. Through new digital strategies, companies can utilize IT solutions to amplify their visibility and attract customers, encompassing areas, from digital marketing and SEO optimization to e-commerce and customer relationship management – all thanks to data analytics. Today, the internet is full of educational resources, providing valuable information on business management strategies in different industries and details about competitors. What once took a lot of effort and resources to gather is now easily accessible with just a few clicks.
Still, although small companies have a better head start, the digital revolution offers new benefits to all parties, making each market more competitive. This article focuses on seizing newfound opportunities for small businesses. Here we will cover the basics of efficient market research to gain insights into competitor strategies and market trends without restrictions. Market research heavily relies on efficient data acquisition to collect relevant knowledge to drive all business strategies. Building on this, it’s crucial to emphasize the importance of automated data aggregation. Under the protection of reliable proxy service as key privacy solutions, it ensures a steady stream of up-to-date public information, empowering businesses to make informed strategic decisions. Keep reading to learn more about the most effective way to conduct market research, aided by proxy service.
Data Collection for Market Research
Businesses use automated data aggregation tools to collect public data for market research, as it is the most efficient way to gather large amounts of information. While many target websites could possess valuable knowledge for driving company strategies, most collection efforts focus on competitor websites, social media platforms, and review pages. With automated steps for data collection companies can accumulate valuable insights to make accurate decisions.
Web Scrapers: Key Tools for Data Collection
Web scraping accelerates the process of data extraction and processing with the help of automated tools: web scrapers. With self-developed scripts or pre-built tools, small businesses can extract public information from desired pages and transform it into a readable format. As automated steps complete their work, an extracted HTML document, typically loaded on a browser, gets filtered, so only the desired information like product prices, quantities, discounts, and other valuable insights make your data set.
Just like your browser, web scraping robots send connection requests to targeted websites. However, automated software works a lot faster than manual browsers, hence the amount and frequency of requests in a short timespan is much larger. On online shops, retailer websites, and social media platforms, such a pattern of behaviour is associated with bot connections, therefore some connections can get banned.
Efficient Research Without Blocking
To extract public data from key websites, even small business owners are starting to adopt the practice of web scraping with the help of a proxy service. Let’s break down how connections through remote addresses, especially web traffic through residential proxies, enable companies to conduct market research.
A proxy service provides an intermediary link between your computer and the targeted website. With proxy connections, your requests to competitor sites are first delivered to another server, where they obtain a new IP address. From that point, the recipient can no longer trace back the original sender of connection requests.
With provided anonymity, data analysts can deliver multiple web scraper connection requests from legitimate proxy IPs and avoid sending numerous queries from the main address, which could lead to IP bans. Proxy connections unlock access to competitor websites, including pages unavailable in your region. With unrestricted access to geo-blocked content, web scrapers can collect localized information for competitive insights.
The biggest benefit of using a proxy service comes from unlocked scalability. With access to a robust selection of residential addresses, even small businesses can run multiple instances of web scrapers to ensure uninterrupted access to targeted websites.
Most successful scraping operations utilize residential proxies, to apply legitimate IP addresses that blend in with regular user traffic. They are slower because connection identity is shared with homeowners, but scraping is not a resource-intensive procedure, and having an identity backed by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is as good of a protection as you can get.
What to Scrape?
Once proxy services ensure consistent access to valuable data, small businesses mostly target competitor platforms and e-commerce websites to keep up with the supply and demand of similar products, pricing sensitivity, and customer opinions on specific goods and services.
Other valuable targets include social media platforms to keep up with customer sentiment and identify potential opportunities for brand publicity and growth. Market intelligence does not only encompass product-related information but also tackles advertisement and partnership opportunities, as well as insights for strengthening ties with potential customers.
Summary
With a well-protected system of web scrapers, small businesses do not need to invest resources to start scanning competitor pages and other relevant sites. With a quick setup and assistance from proxy services, web scrapers are the perfect tool for consistent extraction of market intelligence.
