You ever try to use a website and think, “Who designed this, and why do they not want me to complete the task I came here for?” Yeah, me too. That’s why user research isn’t just important—it’s essential.
I see so many marketers skipping this step, assuming they already know their audience. But guessing is expensive. Bad campaigns, low conversions, wasted budget—it all comes down to not understanding what real users actually need.
So, let’s break down what user research is, why it matters, and how you can use it to actually make data-backed marketing decisions instead of playing “throw ideas at the wall and hope something sticks.”
A Hard Lesson in User Research
I learned this the hard way when I was leading the SEO and content strategy at a young company. I built the entire website from the ground up and, to be honest, I was pretty proud of it. It had been live for about six months when we hired a product marketer. Up until then, my “user research” had mostly consisted of heat maps and session recordings—no direct interviews or surveys.
Fast forward a month or so, and we had a marketing team meeting—about 30 people in the room. The product marketer had been conducting user interviews and surveys and decided to present the findings. And let’s just say… they weren’t great.
Users were confused. They didn’t understand the layout. They found the site hard to navigate. They didn’t like the amount of white space. Sitting there in front of the entire team, hearing this feedback was brutal. It was deflating. And, of course, it didn’t just stay within marketing—this data was shared across the company.
But once I put my ego aside, I realized something important: these people weren’t wrong. This was valuable information that I could actually act on to improve engagement and trust.
So, I did. I also changed my desk and sat closer to the product marketing team, got involved in user surveys, and started conducting interviews with them. Suddenly, I wasn’t just looking at data—I was talking to real users, understanding their pain points, their frustrations, and what they actually wanted.
One of the biggest takeaways? People struggled with trust and clarity. They weren’t sure if they could rely on our content, and the format of our articles didn’t help. With these insights, I made direct improvements to page copy, calls to action, and overall site structure. And when I tested the changes? Revenue per visitor increased by 220% in under six months.
Now, I build user research into my marketing strategy from day one. I listen to sales calls. I review feedback constantly. I make sure research happens at a realistic but regular cadence. Because guessing isn’t a strategy—listening is.
What Is User Research (and Why Should You Care)?
User research is the process of gathering insights about your audience’s behaviors, needs, motivations, and pain points through observation, direct feedback, and data analysis. It’s about stepping outside of your own assumptions and truly understanding the people you’re trying to serve. Too often, marketers rely on surface-level insights—like keyword research, qualitative data, or basic demographic data—without diving deeper into the why behind user behavior.
A strong user research process provides:
- Better experiments – Instead of testing random ideas, you’re focusing on changes that address actual user frustrations and needs.
- Higher conversion rates – Because when you understand what’s preventing conversions, you can remove those barriers.
- Stronger retention and loyalty – Customers who feel heard and understood are far more likely to stick around.
- More efficient resource allocation – Your marketing budget goes further when every change is backed by real user insights.
Without user research, companies often waste time optimizing elements that don’t truly impact the user experience. A site redesign might look cleaner, but if it doesn’t address user confusion, it’s just a fresh coat of paint on a broken machine.
The Three Types of User Research You Should Be Doing
A strong user research strategy isn’t just about running the occasional survey or usability test. It’s a continuous process that should be integrated into your marketing and experimentation workflows. To maximize insights, you need to incorporate three types of user research:
1. Exploratory Research: Finding the Problems
Exploratory research is your starting point—it’s about identifying opportunities, uncovering pain points, and understanding the broader user experience. Think of it like detective work: you’re gathering clues to form a clearer picture of where users struggle and what they need.
Best methods for exploratory research:
- Customer Surveys: Open-ended customer surveys help you understand user motivations, frustrations, and preferences. The key is asking the right questions—ones that reveal deeper insights beyond just yes/no answers.
- Usability Testing: Watching real users interact with your site is one of the most eye-opening ways to spot usability issues. Even small sample sizes can reveal trends that data alone won’t show.
- Heatmaps and Session Recordings: These tools let you see where users click, scroll, and drop off, helping you identify confusing elements or areas that aren’t getting engagement.
How often? Typically once or twice a year, or when launching new major initiatives (e.g., a redesign or product pivot).
2. Focused Research: Digging Deeper
Once you’ve identified broad issues, focused research helps you zero in on specific problems. This stage is about refining your understanding of particular obstacles and finding targeted solutions.
Best methods for focused research:
- Card Sorting & Tree Testing: These methods help optimize site navigation by ensuring users can find what they’re looking for intuitively.
- Analytics Deep Dives: Using tools like Google Analytics to analyze user flow, drop-off points, and conversion bottlenecks.
- Customer Interviews: Again, nothing beats hearing directly from users. One-on-one conversations uncover motivations and pain points that data can’t always explain.
How often? Ideally quarterly, but more frequently if your site or product evolves rapidly.
3. Validation Research: Testing Solutions
Now that you have clear insights, validation research helps you test whether your solutions actually improve the user experience. It’s about reducing risk before rolling out changes at scale.
Best methods for validation research:
- A/B Testing: The gold standard for testing new designs, copy, and functionality against a control group to measure impact.
- Prototype Testing: Before investing in development, test early concepts and wireframes with users.
- Copy Testing: Ensure messaging resonates with users and aligns with their expectations.
How often? Ongoing—every major change should be validated to ensure effectiveness.
The Bottom Line: Stop Guessing, Start Listening
User research isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s the difference between smart, strategic marketing and throwing spaghetti at the wall. When you actually understand what’s stopping users from converting, your experiments are smarter, your marketing is more effective, and your budget isn’t wasted on nonsense.
So before you run your next test, ask yourself: Do I actually know this is a problem, or am I just assuming? If it’s the latter, take a step back, do the research, and make your decisions based on reality—not just gut feelings.
Because the only thing worse than running a bad experiment is running one that never had a chance of winning in the first place.
