Finding Success in the New Year!

It’s that time of the year again, 2023 is right around the corner. For many, the start of a New Year is symbolic of change. A popular tradition among people with a shared interest in starting the calendar year fresh each January is to benchmark goals with New Year's Resolutions that will provide them with positive benefits.

Market Research Stats from Online Communities and Other Resources are Interesting

As someone who tries to be both practical and creative with my own resolutions combined with insatiable curiosity about industry trends, I was curious to see what some of the most popular new year goals may be. Below is a quick breakdown from Statisa.com, one of the handiest resources for stats and economic indicators, for the most popular goals set by US adults in 2022:

  1. Living healthier (23%)
  2. Personal Improvement or happiness (21%)
  3. Losing Weight (20%)
  4. Career goals (16%)
  5. Financial goals (13%)

Combining those stats along with gathering feedback via online discussion forums and communities there’s an easily recognizable trend among these common resolutions; The coming of a new year is symbolic and essential for success and achievement.

On the flip side of this, an article published by Forbes in 2021 states that, based on market research with their users, roughly 80% of their consumers and market research participants do not follow through on their resolutions. In fact, most participants part ways with their resolutions by February!

Online Internet Community Members Provide Valuable Insights

In recent years, one company, Strava Fitness, analyzed their 98 million customer logged activities and feedback within their online community, and concluded that most people within their community give up on their fitness resolutions on January 19th. (Fun Fact: Their company is coining this as “Quitters Day” in new marketing initiatives, which shows that market research with your customers is a critical tool for your business!)

These statistics can be disheartening as you ramp up for 2023, but the good news is that here at 10K Humans we believe in being solution oriented!

As you prepare to get into the “New Year, New Me” mentality, we scoured the web for feedback, including online communities, public discussion forums and even conducted market research with friends, families and strangers to share some expert advice to help you avoid falling victim to “Quitters Day”.

  • Be specific and set shorter term “micro” goals that can serve as stepping stones to your long term goals. 
  • Make sure your goals are measurable and keep track of them. It’s subconsciously motivating when you’re able to see the small bits of progress made!
  • Make sure your goal is achievable with a realistic timeframe. Rome wasn’t built in a day, or by a single person (and abs certainly aren't built overnight either by only doing sit ups!). 
  • Don't be discouraged if you fail - failing is half of the journey.
  • Set deadlines for yourself, but remain realistic and flexible. Don’t let yourself be your own worst enemy in terms of pressure, and move at a pace that works for you. 
  • Create an accountability system. Whether it’s writing your goals on a dry-erase board to wake up to each morning, telling a friend, or joining a group that shares similar goals - accountability is key. With an accountability system also comes support. There will be times when you may be lacking motivation, but having something or someone holding you accountable will make sure you stay on track.

What are you hoping to accomplish next year? Prioritizing your health? Taking that dream vacation? Maybe you have a career milestone you’re working toward achieving?

Have any other pointers or advice to avoid being a part of the 80% that fall short on their resolutions? We’d love to hear them in the comments! Positivity is contagious, join us in making sure 2023 is the best year yet!

Interested in Leveraging an Online Community for your Current Customers and Potential Customers?

We love to identify industry trends and working with clients and their target market, regardless of market size, to get the most value out of conducting market research. We design and execute a variety of custom tailored research methods and services to help you better connect with your customers via online communities, focus groups and a kaleidoscopic array of other novel approaches to research design. According to the Small Business Administration list of 2023 trends, market research shows customer experience is still king! We can help answer questions that are keeping your team up at night and provide impactful solutions tailored to your business and the customer experience. 

Reach out- we'd love to work for you! 

By Desire Cox | Senior Project Director

Sources: Insideout Mastery | Social | Statista | UAB Medicine | Forbes

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