Marketing Research
What is Marketing Research? Meaning
Marketing Research has two words, viz., "Marketing" and "Research".
Marketing means buying and selling activities.
Research means a systematic and complete study of a problem. It is done by experts. It uses scientific methods.
Thus, we can say, Marketing Research is a systematic method of collecting, recording and analysing of data which is used to solve marketing problems.
According to American marketing assocation
"Marketing Research is the systematic gathering, recording and analysing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services.
Managers need information in order to introduce products and services that create value in the mind of the customer. But the perception of value is a subjective one, and what customers value this year may be quite different from what they value next year. As such, the attributes that create value cannot simply be deduced from common knowledge. Rather, data must be collected and analyzed. The goal of marketing research is to provide the facts and direction that managers need to make their more important marketing decisions.
To maximize the benefit of marketing research, those who use it need to understand the research process and its limitations.
Marketing Research vs. Market Research
These terms often are used interchangeably, but technically there is a difference.
Market research deals specifically with the gathering of information about a market's size and trends. Marketing research covers a wider range of activities. While it may involve market research, marketing research is a more general systematic process that can be applied to a variety of marketing problems.
The Value of Information
Information can be useful, but what determines its real value to the organization? In general, the value of information is determined by:
The Marketing Research Process
Once the need for marketing research has been established, most marketing research projects involve these steps:
Problem Definition
The decision problem faced by management must be translated into a market research problem in the form of questions that define the information that is required to make the decision and how this information can be obtained. Thus, the decision problem is translated into a research problem. For example, a decision problem may be whether to launch a new product. The corresponding research problem might be to assess whether the market would accept the new product.
The objective of the research should be defined clearly. To ensure that the true decision problem is addressed, it is useful for the researcher to outline possible scenarios of the research results and then for the decision maker to formulate plans of action under each scenario. The use of such scenarios can ensure that the purpose of the research is agreed upon before it commences.
Research Design
Marketing research can classified in one of three categories:
What is Marketing Research? Meaning
Marketing Research has two words, viz., "Marketing" and "Research".
Marketing means buying and selling activities.
Research means a systematic and complete study of a problem. It is done by experts. It uses scientific methods.
Thus, we can say, Marketing Research is a systematic method of collecting, recording and analysing of data which is used to solve marketing problems.
According to American marketing assocation
"Marketing Research is the systematic gathering, recording and analysing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services.
Managers need information in order to introduce products and services that create value in the mind of the customer. But the perception of value is a subjective one, and what customers value this year may be quite different from what they value next year. As such, the attributes that create value cannot simply be deduced from common knowledge. Rather, data must be collected and analyzed. The goal of marketing research is to provide the facts and direction that managers need to make their more important marketing decisions.
To maximize the benefit of marketing research, those who use it need to understand the research process and its limitations.
Marketing Research vs. Market Research
These terms often are used interchangeably, but technically there is a difference.
Market research deals specifically with the gathering of information about a market's size and trends. Marketing research covers a wider range of activities. While it may involve market research, marketing research is a more general systematic process that can be applied to a variety of marketing problems.
The Value of Information
Information can be useful, but what determines its real value to the organization? In general, the value of information is determined by:
- The ability and willingness to act on the information.
- The accuracy of the information.
- The level of indecisiveness that would exist without the information.
- The amount of variation in the possible results.
- The level of risk aversion.
- The reaction of competitors to any decision improved by the information.
- The cost of the information in terms of time and money.
The Marketing Research Process
Once the need for marketing research has been established, most marketing research projects involve these steps:
- Define the problem
- Determine research design
- Identify data types and sources
- Design data collection forms and questionnaires
- Determine sample plan and size
- Collect the data
- Analyze and interpret the data
- Prepare the research report
Problem Definition
The decision problem faced by management must be translated into a market research problem in the form of questions that define the information that is required to make the decision and how this information can be obtained. Thus, the decision problem is translated into a research problem. For example, a decision problem may be whether to launch a new product. The corresponding research problem might be to assess whether the market would accept the new product.
The objective of the research should be defined clearly. To ensure that the true decision problem is addressed, it is useful for the researcher to outline possible scenarios of the research results and then for the decision maker to formulate plans of action under each scenario. The use of such scenarios can ensure that the purpose of the research is agreed upon before it commences.
Research Design
Marketing research can classified in one of three categories:
- Exploratory research
- Descriptive research
- Causal research
- Exploratory research has the goal of formulating problems more precisely, clarifying concepts, gathering explanations, gaining insight, eliminating impractical ideas, and forming hypotheses. Exploratory research can be performed using a literature search, surveying certain people about their experiences, focus groups, and case studies. When surveying people, exploratory research studies would not try to acquire a representative sample, but rather, seek to interview those who are knowledgeable and who might be able to provide insight concerning the relationship among variables. Case studies can include contrasting situations or benchmarking against an organization known for its excellence. Exploratory research may develop hypotheses, but it does not seek to test them. Exploratory research is characterized by its flexibility.
- Descriptive research is more rigid than exploratory research and seeks to describe users of a product, determine the proportion of the population that uses a product, or predict future demand for a product. As opposed to exploratory research, descriptive research should define questions, people surveyed, and the method of analysis prior to beginning data collection. In other words, the who, what, where, when, why, and how aspects of the research should be defined. Such preparation allows one the opportunity to make any required changes before the costly process of data collection has begun.
- Causal research seeks to find cause and effect relationships between variables. It accomplishes this goal through laboratory and field experiments.