MARKET RESEARCH

What do you think Marketing Research is?

Role of Marketing Research in Managerial Decision Making: Market research is a critical tool for making marketing and management decisions.

Decide whether to launch a product or service Decide whether to enter a market How customers feel about a current product or service

Customer satisfaction with a product, service or brand Compare the sales performance of your product to your competitors Tailor the messages and imagery you will convey to your target market

Determine if your current marketing efforts are working Find out what customers expect, and what would make them buy again or buy more Determine gaps in the market that can be filled with a new product or service

Running or starting a business without conducting regular, relevant market research is a serious management mistake. It’s like packing for a holiday without checking the weather conditions at your holiday destination.

Applied Marketing Research Basic Marketing Research

 Applied Marketing Research: Research conducted to address a specific marketing decision for a specific firm or organization.  Basic Marketing Research: Research conducted without a specific decision on mind that usually does not address the needs of a specific organization. It attempts to expand the limits of marketing knowledge in general and is not aimed at solving particular pragmatic problem.

Do you think all businesses need the same kind of marketing?

There are four basic business orientations:  Product Orientation: Describes a firm that prioritizes decision making in a way that emphasizes technical superiority in the product.  Production Orientation: Describes a firm that prioritizes efficiency and effectiveness of the production process in making decisions.

 Marketing Orientation: The corporate culture existing for firms adopting the marketing concept. It emphasizes customer orientation, long-term profitability over short-term profits, and a cross-functional perspective.  Customer Oriented: Describes a firm in which all decisions are made with a conscious awareness of their effect on the customer.

 Marketing Concept: Management philosophy according to which a firm’s goals can be best achieved through identification and satisfaction of the customers’ stated and unstated needs and wants. How do you think Marketing Research can help implement the marketing concept?

 Market Research tracks consumers’ exact needs and wants without wasting time and money on unwanted products or services.  It can also prevent commercialization of products that are not consumer oriented. Sometimes ideas that look like technological break-throughs in the laboratory fall flat when presented to consumers. This improves efficiency.

 By improving efficiency, research also facilitates profitability. For instance, during the introduction of a new product, accurate forecasting of the product’s potential sales volume is an essential basis for estimating its profitability.

 Analysis of data may also be a form of marketing research that can increase efficiency like the comparison of the advantages of a company’s product to the one of its competitors.

It’s worth noting that a marketing researcher must be knowledgeable not only about marketing research but about the entire spectrum of marketing activities.

 Time Constraints: Need time for research. If the managers need an immediate decision, there will not allow time for research.  Availability of Data: Often managers that possess enough information to make sound decisions, don’t use research. When they lack adequate information though, research must be considered.

 Nature of Decision: A routine tactical decision that does not require a substantial investment may not seem to warrant a substantial expenditure for marketing research. The more strategically or tactically important the decision, the more likely it is that research will be conducted.  Benefits vs Costs: Analyzing the cost of gathering the information with the benefits of gaining the information.

Is sufficient time available before a decision will be made? Can the decision be made with what is already known? Is the decision of considerable strategic or tactical importance? Does the value of the research information exceed the cost of conducting research? Conduct Marketing Research