Marketing research can be interpreted as the systematic process, which information on the different size and trends of any market is collected and analyzed. This is done to provide knowledge and facts, which will enable managers to make more sound decisions concerning an enterprise or area of focus. Marketing research process is described below.
Problem definition
Once management is faced with making an important decision about any vital aspect, they must in turn change this to a market research problem, obtain data pertaining to that problem, and analyze this data to obtain information that will be useful in solving the problem, thereby making a more rational decision concerning the area of focus.
Research design
This is categorized into three areas, which are exploratory research, causal research and descriptive research. In exploratory research, there is the use of literature research, which involves obtaining people’s experiences. Descriptive research aims at determining the percentage of the population that utilizes a product. Causal research, on the other hand, seeks to expound on the cause and effect between variables, which is obtained by carrying out laboratory and field experiments.
Data types and sources
These are categorized into secondary data and primary data. Secondary data is previously obtained data meant to serve another purpose, but is deemed as being useful to the current problem. Primary data refers to first hand data gathered specifically for the current study.
Questionnaire design
The questionnaire should be carefully and systematically structured to enable respondents be able to react to them accordingly.
Determining sample plan and size
This is the overall population from which the respondents are chosen. This will in turn involve principles applied in statistics such as those applied in hypothesis testing.
Data collection
This is the systematic collection of first hand information from the chosen respondents.
Data analysis
This is the interpretation of the data gathered.
Preparing the research report
This involves the drawing of conclusions from the analyzed data with the aim of providing possible solutions to the research problem. Depending on the needs of an organization, the research report has the capacity to relay vital information that will enable management make more rational and sound decisions that will enable them tailor their products and services in a way that satisfies the customer’s needs at an optimum.
In turn, marketing research will always be of substantial importance to a company as it acts as a primary tool upon which the organization will explore new and available opportunities in the market. In addition, in an effort to retain customers thereby increasing market share, marketing research plays a pivotal role in the area of quality control.
A sample is used as a representation of the entire population. As such the findings obtained from the sample are used by an organization to determine how best to tailor their products to meet the customer demands. However, customers keep changing with time. This means that after a while, the customers will want something different. The company then needs to consult the consumer from time to time for the purposes of establishing the needs of the customers. This implies that a sample specifies what the entire population needs. However, the consumer should always be consulted as time goes by in order to obtain perfect information about the consumer at any point in time.
References
Marketing Research. Retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/research/
