Making News

(Jan. 28, 2008)

MARKET RESEARCH IS VITAL TO MARKETING SUCESS

By Mairead Stack and Ashley Mayfield

 

In many ways, the foundation of marketing rests within marketing research. Simply put, market research is the process of gathering, recording and analyzing data and information about customers and competitors in the market. This data can be used in developing a business plan, launching a new product or service, fine tuning existing products and services, expanding into new markets and discovering what your competition is doing. Market research can also help determine where and how to direct your marketing and advertising resources. If conducted effectively, it can also help determine the likelihood of a product selling, aid in better identifying market demographics, and help establish best selling markets.

The knowledge gained from this research allows marketers to make more informed decisions. Giving marketers a clear picture of what is or most likely to occur and offering alternatives from which choices can be made, proves less risky marketing decisions. Research does not have to be elaborate to be efficient. Sometimes small efforts, such as doing a quick search on the Internet, will provide the needed information.

When a marketer conducts research to collect original data it is referred to as primary marketing research. This process involves designing a research plan, collecting information, inputting the data, and then producing and analyzing the results. In general, there are two basic types of primary research methods – quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative research comes in many forms  the most popular being surveys, tracking and experiments. The survey method captures respondent information through the responses to a questionnaire. With tracking, marketers are able to monitor the behavior of customers as they engage in regular purchases or information gathering activities. Possibly the most well known example of tracking research is used by Web sites as they track customer visits.  

Tracking research also has offline applications, especially when point-of-purchase scanners are employed, such as tracking product purchases in retail stores. Marketers often undertake experiments to gage how the manipulation of one marketing variable will affect another. For example, a retail chain may want to study what the effect on sales would be if a point-of-purchase display is moved to different locations throughout the store. Experimental research has applications for many marketing decision areas including product testing, advertising design, setting price points, and creating packaging.

Qualitative research is used to gather information on how customers make purchase decisions. One way to do this is to actually sit down with customers using individual interviews, focus groups and observational research. Talking to someone one-on-one allows a researcher to uncover more than having a respondent complete a survey. The interviewer is able to dig deeper into a respondent’s comments to find out additional details that may not have emerged from initial responses. To overcome the drawbacks associated with individual interviews, marketers can turn to focus groups.  

This research format requires a group of respondents who are guided through a discussion by a moderator. The power of focus groups as a research tool lies within the environment created by the interaction of the participants. Observing customers as they perform regular activities can be a very useful research method, especially when customers are observed in a natural setting such as a retail store. In fact, an emerging research technique called ethnographic research has researchers following customers as they shop, work, and relax at home in order to see how they make decisions, use products, among other things.

As sophisticated as research is today, marketers are cautioned not to use marketing research as the only tool for making marketing decisions. Smart marketing decisions require the use of knowledge gained from many areas. While undertaking research is essential for gaining knowledge and aids marketing decision-making, marketers must understand its limitations. Almost all types of research, whether it is for business, medical science or government, contain risk. Whether your objective is to spread out into new market segments, introduce a new product or service or determine consumer responses, every business can reap benefits from well-designed market research studies.

For more information on market research and its benefits contact Steve Kleber at sk@kleberandassociates.com or call 770.518.1000.

 

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