Market Research chapter 1
The marketing research industry is going through a huge period of change. Much of this
change derives from technological developments that are affecting nearly all aspects of how
consumers interact with companies
What is market research?
Market research is about using research techniques to generate insights about consumers
that support the marketing decision-making process
The role of marketing research within the marketing system
To understand customer experiences and to implement marketing strategies and plans
aimed at delivering satisfying experiences, marketing managers need information about
customers, competitors and other forces in the marketplace
As firms have become national and international in scope, the need for information on
larger and more distant markets has increased
As consumers have become more affluent, discerning and sophisticated, marketing
managers need better information on how they will respond to new products and other
new experiences
,Marketers make decisions about what they see as potential opportunities and problems, i.e.
a process of identifying issues. They go on to devise the most effective ways to realise these
opportunities and overcome problems they have identified
The role of the researcher in supporting the marketing decision maker can therefore be
summarised as helping to:
• Describe the nature and scope of customer groups;
• Understand the nature of forces that shape customer groups;
• Understand the nature of forces that shape the marketer’s ability to satisfy targeted
customer groups;
• Test individual and interactive variables that shape consumer experiences;
• Monitor and reflect upon past successes and failures in marketing decisions.
Increasingly marketing research is being undertaken not only on an ongoing basis but on a
‘real-time’ basis, rather than a traditional notion of research being in response to specific
marketing problems or opportunities
Before defining marketing research, it is useful to consider some of the history of the field
• The term ‘marketing research’ is relatively recent, the concepts that underlie it are
not new. As long as the opinions of the public have mattered, and traders have had a
need to improve their level of trade, then some form of research has been
undertaken.
• However, elements of what would be immediately recognisable as marketing
research can be traced back to more recent times. For example, opinion polls in the
, USA can can be traced back to the 1820s, and questionnaires were being used widely
to gauge consume opinion of advertising as early as the 1890s
• The important point here is that marketing research has been a well-established part
of commercial life for more than 100 years. It has successfully navigated the huge
social, political and economic changes facing the world over this period and has
continued to prosper.
Market Research vs Marketing Research: What’s the Difference?
Market Research - all about the market; the systematic gathering and interpretation of
information about individuals or organisations using the statistical and analytical methods
and techniques of the applied sciences to gain insight or support decision making
Marketing Research - all about the marketing tools you gonna use, linking’ the marketer to
the consumer, customer and public to help improve the whole process of marketing
decision making.
One area of potential confusion is with distinctions between marketing research and market
research. In terms of usage, these distinctions are largely geographic in nature, with
research practitioners in Europe preferring ‘market research’ and those in the USA
, ‘marketing research’. However, behind the semantics of the exact words used there lies
slightly different views on how the industry should be seen.
‘Market research’ is more closely associated with the research industry and good practice.
On the other hand, the AMA definition’s use of ‘marketing research’ refers to the broader
consumer context that drives the undertaking of research.
This means that ‘marketing research’ has become increasing commonly used around the
world while, even within Europe, ‘market research’ and ‘marketing research’ are often used
interchangeably
At the core of the definitions of marketing and market research is an understanding of the
consumer and what shapes consumers. Regardless of whether a research professional is
defined as a ‘marketing researcher’, ‘market researcher’ or ‘consumer insight manager’, the
focus upon consumers is paramount. Marketing research problem - A set of six steps that
define the tasks to be accomplished in conducting a marketing research study. These
include problem definition, developing a research approach, research design, fieldwork or
data collection, data analysis and communicating research findings
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