Market Research

1. Market Research

2. Meaning
It is very important to understand at the outset that the, modern
concept of marketing revolves around the customer. Satisfaction
of customer is the main aim of marketing. For achieving this goal,
marketing research is undertaken.
In fact, marketing management is nothing but marketing
research. With the expansion of business, marketing
management becomes complex. It has to rely heavily on
marketing research for solving problems in the field of
marketing.

3. Various definitions of marketing research are
given below:
“The systematic gathering, recording and analysis of data about problems
relating to the marketing of goods and services” —The American
Marketing Association.
“The systematic objective and exhaustive research for and study of the
facts relevant to any problem in the field of marketing.” —Richard Crisp
“Marketing research is the careful and objective study of product design,
markets, and such transfer activities as physical distribution and
warehousing, advertising and sales management.” —Clark and Clark
“Marketing research is the inclusive term which embraces all research
activities carried on for the management of marketing work, the
gathering, recording and analyzing of all facts about problems relating to
the transfer and sale of goods and services from producer to consumer.”
—Harry Hapner

4. Marketing Research:
Marketing research serves the purpose of ‘intelligence wing of
the marketing management. Its scope is very broad as compared
to market- research. It is concerned with collection of market
information systematically and impartially, analysis and
evaluation of relevant data and use such data for the benefit of
the organization.
It is a careful and objective study of various areas of marketing
activities. What, when, where and how to sell the end product
and the services are four questions to which the marketing
research wing provides an answer.
Thus, market research and marketing research are different from
each other. Market research is a narrow concept whereas
marketing research is a broad one and its scope is much wider.
It includes nature of the market, product analysis, sales analysis,
time, place and media of advertising, personal selling, pricing,
sales organization, packaging, brand names, etc

5. Objectives of Marketing Research:
Marketing research is undertaken for attaining the following objectives:
(1) To Provide Basis For Proper Planning:
Marketing and sales forecast research provides sound basis for the formulation
of all marketing plans, policies, programmes and procedures.
(2) To Reduce Marketing Costs:
Marketing research provides ways and means to reduce marketing costs like
selling, advertisement and distribution etc.
(3) To Find Out New Markets for The Product:
Marketing research aims at exploring new markets for the product and
maintaining the existing ones.
(4) To Determine Proper Price Policy:
Marketing research is considered helpful in the formulation of proper price
policy with regard to the products.

6. (5) To Study in Detail Likes and Dislikes of the
Consumers:
Marketing research tries to find out what the consumers, (the
men and women who constitute the market) think and want. It
keeps us in touch with the consumers, minds and to study their
likes and dislikes.
(6) To Know The Market Competition:
Marketing research also aims at knowing the quantum of
competition prevalent in the market about the product in
question. The company may need reliable information about
competitor’s moves and strategies which are of immense
significance for further planning.
(7) To Study The External Forces and Their Impact:
Marketing research provides valuable information by studying
the impact of external forces on the organization. External
forces may include conditions developing in foreign markets,
govt, policies and regulations, consumer incomes and spending
habits, new products entering in the market and their impact
on the company’s products.

7. Types of Marketing Research
Marketing research is usually the first step in the marketing process, after
ideas for products are conceived. Small companies conduct marketing
research to obtain information from the marketplace. They use it to solve
problems, obtain information on competitors and determine the needs and
wants of non-paying consumers and customers. Marketers then analyze the
data and develop various marketing strategies. There are several main types
of marketing research.
 Focus Groups
 One-on-one Interviews
 Phone Surverys
 Testing

8. Types Of Market Research Techniques
 Primary Market Research.
 Secondary market research.
 Qualitative research.
 Quantitative research.
Primary Market Research: Primary market research is a kind
of market research which is done by the business or company
itself with the objective of gathering information that can be
used to improve the products, services, and functions. Primary
market research is also known as field research since it is
research done from scratch, without using any information that
is already made available through other sources. One can gather
primary data or information through qualitative research
methods as well as quantitative research methods.

9. Secondary market research: As opposed to primary market
research, secondary market research is a research technique that
does not aim to gather information from scratch but relies on
already available information from multiple sources. This
research focuses on data or information that was collected by
other people and is available for either free or paid use for others.
Secondary market research takes into account many different
sources for collection of information including government data,
office data, newspapers, magazines, the internet, etc. One of the
benefits of doing secondary market research is that it is mostly
free and takes a lot less time.
Qualitative research: Qualitative research or qualitative
market research is a kind of a research method which mainly
takes into account the opinions and feelings of a customer as far
as a business’s products and services are concerned. This type of
research tries to get behind the customer’s mind to fathom what
they see lacking or whether they truly like the product or not.
Some common examples of qualitative research work include
doing face to face interviews, being part of focus groups, etc.

10. Quantitative research: Quantitative market research is a kind of
market research work that is based on hard facts and statistical data
rather than the feelings and opinions of the customers or consumers.
This type of research can prove useful both in terms of primary market
research and secondary market research.
Some of the common examples of quantitative research include exit
surveys, questionnaires, on-site fieldwork and the shopping bag
survey. In fact, another example of quantitative research includes
researching of the previously existing financial reports, research
papers. This type of research comes out with a wide range of statistics
and helps to find out the size of the market as well.

11. Qualifications
The majority of employers expect candidates to have a degree and look for
skills in communication and analysis. If you want to get into quantitative
research, the following subjects are useful:
 Business or management
 Economics
 Mathematics
 Statistics.
For qualitative research it is helpful to have a degree in a subject such as:
 Anthropology
 Geography
 Psychology
 Social sciences
 Sociology.
Degrees in marketing, English and languages are also useful but a variety of
degrees are often accepted by employers.
For specialist industrial market research posts, a degree in a specific subject
linked to the industry, such as engineering or science, may be useful. For
some posts, an understanding and knowledge of specialist statistical
software may give candidates an edge.
A postgraduate qualification is not usually needed, although for some types
of roles, a Masters/diploma in a statistics-related subject may improve
candidates' chances, particularly if their first degree is not statistical.

12. Skills
 You will need to show:
 Interpersonal skills, with strong written and oral communication skills
 Good analytical and numerical skills
 Accuracy and attention to detail
 The ability to use initiative
 Excellent organizational skills
 Business awareness
 Creativity and problem-solving skills
 Teamwork and negotiation skills
 Flexibility and drive
 IT literacy
 an interest in psychology and behaviour.

13. Following are the main limitations of Marketing
Research:
 Marketing Research (MR) is not an exact science though it
uses the techniques of science. Thus, the results and
conclusions drawn upon by using MR are not very accurate.
 The results of MR are very vague as MR is carried out on
consumers, suppliers, intermediaries, etc. who are humans.
Humans have a tendency to behave artificially when they
know that they are being observed. Thus, the consumers
and respondents upon whom the research is carried behave
artificially when they are aware that their attitudes, beliefs,
views, etc are being observed.
 MR is not a complete solution to any marketing issue as
there are many dominant variables between research
conclusions and market response.
 MR is not free from bias. The research conclusions cannot
be verified. The reproduction of the same project on the
same class of respondents give different research results.

14.  Inappropriate training to researchers can lead to misapprehension of
questions to be asked for data collection.
 Many business executives and researchers have ambiguity about the
research problem and it’s objectives. They have limited experience of
the notion of the decision-making process. This leads to carelessness in
research and researchers are not able to do anything real.
 There is less interaction between the MR department and the main
research executives. The research department is in segregation. This all
makes research ineffective.
 MR faces time constraint. The firms are required to maintain a balance
between the requirement for having a broader perspective of customer
needs and the need for quick decision making so as to have competitive
advantage.

15.  Huge cost is involved in MR as collection and processing of
data can be costly. Many firms do not have the proficiency to
carry wide surveys for collecting primary data, and might not
also able to hire specialized market experts and research
agencies to collect primary data. Thus, in that case, they go for
obtaining secondary data that is cheaper to obtain.
 MR is conducted in open marketplace where numerous
variables act on research settings.

16. Thank You
Rambabu Madathanapalli