by Market research is viable process of determining the value or demand of the product in the marketplace in addition to the position of the enterprise in the industry. Theorists described Market research as the systematic and objective process of collecting, generating, evaluating and interpreting information and communicating the judgments in order to take marketing decisions. Market research work on DECIDE model which means define the market problems, enumerate the controllable and uncontrollable decision factors, collect relevant information, develop and implement a marketing plan and evaluate the decision and decision process. John Graham in American Salesman (2004) note down that marketer has vital role in launching of a product and the long-term triumph of organization in competitive business environment. It provides all the pertinent information about the active products in the market and assists the company to recognize and solve issues associated with launching of new products. It also assists companies to assess the marketing opportunities and use them for the success of firms.
Market research has been recognized as major activity of marketing. Market research can be used as a means to achieve agreements of consumers on the market structure and involve sincerely in supporting the business. Market research assists the organisations to acquire the data of customers and competitors to develop their products, devise marketing strategies, and resourcefully segment the market. In order to understand customer demands and test the conditions of market, well-designed surveys are conducted and companies can obtain real information of their marketing opportunities, tendencies, and intimidations. Therefore, questions in surveys must be developed cautiously to gain useful data that benefit product positioning and marketing to fulfil the needs of customers in the market. Market research that makes the most powerful contribution to decision making in the firm can influence the environment and entire thoughts of a company. It can be illustrious that market research is very important to help companies to make strong position in the market, regulate marketing strategies, plan product pricing, and watch customer purchasing behaviours.
A market research project may usually have 3 different types of objectives.
- Administrative: Help a company or business development, through proper planning, organization, and both human and material resources control, and thus satisfy all specific needs within the market, at the right time.
- Social: Satisfy customer’s specific needs through a required product or service. The product or service should comply with the requirements and preferences of a customer when it’s consumed.
- Economical: Determine the economical degree of success or failure a company can have while being new to the market, or otherwise introducing new products or services, and thus providing certainty to all actions to be implemented.
Importance:
- Valuable information: It provides information and opportunities about the value of existing and new products, thus, helping businesses plan and strategizes accordingly.
- Customer-centric: It helps to determine what the customers need and want. Marketing is customer-centric and understanding the customers and their needs will help businesses design products or services that best suit them. Remember that tracing your customer journey is a great way to gain valuable insights into your customers’ sentiments toward your brand.
- Forecasts: By understanding the needs of customers, businesses can also forecast their production and sales. Market research also helps in determining optimum inventory stock.
- Competitive advantage: To stay ahead of competitor’s market research is a vital tool to carry out comparative studies. Businesses can devise business strategies that can help them stay ahead of their competitors.
Methods of Market Research
- Exploratory research
- Descriptive research
- Causal research
Exploratory Research: Exploratory research facilitates businesses to find out new ideas and find prospective market opportunities. It is used to discover a situation or search for a problem. This research process is unstructured. Product managers need not go through all the stages of the market research process from the “defining stage” to the “analysis stage”. The results from exploratory research are typically based on secondary data, open ended questions, similar case studies, a pilot study, or even results from previous research. It is found that the results obtain from exploratory research may not be appropriate for Product Managers to decide to enter a new market. The result is sometimes generalised information about probable markets and the related products or services. It is conducted with anticipation that there is need for more complete research.
Descriptive Research: This type of market research deals with queries such as who, what, when, where and how type questions. It is structured research in which Product managers use all steps in research process. Descriptive research discovers more detail about a market.
Causal Research: This type of research assists Product Managers to know the cause and effect of a relationship such as Causality can be derived by the use of “if x, then y”. Causal research is considered formal research and facilitates product managers to recognize problems and the causes of the problem.
