Carrying out marketing research.[check] This checklist has been designed to explain the basic steps of marketing research. The use of marketing research has become increasingly prevalent since the 1980s. This has partly happened as a result of the quality revolution that swept through many organisations. At the heart of the quality movement is the notion that organisations need to get close to customers; in order to do this, they need to listen to what those customers really want. Marketing research is one of the main ways of finding this out. Definition For the purposes of this checklist, market research and marketing research are interchangeable in·ter·change·a·ble adj. That can be interchanged: interchangeable items of clothing; interchangeable automotive parts. in terms, that are used to define a data gathering and analysis process which aims to provide information on the sale of products or services, and the customers who buy them. But the research process goes a lot further into the areas of:</p> <pre> market size and key market sectors market brand shares identifying potential customers identifying needs that may not have been articulated ar·tic·u·la·ted adj. Characterized by or having articulations; jointed. information on competitors defining actual and potential market sizes. </pre> <p>While there is much that marketing research can do, mostly it is directed towards discovering which groups or market sectors will buy your product, and what improvements, replacements or new related products may be desirable. There is a range of different methodologies for carrying out marketing research surveys, questionnaires, High Street or door-to-door interviews or discussion groups. Advantages of carrying out marketing research Effective marketing research can help organisations to: direct their energies towards the real needs of customers avoid wasting money on developing a product customers don't don't 1. Contraction of do not. 2. Nonstandard Contraction of does not. n. A statement of what should not be done: a list of the dos and don'ts. want develop a real customer focus and keep in touch with customers--the information gathered by marketing research is vital for developing the organisation's corporate strategy obtain a snapshot (1) A saved copy of memory including the contents of all memory bytes, hardware registers and status indicators. It is periodically taken in order to restore the system in the event of failure. (2) A saved copy of a file before it is updated. of what customers, or potential customers, feel and think at any particular time. Issues to remember when carrying out marketing research * If you don't define clearly what you want to find out, then the results you get back are likely to be unhelpful. * What you get back will be the results of research, not necessarily reliable intelligence, with no guarantee of accuracy. * Marketing research can be time-consuming time-con·sum·ing adj. Taking up much time. time-consuming Adjective taking up a great deal of time Adj. 1. and expensive. Action checklist 1. Be clear about the purpose of the marketing research How will you use the results? For instance to: develop performance indicators? develop standards? develop new products or services? discontinue dis·con·tin·ue v. dis·con·tin·ued, dis·con·tin·u·ing, dis·con·tin·ues v.tr. 1. To stop doing or providing (something); end or abandon: or adapt product lines? improve quality? increase market share? 2. Decide what you want to find out All too often marketing research fails because people aren't aren't Contraction of are not. See Usage Note at ain't. aren't are not aren't be clear exactly what they want to find out. Hold a brainstorming meeting with the key people within your organisation to establish objectives for the research. A golden rule is that you should not try to cover too much in one exercise. 3. Be clear about who your customers are The key stage of any marketing research is to decide whom it is you want to question. List all the types of customers you either have at the moment, or would like to appeal to, and target these people with your marketing research. Desk research--i.e. pulling together all the existing information you can find to help make some preliminary deductions--can be really helpful here. 4. Develop a brief The brief is a clear statement of what is expected, by when and at what price. The brief will require you be specific on the particular market objectives at which the research is aimed describe any background information that can make a significant contribution suggest ideas on methods to be explored specify deadlines for delivery indicate requirements on confidentiality, disclosure and presentation indicate a date to take the brief forward (with shortlisted candidates if appointing an external agency). If the research is to be done in-house In-house In the context of general equities, keeping an activity within the firm. For example, rather than go to the marketplace and sell a security for a client to anyone, an attempt is made to find a buyer to complete the transaction with the firm. , the brief is a key document. If you are going to select an external agency, it becomes essential. 5. Decide who's who's 1. Contraction of who is. 2. Contraction of who has. who's who is or who has who's short for who is, who has. going to carry out the marketing research If your organisation does not have a marketing research department (or sometimes, even if it does), you may need to bring in a specialist organisation to help you. If you feel you need to call in outside help, ask the following questions: What budget do you have? How much expert advice can you afford? How much time can you devote to the research? How much expertise do you have? Marketing research is a science and a skilled art. Do you have the resources? These include computer processing capability and statistical expertise as well as research experience. 6. Select an external agency Find the names of suitable agencies through the trade press or trade association, directories, or contacts and recommendations. Establish some selection criteria, in addition to price, appearance and promise, such as reputation, membership of a professional body, track record, customer list, and any conflict of interests. Circulate cir·cu·late v. cir·cu·lat·ed, cir·cu·lat·ing, cir·cu·lates v.intr. 1. To move in or flow through a circle or circuit: blood circulating through the body. 2. your brief and shortlist short·list also short-list n. A list of preferable items or candidates that have been selected for final consideration, as in making an award or filling a position. Noun 1. candidates from their responses. 7. Choose your method There are two main types of research, each of which has its own individual methods. Qualitative research Qualitative research Traditional analysis of firm-specific prospects for future earnings. It may be based on data collected by the analysts, there is no formal quantitative framework used to generate projections. usually involves smaller groups than quantitative research Quantitative research Use of advanced econometric and mathematical valuation models to identify the firms with the best possible prospectives. Antithesis of qualitative research. . This is particularly useful when you are dealing with sensitive issues. In qualitative research, the questions are usually open, and concentrate on feelings. Qualitative research is not good for considering trends over a wide section of the community; it is better at helping you to flesh out the main issues. In many ways, people see qualitative research as an effective way of getting insight into the way people feel and think. There are a number of methods involved in qualitative research. These include face-to-face interviews, taped interviews, telephone interviews, postal surveys and group discussions. You may want to use more than one method: postal surveys, for example, can deal with large numbers superficially su·per·fi·cial adj. 1. Of, affecting, or being on or near the surface: a superficial wound. 2. Concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; shallow. 3. , while group discussions deal with small numbers in depth. There is often an inverse relationship A inverse or negative relationship is a mathematical relationship in which one variable decreases as another increases. For example, there is an inverse relationship between education and unemployment — that is, as education increases, the rate of unemployment between validity (whether you are measuring exactly what you want to measure) and reliability (whether the results are likely to be reproducible re·pro·duce v. re·pro·duced, re·pro·duc·ing, re·pro·duc·es v.tr. 1. To produce a counterpart, image, or copy of. 2. Biology To generate (offspring) by sexual or asexual means. ). Quantitative research works mainly through the use of surveys carried out with a carefully selected sample of people and asks closed questions requiring specific answers such as: how much would you be prepared to pay? how satisfied were you? do you prefer this in blue, red or pink? Quantitative research is useful because you can start putting percentage figures to your findings. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , if you ask a hundred people the same closed question, you can find out the percentage either agreeing or disagreeing. 8. Think about data analysis As you put your research instrument together, think how you are going to store, sort and analyse an·a·lyse v. Chiefly British Variant of analyze. analyse or US -lyze Verb [-lysing, -lysed] or -lyzing, the data contained in the returns. Think about ease of data entry, how any statistical or decision support package will manipulate manipulate To cause a security to sell at an artificial price. Although investment bankers are permitted to manipulate temporarily the stock they underwrite, most other forms of manipulation are illegal. the data, and how not to become a slave to a particular technique. Your results will need interpretation and understanding even if sophisticated techniques have been used. Remember that there are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics. Be wary of making sweeping assumptions from low returns but do look for the significant differences and relationships. Marketing research sometimes throws up unexpected findings that shed new light on the issue. Be alert to the possibility of such findings when looking at the data and cross-analyses you want to perform. Dos and don'ts for carrying out marketing research Do * Take time to plan research. * Decide which kind of research is appropriate for you. * Be clear about what you want to find out. * Be prepared for surprises. Don't * Rush to start the research or jump to conclusions with the results. * Ignore the results. * Think marketing research is something you only do once--it should be ongoing Useful reading Brands laid bare: using market research for evidence based brand management, Kevin Ford Chichester, John Wiley John Wiley may refer to:
Market research in a week, Polly Polly Biotechnology A Poll Dorset sheep cloned from sheep skin cells, which has a human gene in each cell. See Dolly. Bird Chartered Management Institute Inspiring Leaders The Chartered Management Institute is a professional institution for managers, based in the United Kingdom. In addition to supporting its members, the organisation encourages management development, carries out research, produces a wide variety , London, Hodder and Stoughton. 2003 Marketing research for managers 3rd ed Sunny Crouch and Matthew Houston Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann, 2003 Useful addresses Market Research Society, 15 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0AH Tel: +44 20 7490 4911 www.marketresearch.org.uk British Market Research Association, 1 Devonshire House Devonshire House in Piccadilly was the London residence of the Dukes of Devonshire, one of England's most prominent aristocratic families, for around 200 years until it was demolished in the 1920s. , Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AD Tel: +44 20 7566 3636 www.bmra.org.uk Thought starters * How well do you really know what your customers want? * Do you really need to carry out marketing research? * Which method is most appropriate to you--qualitative or quantitative research? * Have you got a good source of advice for finding out which type of marketing research would suit your purposes? |
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