Download Marketing Research

Market Research and
Testing
The Key To Business
Success
Revised June 2010
What is Market Information?
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Data collected during the marketing research process, including:
 Company and Competitor Records
 Customer profile data
 Buying behavior
 Shopping patterns
 Demographics and lifestyle research
 Government data
 Market research reports produced and sold by research firms
Used to identify marketing opportunities, solve marketing problems,
implement marketing plans, and monitor marketing performance
Helps businesses plan their future operations to increase sales and profits
Answers the what, where, how, and at what price the products should be
produced
Marketing Research
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Involves the marketing function that links the consumer, the
customer, and the public to the marketer through information
Involves the methods used to gather information, analyze it,
and report the findings related to marketing goods and
services
Marketing research can apply to any aspect of marketing
Type of research used depends on the problem to be solved:
 Attitude Research
 Target Market Research
 Media Research
 Product Research
Attitude Research
Also known as opinion research
 Designed to obtain information about how people
feel
 By using random samples of the population and
interviewing techniques, results can be generalized
to the total population
 Tells us people’s opinions on:
 Politics and elections
 Business
 Economy
 Social issues
 Public policy
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Target Market Research
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Involves the systematic gathering, recording, analyzing,
and presenting information related to the marketing of
goods and services
Research is needed before a product is put on the market
and also during the life of the product
Can tell us about:
 Market Analysis: Particular consumer and industrial
markets
 Sales Forecasting: Future sales estimates
 Economic Forecasting: Future economic conditions
Media Research
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Focuses on media selection and frequency
Measures the effectiveness of an ad’s message and placement
Can help determine which media mix works best
Tells businesses:
 Consumer Panels: How effective was the print media sent
into the home?
 Ratings: How effective was the use of broadcast media?
 Online Advertising: Systems are under development to
evaluate this type of promotion
Product Research
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Evaluating product design, usage, and consumer acceptance
of new and existing products
Research is also conducted to collect information about
competitive products
Product research focuses on:
 New Product Acceptance
 Product testers
 Test markets
 Product rating boards
 Existing Product Research
 Satisfaction questionnaires
 Industrial markets
 Consumer markets
The Market Research Process
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Step 1: Define the Problem
 What is the problem?
 How can it be solved?
 Which problems are the highest priority?
Step 2: Obtaining Data
 Collect and examine primary and secondary information in
terms of the problem being solved
 Secondary data can be obtained by a number of agencies
 Primary data can be obtained by surveys, observations,
and experiments
The Marketing Research Process
Step 3: Analyzing the Data
 Compiling, analyzing, and interpreting the results
of primary and secondary data
 Step 4: Recommending Solutions
 Presented in a well-written report
 Recommendations must be clear and supported
by research data
 Step 5: Implementing Solutions
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