Marketing research can be defined as the organized assembling, recording & study of data related to marketing products or services. The basic goal or objective of marketing research is to assess and recognize how the varying rudiments of the marketing mix affect consumer behavior.  The official definition by the American Marketing Association is as follows:

“Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information – information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the methods for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes, and communicates the findings and their implications.”

It is further defined, very briefly by Palmer as: “Marketing research is about researching the whole of a company’s marketing process.” (2000).

Marketing research is usually divided into two categories, on the basis of target market; (1) Consumer marketing research and  (2) B2B marketing research (business- to- business), however another methodological way to categorize it is (1) Research based on quality and (2) Research based on quantity.

Consumer marketing research deals with understanding social behavior of consumers, for instance it researchers the consumer preferences, behavior and attitude in the market.  Its main aim is to recognize the comparative effect and success of marketing campaigns done by companies. Therefore, we can also describe marketing research as the process which identifies objectives, collects data, analyzes given information and concentrates on the distribution of information with the intention of assisting organizations’ managements to identify problems in their marketing sectors, and to make decision about these problems.

Difference Between Market Research and Marketing Research

Marketing research and market research are not the same; there is a slight difference between the two, though most people tend to identify them as the same thing. The distinction between market research and marketing research is that, “Market research deals specifically with the gathering of information about a market’s size and trends. Marketing research covers a wider range of activities. While it may involve market research, marketing research is a more general systematic process that can be applied to a variety of marketing problems.”

Marketing Research (International)

[adsense1]When talking about international marketing research it is important to understand that, it is mostly the same as the domestic marketing research but only with a broader or much wider scope; However, with that it also brings more problems because the data collection is based on a lot more varied factors and each factor needs to be analyzed keeping all the things In mind. This is because, when conducting marketing research internationally one deals with various cultures, customs, not only from the consumers but also from the different workers who work in those different countries but are from the same company. In case of international marketing research secondary information becomes vital because it provides a general background on the consumers as well as the country and its customs. These data’s are then combined for analysis, it can be very time consuming as well al confusing at times. International research requires more primary research than secondary research; this can be a huge problem because of the difference in language, use and access of advanced technology, literacy and all such factors that can become a hindrance in this process.

The Role of Marketing Research & Decision Making

The basic mission of marketing research is to present management with significant, precise, dependable, legitimate, and current information. It is imperative for the information to be sound and reliable, as non-reliable information leads to poor decision making; which is crucial for organizations in a competitive marketing environment.  However, it should always be understood, that sound decisions are never based on gut feelings or human intuition, reliable and accurate data is required to   back-up formal decisions.

Marketing managers make various premeditated and tactical decisions in the process of identifying the needs of consumers. These decisions are generally about the prospective opportunities, selection of target markets, segmenting markets, marketing product performance, the preparation of marketing programs and the control of the product. These decisions become complicated because of the controllable and uncontrollable marketing variables of a product. For instance, controllable marketing variables are the product, price, promotion and distribution whereas uncontrollable variables are the economic condition, environmental factors, technology, governmental policies, laws and social & cultural changes etc.

The “Decide model” further explains the role of decision making in marketing research. This model conceptualizes the managerial decision making in a series of 6 steps:

“D: Defines the Marketing problem

E:  Enumerate the controllable & uncontrollable decision factors

C: Collect relevant information

I: Identify the best alternatives

D: Develop & implement a marketing plan

E: Evaluate the decision & the decision process.”

The Characteristics of Marketing Research

When talking about marketing research it is essential to understand that it is systematic. Therefore, it requires systematic planning in all stages. The procedures used in the process need to be methodologically sound and planned ahead. The characteristics of marketing research are given below:

(1) It is objective

(2) It involves identifying and collecting data for the distribution of information

(3) It helps in making sound and accurate decisions

The Classification of Marketing Research

There are two main reasons why organizations take on marketing research, (1) to identify marketing problems (2) to solve marketing problems. This difference helps to serve as a basis for the classification of problem solving and problem identifying research in marketing research.

The Kinds of Marketing Research

There are many kinds of marketing research; some of them are given below:

(1) Advertising