Marketing research

Research is the search for and retrieval of existing, discovery or creation of new information or knowledge for a specific purpose. Research has many categories, from medical research to literary research. Marketing research (also called consumer research) is a form of business research. It is a form of applied sociology which concentrates on understanding the behaviours, whims and preferences, of consumers in a market-based economy. The field of marketing research as a statistical science was pioneered by Arthur Nielsen with the founding of the ACNielsen Company in 1923.

Types of marketing research

Marketing research techniques come in many forms, including:

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• test marketing - a small-scale product launch used to determine the likely acceptance of the product when it is introduced into a wider market
• concept testing - to determine if consumers consider a concept useful
• mystery shopping - An employee of the company conducting the research contacts a salesperson and indicates they are shopping for the product they sell. They then record the entire experience. This method is often used for quality control or for researching competitors' products.
• store audits - to determine whether retail stores provide adequate service
• demand estimation - to determine the approximate level of demand for the product
• sales forecasting - to determine the expected level of sales given the level of demand
• customer satisfaction studies - exit interviews or surveys that determine a customer's level of satisfaction with the quality of the transaction
• distribution channel audits - to assess distributors’ and retailers’ attitudes toward a product, brand, or company
• price elasticity testing - to determine how sensitive customers are to price changes
• segmentation research - to determine the demographic, psychographic, and behavioural characteristics of potential buyers
• consumer decision process research - to determine what motivates people to buy and what decision-making process they use
• positioning research - how does the target market see the brand relative to competitors? - what does the brand stand for?
• brand name testing - what do consumers feel about the names of the products?
• brand equity research - how favourably do consumers view the brand?
• advertising and promotion research - how effective are ads - do potential customers recall the ad, understand the message, and does the ad influence consumer purchasing behaviour?

All of these forms of marketing research can be classified as either problem-identification research or as problem-solving research.

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A similar distinction exists between exploratory research and conclusive research. Exploratory research provides insights into and comprehension of an issue or situation. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution. Conclusive research draws conclusions: the results of the study can be generalized to the whole population.

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Both exploratory and conclusive research exemplify primary research. A company collects primary research for its own purposes. This contrasts with secondary research: research published previously and usually by someone else. Secondary research costs far less than primary research, but seldom comes in a form that exactly meets the needs of the researcher.

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