Introduction

Use of marketing research has grown continuously over the past fifty years, since managers painfully learned the cost of market ignorance. The modern managers must have knowledge of its method and how to use it profitably. Before defining marketing research let us determine research.

• Research always starts with a question or a problem.
• Its purpose is to find answers to question through the application of the scientific method.
• It is a systematic and intensive study directed towards a more complete knowledge of the subject studied.

Definition

Now let’s define our main subject that is marketing research. The systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services (As per the American Marketing Association)

Marketing research is the function which links the customer, customer and public to the marketer through information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of market as a process.

Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues; designs the method for collecting information; manages and implements the data collection process; analyses the results; and communicates the findings and their implications. Research in common context refers to a search for knowledge. It can also be defined as a scientific and systematic search for gaining information and knowledge on a specific topic or phenomena.

Management research is extensively used in various areas. For example, we all know that, Marketing is the process of Planning & Executing the concepts, pricing, promotion & distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchange that satisfy individual & organizational objectives. Thus, we can say that, the Marketing Concept requires Customer Satisfaction rather than Profit Maximization to be the goal of an organization. The organization should be Consumer oriented and should try to understand consumer’s requirements & satisfy them quickly and efficiently, in ways that are beneficial to both the consumer & the organization.

This means that any organization should try to obtain information on consumer needs and gather market intelligence to help satisfy these needs efficiently. This can only be done only by research.

“Research comprises of defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis”.

On evaluating these definitions we can conclude that- research refers to the systematic method consisting of

• Enunciating the problem,
• Formulating a hypothesis,
• Collecting the fact or data,
• Analyzing the facts and
• Reaching certain conclusions either in the form of solutions towards the concerned problem or in certain generals for some theoretical formulation 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. In the nut-shell we see that Marketing research specifies
• The information required to address these issues,
• Designs the method for collecting information,
• Manages and implements the data collection process,
• Analyses, Communicates the findings and their implications

Research is a systematic approach to gather information required for sound management decisions.

Characteristics of Research

Systematic Approach: Each step must of your investigation be so planned that it leads to the next step. Planning and organization are part of this approach. A planned and organized research saves your time and money.

Objectivity: It implies that True Research should attempt to find an unbiased answer to the decision-making problem.

Reproducible: A reproducible research procedure is one, which an equally competent researcher could duplicate, and from it deduces approximately the same results. Precise information regarding samples – methods, collection etc., should be specified.

Relevancy: It furnishes three important tasks:

• It avoids collection of irrelevant information and saves time and money
• It compares the information to be collected with researcher’s criteria for action
• It enables to see whether the research is proceeding in the right direction

Control: Research is not only affected by the factors, which one is investigating but some other extraneous factors also. It is impossible to control all the factors. All the factors that we think may affect the study have to be controlled and accounted for.

Research Classification

Research can be classified into two broad categories as

• Basic research
• Applied research

Basic research: Basic research sometimes called fundamental research, theoretical research or pure research. It aims at expanding the frontiers of knowledge and does not directly involve pragmatic problems. The essence of basic research is that it addresses itself to more fundamental question and not to the problems with immediate commercial potential.

Applied research: also called decisional research on the other hand, proceeds with a certain problem and it specifies alternative solutions and the possible outcomes of each alternative. Unlike basic research, it is prompted by commercial considerations.

Applied research can be divided into two categories

• Problem solving research and
• Problem-oriented research

Problem solving research: Problem solving research, as the name implies, is concerned with a particular issue or a problem and is usually proprietary in character. The latter characteristics indicate that such a research is undertaken within a firm or by an outside consultant on its behalf.

Problem oriented research: Problem oriented research is concerned with a class of issues or problems in which several firms may be interested. Research of this type usually concerned with conceptual aspects but is oriented towards applied problem.