Market Research: How and Why

Market Research: How and Why
Authors Mullins and Walker, Jr. define marketing research as the “design, collection, analysis, and reporting of research intended to gather data pertinent to a particular marketing challenge or situation” (p. 167). Marketing research is beneficial to any organization because without it, the organization makes decisions based on assumptions or guesses about market conditions and the needs and wants of potential buyers.
Properly conducted market research follows six primary steps beginning with identifying the specific objectives to be met by the research. Effort is wasted if the research does not ultimately solve a specific managerial problem or answer a particular question. Only when the objectives are clearly understood can proper data sources and research techniques be selected.
During step two, the researcher determines whether data should be collected from primary or secondary sources, and whether qualitative and/or quantitative data is needed to satisfy the research objectives. Mullins and Walker, Jr. recommend using secondary data whenever possible because it's more efficient and less expensive to use existing data than to create it from scratch. Perhaps more importantly, “secondary data are typically based on what people actually do, or how they actually behave. Surveys, a common form of primary data, are based on what they say. The two are not the same...” (p. 169). If primary data are necessary, researchers commonly conduct qualitative research first to form a hypothesis that is then tested with a quantitative study.
Next, the research is designed. For secondary research, this involves locating credible sources. If primary qualitative research is used, the researcher may need to create interview guides for use during interviews or focus groups. Primary quantitative