Marketing Research Process

Market research is a methodical approach for guiding company decisions. The six steps of the research process are listed below.

Define the Objective & Your “Problem”

Setting project objectives and goals is the most important step in the market research process. This has to do with figuring out the fundamental query, which should be supported by market research. A significant business issue and an opportunity exist that should be taken advantage of, but there is insufficient data and knowledge to make that decision confidently. A market researcher's primary responsibility is to provide this decision with reliable facts. Questions like "How should we price this new product?" and "Which features should we focus more on?" are examples of "business difficulties."

We will be able to focus and conduct productive research if we have a clearer knowledge of the business problem. Because the problem was not properly identified, the majority of the marketing research endeavor was doomed from the start. The process of market research starts with the discovery of an issue that the organization is currently experiencing. At the beginning of the study process, it might not be feasible to state the issue clearly because, often, only the symptoms of the issue are visible. In marketing research, which is an expensive procedure that requires time, energy, and money, a precise characterization of the problem is necessary after some explanatory study.

Determine Your “Research Design”

Planning the kind of research that will best yield the needed data is necessary now that we are aware of our research object. Consider the "research design" as our thorough strategy. We will choose our market research methodology in this step (would it be a focus group survey, for example?). Additionally, we will consider the technicalities of locating and selecting our sample (who are we aiming for? Where can we locate them? How are we going to motivate them, etc.). Additionally, it is the moment to decide where to do our research (in-person, telephone, mail, the internet, etc.). Once again, remember to keep the end goal in mind–what will our final report look like? On the basis of that, we’ll be able to identify the kinds of data analysis we’ll be conducting that dictates the structure of questions we’ll be asking.

The choice of research instrument will be based on the nature of the data that we are trying to gather. There are three classifications to consider:

• Exploratory Research: This research is used when the topic is poorly known or defined, when the hypothesis is not well defined, or when the subject matter is not well understood. You can restrict your focus, gain wide insights, and acquire the fundamentals needed to dig deeper with the aid of exploratory research. Secondary research, focus groups, and interviews are frequently used in exploratory market research. This study uses a qualitative method of inquiry.

• Descriptive Research: If your research objective requires additional in-depth information on a certain topic, quantitative descriptive research is carried out. This type of market research's primary goal is to evaluate specific areas of interest, typically in a quantitative manner. One of the most popular research tools for descriptive research is the survey.

• Causal Research: The most precise kind of research, known as causal research, typically takes the shape of an experiment or field test. You are attempting to establish a causal connection between variables in this study. For instance, does the music you play in your restaurant lead to a rise in dessert sales (i.e., is there a link between the two?).

Design & Prepare Your “Research Instrument”

It's time to design your research tool throughout this stage of the market research procedure. If a survey is the optimal method (as established in step 2), you'll start by creating the survey's questions and design. If a focus group is the method you decide to use, start putting together questions and resources for the moderator. You get the gist. This stage of the procedure is when you start carrying out your plan.

Prior to widespread deployment, your survey instrument should be tested with a small group. Put your sample data into a spreadsheet and check it for issues with the data's structure. There will always be problems, therefore this will help you identify them early.

Collect Your Data

The project's core activities—administering surveys, conducting interviews, leading focus groups, putting field tests into action, etc.—take place during this phase. Every response, option, and observation is gathered and documented; typically, this takes the form of a spreadsheet. Each nugget of knowledge is priceless and will contribute to the best conclusions you will soon come to.

Analyze Your Data

You've finished Step 4 (Data collection), and now you're sitting on mountains of unprocessed data. If it's written on scraps of paper, you'll probably need to get it converted into a spreadsheet for additional assessment and analysis. Make sure that it is properly formatted if it is already available in spreadsheet form. The fun begins when all of it is finished. Build graphs and tables, split your results into categories that make sense (e.g., age, gender, etc.), run summaries with the aid of the tools available in your software program (usually Excel Minitab SPSS, etc.), and search for the major trends in your data. Create the first draft of your communication's narrative.

Visualize Your Data and Communicate Results

You've poured over your raw data for hours, creating the most helpful summary tables, charts, and graphs. It's time to organize the most important lessons learned into a readable presentation or report. The study objectives and business challenge that were determined in step 1 are the ideal place to start when presenting the findings. Reiterate these business inquiries, and then offer your solutions for them based on the information.

References

Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2013).Principles of Marketing.Chennai: Pearson India Education Services Pvt Ltd.

http://www.mymarketresearchmethods.com/the-market-research-process-6-steps-to-success/