Marketing Research

Many organizations find the markets they serve are dynamic with customers, competitors and market conditions continually changing.  And marketing efforts that work today cannot be relied upon to be successful in the future.  Meeting changing conditions requires marketers have sufficient market knowledge in order to make the right adjustments to their marketing strategy.  For marketers gaining knowledge is accomplished through marketing research.

In this part of the Principles of Marketing Tutorials we begin a multi-part discussion of research in marketing.  We explore what marketing research is and see why it is considered the foundation of marketing.  This tutorial also looks at the elements of good research including factors that distinguish good research from poor.  We examine the risks associated with marketing research and see why it should be used to aid decision-making, but never used as the sole reason for making decisions.  Finally, we look at the trends shaping marketing research.

Note that in this tutorial we use the terms “marketing research” and “market research” interchangeably.  Many feel there is a distinct difference, with “marketing research” covering a broader array of research efforts associated with marketing decisions while “market research” is specific to understanding nuances of a particular market.  For the purpose of this tutorial we treat these as the same.