As noted, marketing research is undertaken to support a wide variety of marketing decisions. The table below presents a small sampling of the research undertaken by marketing decision area. Many of the issues listed under Types of Research are discussed in greater detail in other parts of the Principles of Marketing Tutorials.
| Marketing Decision | Types of Research |
| Target Markets | sales, market size; demand for product, customer characteristics, purchase behavior, customer satisfaction, website traffic |
| Product | product development; package protection, packaging awareness; brand name selection; brand recognition, brand preference, product positioning |
| Distribution | distributor interest; assessing shipping options; online shopping, retail store site selection |
| Promotion | advertising recall; advertising copy testing, sales promotion response rates, sales force compensation, traffic studies (outdoor advertising), public relations media placement |
| Pricing | price elasticity analysis, optimal price setting, discount options |
| External Factors | competitive analysis, legal environment; social and cultural trends |
| Other | company image, test marketing |