Concept of Marketing Research

Marketing research is defined as the scientific and controlled process of gathering the non-routine marketing information that aids to management to solving the marketing problems. It focuses on those Factors that have a positive or adverse impact on the marketing activities.

According to American Marketing Association “marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services.” According to Green and Tull, “marketing research is the systematic and objective search for and analysis of information relevant to the identification and solution of any problem in the field of marketing”. Professor Philip Kotler defines marketing research as “Systematic problem analysis, model-building and fact-finding for the purpose of improved decision making and control in the marketing of goods and services.”

The primary importance of marketing research is listed below:

• Collection of updated marketing information
• Helps in problem solving and decision making
• Gives the clear picture of environmental change
• Helps in forecasting the data
• Helps in adopting technical changes
• Suggest the way to address changed preference of customers

Essential features of a good marketing

The essential features of a good marketing research are explained as follows:

1. Systematic
2. Objective
3. Informative
4. Problem-based
5. Decisive

Systematic

Marketing research should be systematic, the research project should be well organized and planned. It should follow the step-by-step process. The strategic and tactical aspects of the research design must be detailed in advance, and the nature of data to be gathered and the mode of analysis to be employed must be anticipated.

Objective

Marketing research should be objective, research should be unbiased. In boarder term, objectivity implies that marketing research strives to be unbiased and unemotional in performing its responsibilities.

Informative

The next important features of marketing research are that it should be informative, it should include adequate information. Without information no research is possible. So, a marketing manager must be able to collect essential information from various sources.

Problem-based

Marketing research should based on a specified problem. It is so because research is conducted to solve the problem. Hence, if there is no problem, there will be no need for research. A problem is defined as an interrogative sentence or statement that askes what relation dose exist in between the two or more specified variables.

Decisive

Marketing should be decisive in nature as well as the main output of the research is ‘decision making’. On the basis of information collected, analyzed and interpreted, the marketing manager must be able to make decision.