The American Marketing Association defines marketing research as the systematic gathering, recording and analysing of data about problems related to the marketing of goods and services. Crisp has defined marketing research as … the systematic, objective and exhaustive search for and study of the facts relevant to any problem in the field of marketing.
It would be useful to add the word ‘continuous’ to these two definitions to make them even more meaningful. A study conducted today may lose much of its relevance by next year and may need updating, modification or even an entirely new effort. The rate of change in information would depend on the specific product and customer segment with which you are dealing. If your firm is marketing bathroom fittings you are dealing with functional products.
It would be useful to add the word ‘continuous’ to these two definitions to make them even more meaningful. A study conducted today may lose much of its relevance by next year and may need updating, modification or even an entirely new effort. The rate of change in information would depend on the specific product and customer segment with which you are dealing. If your firm is marketing bathroom fittings you are dealing with functional products.
The functions these fittings will service, for example, in 1995, are the same as what they serve today. Therefore, you may not use extensive marketing research to understand the changes in customer tastes, because the variations in the
designs (given the functional character of the product) which you can introduce are very limited. However, you would like to know what new colours and materials are preferred by the customers and undertake research for this purpose.
If your firm is marketing ready-made clothes for teenagers, you are dealing with a market where rapid change is its distinguishing characteristic. You would need continuous and extensive market
research to find out what designs, fabrics, colours and prices will appeal to this market segment, this winter, the coming summer and the following winter and so on. You would also need to monitor the fashion scene in Europe and America and see what new trends can be
successfully adapted for the Nigerian market. The fact that a product line is greatly affected by changing customer tastes, habits, values, attitudes, or dealing in a product which is not that susceptible to environmental influences, makes you need marketing research to improve and be at least one step ahead of your competitors.
In the latter case (ready-made clothes), marketing research is a critical input for the mere survival of the firm; in the former (bathroom fittings), marketing research is necessary because it can yield valuable ideas to make the firm a market innovator and leader. Marketing research can be used for consumer products, industrial products and services.
designs (given the functional character of the product) which you can introduce are very limited. However, you would like to know what new colours and materials are preferred by the customers and undertake research for this purpose.
If your firm is marketing ready-made clothes for teenagers, you are dealing with a market where rapid change is its distinguishing characteristic. You would need continuous and extensive market
research to find out what designs, fabrics, colours and prices will appeal to this market segment, this winter, the coming summer and the following winter and so on. You would also need to monitor the fashion scene in Europe and America and see what new trends can be
successfully adapted for the Nigerian market. The fact that a product line is greatly affected by changing customer tastes, habits, values, attitudes, or dealing in a product which is not that susceptible to environmental influences, makes you need marketing research to improve and be at least one step ahead of your competitors.
In the latter case (ready-made clothes), marketing research is a critical input for the mere survival of the firm; in the former (bathroom fittings), marketing research is necessary because it can yield valuable ideas to make the firm a market innovator and leader. Marketing research can be used for consumer products, industrial products and services.
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