Marketing Research Tools

Marketing Research Tools

Most businesses are customer-driven and use marketing as a way to attract both current and potential customers by customizing their marketing mix. The marketing mix consists of the four P’s, which are product, price, place, and promotion. To create a successful marketing mix or even assess a current marketing plan, organizations are able to satisfy the needs of their customers through market research. Market research helps management with important decision-making and can help businesses develop strategies to achieve company objectives. There are two types of market research; secondary and primary research. Secondary research involves data that is readily available and often includes information that was obtained or published by someone else (Aaker, Kumar, & Day, 2001). This may include a company website or a government website such as the Census Bureau. Primary research is information gathered to address a specific research objective such as a survey, focus group, or experiment. (Aaker, Kumar, & Day, 2001). Overall, market research provides a planned approach to achieving company goals and objectives. Understanding the differences in primary and secondary research when using qualitative and quantitative approaches will help any organization gain a better perspective of the various ways market research can be applied to meet company goals.

Secondary Research

It is important to assess the current situation prior to jumping straight into market research because it can be both timely and costly. The first step in market research is to use a cost-benefit analysis and decide if the cost of the research is worth more than the value of the data retrieved. If the benefit of the research outweighs the cost, it...

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...rther test their hypothesis. Secondary and primary research may also include both qualitative and quantitative methods. Using both qualitative and quantitative analysis is the best way to understand customer needs and will give companies more insight into why customers make the decisions that they do. Marketing research is an essential to tool to organizational success because it allows companies to evaluate themselves and make smarter business decisions.

Works Cited

Aaker, D.A., Kumar, V., Day, G. (2007). Marketing Research. John Wiley & Sons Inc

Aaker, D.A., Kumar, V., Day, G. (2001). Marketing Research. John Wiley & Sons Inc. Retrieved

on March 9, 2012 from http://duhoc-online.net/modfnet/Librarian/eBooks/Eco/Mic/Marketing/Summary/Summary%20-%20Marketing%20research.pdf

McDaniel, C.J., Gates, R. (2007). Marketing Research (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc