Advanced Research Techniques in Marketing

Description

Market research can be conducted directly by organizations or companies or can be outsourced to agencies which have expertise in this process. The process of market research can be done through deploying surveys, interacting with a group of people also known as sample, conducting interviews and other similar processes. A company's internal data, such as sales and marketing records, customer account information, product purchasing and usage data are typical secondary data sources. Previously prepared marketing research reports may also be a great source of insights as you seek to solve a new or related business problem. Marketing researchers may also compile a large amount of internal data into a shared database and conduct marketing analytics to understand patterns in customer behavior, market trends, and other insights to guide management and marketing strategy decisions. Market research methods fall into two basic categories: primary and secondary. Your research might involve one or both, depending on your company's needs. Primary research involves collecting original data about the preferences, buying habits, opinions, and attitudes of current or prospective customers. This data can be gathered in focus groups, surveys, and field tests. Secondary research is based on existing data from reference books, magazines and newspapers, industry publications, chambers of commerce, government agencies, or trade associations. It yields information about industry sales trends and growth rates, demographic profiles, and regional business statistics. The purpose of this book is to provide a basic reference sources of modern marketing research methods and applications for the use of marketing research.