Role of Marketing Research in

Strategic Planning and Decision Making

The Nature and
Scope of Marketing
Research

Identifying Market Opportunities

and Constraints
Who are our potential competitors and how
strong are their market positions?
How satisfied are consumers with current
offerings on the market ? Are there any unmet
consumer needs?
How is our offering likely to be perceived by
consumers relative to competitors offerings ?

Identifying Marketing Opportunities

and Constraints (Contd)
Identify
Potential customers strengths and
weaknesses
Consumer satisfaction with current market
offerings
Consumer perceptions of the offer relative
to competitors

Goal
Marketing research can help answer these and
other questions of interest to marketers

Maintain competitiveness

Role of Marketing Research in the

Organization/Business

Marketing Research Definition

A set of techniques and principles for
systematically collecting, recording,
analyzing, and interpreting data that can
aid decision makers who are involved with
marketing goods, services or ideas

Principles of Marketing Research

Principle #1
Attend to the timeliness and relevance of
research

Principle #2
Define research objectives carefully and
clearly

Principle #3
Do not conduct research to support decisions
already made

Principle # 1: Attend to the Timeliness and

Relevance of Research
Ford and GM developed extremely
successful SUVs
Recent concerns over fuel prices have
changed consumers perceptions and
purchase intentions of SUVs
Volvo, Porsche and Volkswagen entered the
SUV market in 2004 after significant
investment in R&D conducted prior to the
recent shift in consumers opinions

Principle # 2: Define Research Objectives

Carefully and Clearly
Microsoft e-Home devices
Marketing research demonstrated consumers
acceptance of this concept
Implementation was stalled because
associated Internet-enabled technologies were
not yet available or just entering the market

The Role of Marketing Research in

Analysis and Interpretation

Principle # 3: Do Not Conduct Research to

Support Decisions Already Made
Sony Mini-disc Players
Successful product in Japan
Launched in the US and failed miserably due
to popularity of competing technologies (i.e.,
Apple iPod)

Marketing Researchs Relationship to

Decision Making Activity

Marketing Research can be used to identify

profitable customers and not-profitable
customers
Profitable Customers: those who are more
likely to spend large amounts of money and
become repeat customers
Not-Profitable Customers: those who are more
likely to spend less money on each transaction
and might not return

Marketing Research Applications

Gathering data from markets

Conducting customer surveys
Determining the needs of your customers
Evaluating customer response to
advertising

Marketing Research Applications (Contd)

Gathering sales and market share data on
your competitors
Testing your products in the marketplace
Estimating potential product sales