INTRODUCTION

Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of

qualitative and quantitative data about issues relating to marketing[1] products and
services. The goal is to identify and assess how changing elements of the
marketing mix impacts customer behavior.

According to American Marketing Association, Marketing research is the function

that links the consumer, customer and public to the marketer through information –
information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems;
generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance;
and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Market- ing research
specifies the information required to address these issues; designs the method for
collecting information; manages and implements the data-collection process;
analyzes the results; and communicates the findings and their implications.

According to Philip Kotler, “Marketing research is 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 European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) defines
marketing research as follows: Marketing research is a key element within the total
field of marketing information. It is the consumer, customer and public to the
marketer through information which is used to identify and define marketing
opportunities and problems; to generate, refine and evaluate marketing actions; and
to improve understanding of marketing as a process and of the ways in which
specific marketing activities can be made more effective. Marketing research
specifies the information required to address these issues; designs the method for

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collecting information; manages and implements the data collection process;
analyses the results; and communicates the findings and their implications.

Importance of Marketing Research:

Explains customer resistance:

Research is useful for finding out customer resistance to the company’s products.
Remedial measures are also suggested by the researcher to deal with the situation.
This makes the product and marketing policies agreeable to consumers.

Suggests sales promotion techniques

Promotion Research; enables a manufacturer to introduce appropriate sales

promotion techniques, select the most convenient channel of distribution, suitable
pricing policy for the products and provision of discounts and concessions to
dealers. They facilitate sales promotion.

Offers guidance to marketing executives:

To research, offers information and guidance to marketing executives while
framing marketing policies. Continuous research enables a company to face
adverse marketing situation boldly. It acts as an insurance against possible changes
in the market environment.

Facilitates the selection and training of the sales force:

It is useful for the selection and training of staff in the sales organization. It also
suggests the incentives which should be offered for the motivation of employees
concerned with marketing.

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Promotes business activities:

They enable a business unit to grow its activities. It creates goodwill in the market
and also enables a business unit to earn high profits through consumer-oriented
marketing policies and programs.

Facilitates appraisal of marketing policies:

Research activities enable business executives to have an appraisal of the present

marketing policies in the light of findings of research work. Suitable adjustments in
the policies are also possible as per the suggestions made by the researchers.

Suggests new marketing opportunities:

Research, suggests new marketing opportunities and how they can be exploited
fully. It identifies emerging market opportunities.

Facilitates inventory study:

It is useful for the evaluation of the company’s inventory policies and also for the
introduction of more efficient ways of managing inventories including finished
goods and raw material.

Provides marketing information:

Research provides information on various aspects of marketing. It suggests the

relative strengths and weaknesses of the company. Based on such information,
marketing executives find it easy to frame policies for the future period. MR
provides information, guidance and alternative solutions to current marketing
problems.

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Constraints of Marketing Research:

Following are the main constraints of Marketing Research:

Limited scope:

They solve many business-related problems. However, it cannot solve all business
problems. It cannot solve problems related to consumer behavior, income and
expenditure relationships, etc. Thus, its scope is limited.

Costly in the Market:

It is a costly affair. It needs a lot of money to conduct various market research

activities. Huge funds are required to pay salaries, prepare questionnaires, conduct
surveys, prepare reports, etc. It is not a viable choice for small businesses. It is
suitable only for large companies who can afford its cost.

Provides suggestions and not solutions:

They provide data to the marketing manager. It guides and advises him. It also
helps him to solve marketing problems. However, it does not solve the marketing
problem. The marketing manager solves marketing problems. So, MR only
provides suggestions. It does not provide solutions.

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Time-consuming:

It is a lengthy and time-consuming process. This process involves many important

steps. All these steps are crucial and not even a single step can be neglected or
avoided. In other words, there are no short-cuts in MR. Generally, it takes at least
three to six months to solve a marketing problem. Therefore, it cannot be used in
urgent or emergencies.

Limited practical value:

They only an academic exercise. It is mainly based on a hypothetical approach. It

gives theoretical solutions, it does not give real solutions to real-life problems. Its
solutions look good on paper but are harder to implement in a real sense. Thus, it
has limited practical value.

Can’t predict consumer behavior:

They collect data on consumer behavior. However, this data is not accurate
because consumer behavior cannot be predicted. It keeps on changing according to
the time and moods of the consumers. Consumer behavior is also very complex. It
is influenced by social, religious, family, economic and other factors. It is very
difficult to study these factors.

No accurate results:

It is not a physical science like physics, chemistry, biology, etc. They are also
social science. It studies consumer behavior and marketing environment. These
factors are very unpredictable. Therefore, it does not give accurate results. It gives
results, but it cannot give 100% correct results.

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Non-availability of technical staff:

It is done by researchers. The researchers must be highly qualified and

experienced. They must also be hard-working, patient and honest. However, in
India, it is very difficult to find good researchers. Generally, it is done by non-
experienced and non-technical people. Therefore, MR becomes a costly, time-
consuming and unreliable affair. So, its quality is also affected due to the non-
availability of technical staff.

Can be misused:

Sometimes, marketing research is misused by the company. It is used to delay

decisions, it is used to support the views of a particular individual. Also, used to
grab power (managerial) in the company.

Non-availability of reliable data:

The quality of the marketing research report depends on the quality of the collected
data. If the data is complete, up-to-date and reliable, then the MR report will also
be reliable. However, in India, it is very difficult to get full, latest and trustworthy
data. So, the non-availability of reliable data is also its limitation.

The resistance of marketing managers:

The marketing managers do not use the suggestions given in the marketing
research report. Primarily, they feel that these suggestions are not practical.
Secondly, they also feel that their importance will become less if they use these
suggestions. There is a conflict between marketing managers and researchers.

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Fragmented approach:

They study a problem only from a particular angle. Also, it does not consider an
overall view. There are many causes of a marketing problem. It does not study all
causes. It only studies one or two causes.

For example, if there is a problem with falling sales. There are many causes for
falling sales; like poor quality, high-price, competition, recession, consumer
resistance, etc. It will only study two causes viz; low-quality and high price. It will
not study other causes. So, it is not a reliable one.