Write a detailed note on business research techniques as a managerial tool

and in dealing with various business related theoretical and applied problems.

Companies that understand precisely what their customers need do an excellent job of fostering
customer satisfaction and retention. The value of retention is unmatched, considering boosting
customer retention rates by just ​5% increases profits anywhere from 25% to 95%, according to
Bain & Company.

However, it’s critical to remember that the ability to obtain a complete view of your customer
depends largely on the integration of accurate data from different sources, including CRM data,
marketing analytics, and, especially, market research.

Additionally, your business decisions are only reliable if your data collection methods are solid.
In other words, if you miss the boat when it comes to collecting data, then your business
decisions won’t be based on accurate results.

Choosing the right techniques to conduct market research is the first step to beneficial data
collection. This article will provide a quick overview of the five types of market research
techniques you can use, and when you should use each different method.

5 types of research techniques for your business

When it comes to market research techniques, you have five main options. Here is a brief o Data
collection/analysis overview of each type of research technique.

1. Surveys
Surveys are one of the most popular quantitative research methods, but they can also be used to
collect qualitative data. Surveys include a series of well thought out questions related to your
research objective. When using a survey, researchers will distribute the questionnaire to a
sampling that is representative of their overall population or customer base.

With enough participants, researchers can elicit data that provides information about customer
attitudes toward products, marketing, customer service, and more. You can distribute surveys
face-to-face, but most market researchers distribute surveys using an online tool like Qualtrics or
Survey Monkey
2. Interviews

Interviews are another excellent research method, and best used when you need to gather more
information that you would need from a short survey. Interviews are a guided conversation
where the researcher is asking pre-determined questions to a participant.

Depending on what you need from an interview, you can either have a set batch of questions that
you ask every interviewee, or you can create a guide of questions that will help lead the
interviewer through the conversation. You can conduct an interview face-to-face, on the phone,
or online.

3. Observation
One caveat to interviews is sometimes interviewees will self-report data that isn’t completely
true. In other words, they will report what they think they do, which is different from what they
do.

Some market researchers will conduct a site visit where they observe interactions outside a
traditional lab in a natural environment. Other times, researchers will bring participants into a lab
with controlled variables and observe them there.

4. Focus Groups
A focus group is a qualitative research method where researchers bring in a small sampling of
their target population. During a focus group, researchers will ask their participants detailed
questions about their perceptions, attitudes, opinions, beliefs, and experiences with regards to a
service, product, or idea.

5. Testing
Testing is a research technique that involves market researchers either observing participants use
a product, service, or interface to determine utility, or getting customer feedback on what they
like best about a product, website, advertisement, etc. There are several different types of tests.
Here is a closer look at some popular market research tests.

Usability testing: Usability testing is when market researchers elicit the help of a group of
representative users to determine how easy a design is to use. Market researchers will usually
observe users while they try and complete tasks for different designs. Usability tests are often
repeated so developers can work out all the bugs before launch.

A/B testing: A/B testing is a type of test that presents two versions of a website, Option A and
Option B, where only one variable is different. Based on user feedback, or observation,
researchers can determine which website option is more effective.

Copy testing: Copy testing is a market research method that helps leaders determine the
effectiveness of an advertisement. Researchers draw conclusions based on consumer responses,
behavior, and feedback.

Testing is an excellent way to find out what your target audience prefers before launching a
product, interface, website, or marketing campaign.

Which research technique is best?

Each of the five market research techniques is valuable in their own way. Determining when to
use which method depends on your research question and what you are trying to accomplish with
your study. Here is a quick overview of when to use each different research technique.

When should you use a survey?

A survey is a good market research technique when you have a simple and defined question that
you want an answer to. For example, a C-SAT (or customer satisfaction survey) will tell you
how satisfied your customers are with a product or customer service experience.

When should you use an interview?

An interview is a good tool to use when you need to delve deeper than a typical survey will
allow. For example, you may want to know how a customer feels about your products compared
to a competitor’s product. An interview can help you get detailed and emotional responses.

When should you use an observation?

An observation is an excellent market research technique when you need to understand how your
target customers behave in their natural environment. It is also a good technique to use if you’re
worried that self-reported answers won’t be accurate.
When should you use a focus group?
Focus groups are an excellent tool when you want direct feedback in the form of a conversation
from a small group of product users or potential customers.

When should you use testing as a market research tool?

Market researchers should engage in testing any time they want to work out bugs before
launching a new interface. Testing is also a great technique to use to see what your audience will
respond to better before you launch a new campaign, website, or product.

Steps Involved in Business Research Decision-Making

Business research reduces uncertainty and improves decision-making outcomes. It is

indispensable in numerous strategic decision-making situations, such as defining current
competitive challenges, improving business practices and searching for business opportunities.
With limited resources, small businesses are vulnerable to strategic decision-making mistakes; as
a result, mastery of the business research decision-making process is vital for small-business
managers.

Problem Identification

The first step in business research is to identify a problem or business opportunity that needs
attention. In real life, these dilemmas are not always clear, and research on the wrong problem is
costly and time-consuming. Moreover, a well-defined problem is easier to solve. For example,
profitability woes for a paint retailer may come from poor marketing and sales. Alternatively, a
careful study may reveal that poor inventory management leads to stock-outs and delays in
delivery. In this case, pursuing the marketing explanation of the problem would not tackle the
crux of the problem.

Defining Research Objectives

Research objectives are the expected outcomes or deliverables of the business research process.
The type of decision and problem definition determine the objectives of the research. For
example, in the paint retailer example, depending on the circumstances of the problem, the
objective may be identifying causes of order delays and stock-outs.
Choosing Alternatives

Business research is a complex endeavor with many alternatives at each stage of the process.
Conducting the research process is like choosing paths for a journey. The map contains
alternative routes, and there is no single best path for all journeys. The choice of a path depends
on objectives and resources. For example, a slightly longer path may be more desirable if it
passes by landmarks. In business research, the research design is a plan that specifies the
methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing information. Surveys, benchmarking and
focus groups are alternative research methods. Sometimes the complexity of the problem may
require a multi-method research design.

Implementation and Assessment

The implementation and assessment stage involves data collection and analysis. The results are
assessed and fed into the decision-making process. For example, in the paint retailer example,
warehousing and operations documents may reveal sales loss due to out-of-stock items and
delays in the delivery of items. Surveying a sample of customers can confirm these problems.
The conclusion is that the current inventory management system does not produce up-to-date
inventory information for sales and production personnel. Based on the findings, managers may
decide to upgrade the inventory management and reporting system.

Theoretical and applied problems

In short, “applied research” tackles a “real world” question and attempts to solve a problem,
whereas “theoretical research” attempts to gather knowledge about a phenomenon or idea whose
conclusions may not have any immediate real-world application.

● Theoretical research is explanatory, and leads to the advancement of “knowledge for

knowledge’s sake.”
● Applied research is for development purposes and seeks to solve a practical problem.
Advantages of Business research
● Business research helps to identify opportunities and threats.
● It helps identify problems and using this information, wise decisions can be made to
tackle the issue appropriately.
● It helps to understand customers better and hence can be useful to communicate better
with the customers or stakeholders.
● Risks and uncertainties can be minimized by conducting business research in advance.
● Financial outcomes and investments that will be needed can be planned effectively
using business research.
● Such research can help track competition in the business sector.
● Business research can enable a company to make wise decisions as to where to spend
and how much.
 ● Business research can enable a company to stay up-to-date with the market and its
trends and appropriate innovations can be made to stay ahead in the game.
● Business research helps to measure reputation

Disadvantages of Business research

● Business research can be a high-cost affair
● Most of the time, business research is based on assumptions
● Business research can be time-consuming
● Business research can sometimes give you inaccurate information, because of a biased
population or a small focus group.
● Business research results can quickly become obsolete because of the fast-changing
markets

Importance of Business research

Business research is one of the most effective ways to understand customers, the market and
competitors. Such research helps companies to understand the demand and supply of the market.
Using such research will help businesses reduce costs, and create solutions or products that are
targeted to the demand in the market and the correct audience.

In-house business research can enable senior management to build an effective team or train or
mentor when needed. Business research enables the company to track its competitors and hence
can give you the upper hand to stay ahead of them. Failures can be avoided by conducting such
research as it can give the researcher an idea if the time is right to launch its product/solution and
also if the audience is right. It will help understand the brand value and measure customer
satisfaction which is essential to continuously innovate and meet customer demands. This will
help the company grow its revenue and market share. Business research also helps recruit ideal
candidates for various roles in the company. By conducting such research a company can carry
out a SWOT analysis, i.e. understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. With
the help of this information, wise decisions can be made to ensure business success.