Individual Assignment #1 MKTG 192.

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Marketing research has been very useful for fast-moving consumer goods
(FMCG) companies such as P&G and Unilever as well as digital, new media
companies like Netflix as it plays a fundamental role in how these companies are
run. For FMCG companies, the videos presented stated that market research has
aided with understanding their consumers in order to impact business results and
drive these companies forward. And for new media companies, placing importance
on researching its market has helped with reaching their consumers and ensuring
new innovations are effective with their targeted markets.

FMCG and new media companies find market research useful in aiding them
with their planning and decision making because it impacts business strategies
concerned with its target market - what consumers are looking for and how to find
and reach those consumers. The videos about P&G put forward that the consumer
insight acquired from conducting marketing research allows companies to make the
right decisions about their products and the right decisions when marketing those
products. As a whole, the information from the divisions in-charge of gathering
consumer insight from market research within companies helps drive key decisions
across global enterprises.

P&G, specifically, makes use of marketing research under their Consumer &
Market Knowledge division (CMK) which helps them collect consumer information
and data about consumer buying behavior, factors that affect purchase intent, and
consumer motivations. According to P&G CMK Manager, Piotr Zuizia, CMK’s role
within the company is to “understand consumers, to understand markets, and bring
the knowledge to the company, and make sure the decisions we make here are the
right decisions.” Within the company, CMK is seen as a balance between the
analytical consumer data analysis portion of market research as well as the
in-person meeting with their consumers in order to gain consumer insight. To the
P&G CMK team, this means that consumer motivations and needs are uncovered
from data or from personal meetings with said consumers. After acquiring the vital
CMK insights, the market research team then works with the entire multi-functional
team to ensure that the data is utilized to always keep consumers at the center of
everything the company decides to do. This involves playing a role in product
development, marketing, and even the retail side of the business - CMK performs a
Individual Assignment #1 MKTG 192.03

leading part in the decision making processes for these different parts of the
business workflow.

P&G promotes it’s ethos, “consumer as the boss,” within its teams, and
invests money into putting its consumer at the center of its decision making. This
also then makes CMK, and marketing research as a whole, central to every decision
that the company makes. To this FMCG company, doing market research to
understand their consumers deeply is a vital part of their planning and
decision-making process. Its commitment to being a data-focused company means
that it actively works to have all the important business and consumer data
accessible for its teams constantly. The company believes that they can win in
business if they can understand their consumers better, more deeply, and more
effectively than their competitors do. By having the perfect balance of both qualitative
and quantitative data that will help its team properly understand their target’s needs,
the company will be able to make the right decisions to have the best marketing
campaigns for the best products in order to win its target markets.

Unilever also applies marketing research via its Consumer Market Insight
team (CMI) which focuses on bringing consumer insights into the innovation team
within the company and ensuring that, like P&G, the consumer is central and
representation throughout the planning and decision-making processes. This helps
with managing and planning for what projects and strategies to implement based on
the gathered consumer and market insight. This insight aids the company in
determining whether or not a proposal will be effective in reaching their consumers
or not. According to Stan Sthanunathan, Unilever has an approach within its
company called the Crafting Branch for Life which focuses on understanding
people’s lives precisely because they see that information as vital to creating
projects and products that last a lifetime. Additionally, market research at Unilever
invests in understanding the people behind their consumers - in gathering people
insights instead of consumer insights - as the company believes that this is key to an
easier process of crafting a brand that will last for life. It focuses on emphasizing
responding and acting on that data more so than the quality of said data.

Netflix has a Product Consumer Insights team composed of researchers,

analytics, and operations members who gather and use market research in order to
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reach Netflix consumers and help make the business successful by providing the
company with the necessary data to make the right decisions. Because the
Consumer Insights team works with Netflix designers, product managers, and its
engineering team, marketing research is at the heart of the decision making and
planning processes within the company. The team ensures that in-depth research is
done with consumers before projects are launched which ensures a higher chance of
success for the enterprise. The human perspective brought by market research is
crucial in helping inform the different divisions of what choices to make and what
work to prioritize.

Overall, market research serves as a valuable tool in growing the businesses

of these companies by allowing them to have the vital information needed to
effectively utilize as a basis in their strategic decision-making and - in that they are
able to more assuredly make the right decisions at the right time. Having consumer
market knowledge, before it happens in the market, allows these companies to bring
that information to be incorporated into their initiatives, plans, and other business
decisions before important market events and trends happen. This gives them the
edge needed to take advantage of opportunities and properly succeed with reaching
their consumers. Understanding people and consumer insights - like how to make
shopping for their products more convenient, make consumers aware of existing and
new products, and how to meet consumer needs helps the business grow by
capturing new markets or keeping consumers loyal to the brand. All the videos put
forward that the value within market research is precisely because of how central
consumers are to progressing a business and that makes market research important
in the same vein.