Market Research

If we want to get technical, market research refers to research that pertains to,

well, markets.  This is where you will dig into things like market trends (political, economic,
social, technology, etc.), market players (e.g. direct and indirect competition), target market
attributes, customer wants and needs, etc.  I personally view market research to be a broader
phrase than marketing research.
 

Marketing Research
Marketing research, on the other hand, involves research related to marketing.  I like to
think of themarketing mix (product, promotion, place, price) and consider the types of
research that relate to one of the four P’s.  Examples include advertisement testing, product
concept testing (e.g. usability testings), pricing research, channel research, etc.

The American Marketing Association defines “Marketing Research” as “the systematic and

objective identification, collection, analysis and dissemination of information for the purpose
of improving decision making related to the identification and solution of problems and
opportunities in marketing.”
ESOMAR (European Society for Opinion and Market Research) defines “Market Research”
as “the systematic gathering and interpretation of information about individuals or
organisations using the statistical and analytical methods and techniques of the applied social
sciences to gain insight or support decision making.”
First, Market Research is a more narrow concept because it is research focused on a specific
market.

Marketing Research, however, scales on a much broader level.

It encompasses areas such as:

 Research into new products

 Modes of distribution
 Product development

It can also include promotion research, pricing, advertising and public relations. Both
concepts are integral parts of marketing, which is essentially everything that happens before
the sale of a product or service. Here’s a quick way to sum it up: market research is a subset
of marketing research.

Using the “Four P’s” to make the Distinction

Product. Price. Place. Promotion. These outline the four P’s of marketing.

Marketing Research covers all four of those possible measures to identify and understand
consumer preferences. Where on the other hand, Market Research typically covers one of
those four measures–place. Place includes an analysis of a specific market or segment.
Market Researchers argue that what they do is customer-oriented and the measurement of
market demand only.

Marketing Research: Getting information about product and consumer preferences.

Market Research: Getting information about place–customer, competition and the industry in
general.

Market research is about listening to people, analysing the information to help organisations
make better decisions and reducing the risk. It is about analysing and interpreting data to
build information and knowledge that can be used to predict, for example, future events,
actions or behaviours. This is where the real skill and value of market research lies.