What is marketing research? Types, common challenges, and solutions
Aug 2, 2024
Imagine you are piloting a massive ship in a vast ocean, your destination uncertain, and the winds playing with your course. Would you sail without a map or a compass?
Certainly not.
The same applies to the world of modern business, where marketing research serves as the map and compass guiding you towards the growth and success of your business. It is the magical tool that allows businesses to understand the market, identify customer needs, determine opportunities and challenges, and predict future trends.
Let's explore the meaning of the term marketing research, its most important types, the essential steps for conducting market research, while highlighting the most prominent problems and their practical solutions. Let's start with the definition.
What is Marketing Research?
Marketing research refers to the process of collecting and analyzing data related to the market, consumers, products, and services with the aim of understanding market requirements, trends, and customer preferences, evaluating the effectiveness of marketing strategies, and making informed marketing decisions to achieve desired goals.
Marketing research aims not only to understand the target market and analyze competitors and consumers, but it is also a gateway to exploring the future and formulating innovative competitive strategies based on modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data analysis to gain accurate insights into consumer preferences and purchasing patterns, and monitor brand performance and compare its performance with competitors, which contributes to taking quick corrective actions when needed to maintain sustainable growth and enhance competitive value.
Marketing research has multiple characteristics that we will discuss in the following paragraph.
Key Characteristics of Marketing Research
Marketing research includes several characteristics, including:
Orientation towards achieving specific goals, it is not conducted randomly, but aims to collect information that helps understand customer behavior, evaluate the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and analyze the market to identify new growth opportunities, thereby contributing to making informed marketing decisions to achieve various goals such as increasing the customer base or boosting sales movement.
Comprehensive scientific methodology in data collection and analysis, where it combines the use of research methods such as questionnaires, interviews, and observation, and leveraging analytical techniques such as statistics, to analyze data accurately and systematically.
Effectiveness, although marketing research can be costly, the benefits it achieves usually outweigh the costs. The ability to make informed decisions based on accurate data helps businesses save significant amounts by improving efficiency and avoiding costly mistakes.
Accuracy and credibility, the collected data must be reliable and verifiable, and the results must be repeatable, which requires reliance on sophisticated research tools, use of representative samples, and objective data analysis.
Customer focus, marketing research primarily focuses on understanding customer needs, preferences, and behaviors, which helps businesses develop products and services that better meet market needs, improve customer experience, and gain their satisfaction.
Integration with the company's general strategies, the results obtained from marketing research help guide strategic decisions such as pricing, product development, and resource allocation.
Continuity, it is not a one-time process; businesses need to regularly collect and analyze data to keep pace with market changes and update their strategies based on new information.
Diversity in data collection and analysis methods including primary research such as questionnaires and interviews, and secondary research such as analysis of existing data and previous reports, to ensure comprehensiveness and accuracy of results.
Extensive use of modern technologies, as the use of digital tools such as big databases, predictive analysis, and artificial intelligence, contributes to improving the accuracy and speed of data analysis, and providing deeper insights.
You might wonder:
What is the difference between market research and marketing research?
There are many differences between marketing research and market research, including:
Goal:
Market Research aims to collect and analyze data about the entire market to understand market size, expected growth, trends, competitors, and available opportunities.
Marketing Research aims to focus on collecting and analyzing data related to the company's marketing activities to improve marketing and promotion strategies, understand consumer behavior, and develop products.
Scope of Study:
Market research focuses on the market in general, which includes determining its size, analyzing trends, and understanding demographic and geographic factors, etc.
Marketing research focuses on the institution's marketing activities, which includes analyzing consumer behavior, evaluating the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, studying market response to new products, and improving pricing and promotion strategies.
Methods Used:
Marketing research relies on a variety of different methods for data collection such as focus groups, questionnaires and surveys, and social data, etc.
Market research relies on surveys, analysis of secondary data (such as reports and economic bulletins), and experimental studies.
Results:
Market research provides comprehensive information about potential market size, trends and changes, threats and opportunities, and the competitive environment.
Marketing research provides specific information about consumer preferences and behaviors, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, reactions to current products and services, and optimal pricing strategies.
We note that the term marketing research is more comprehensive than market research, as the latter is an inherent part of the former. Marketing research includes a wide range of activities aimed at collecting and analyzing data related to the market, customers, products, and competitors, while market research mainly focuses on collecting and analyzing data related to a specific market or a defined market segment.
Therefore, marketing research is a broad umbrella that includes several types of research, including market research, all of which contribute to providing companies with the necessary information to make informed marketing decisions and achieve greater market success.
Key Types of Basic Marketing Research
Basic marketing research is a vital part of companies' strategy to better understand the market and consumers by collecting and analyzing information about the market, competitors, and the surrounding business environment in general, with the aim of providing companies with data and information that enables them to make informed decisions regarding the products and services they offer.
Basic marketing research is divided into:
Primary Marketing Research
This is concerned with collecting new and direct data from primary sources through various methods such as questionnaires, personal interviews, focus groups, field observation, and practical experiments, with the aim of obtaining accurate and customized information related to the research topic, which contributes to understanding the actual behaviors, needs, and trends of customers in the target market. For example, a company might use questionnaires to measure customer satisfaction with a specific product or to learn about their preferences for new product features.
Primary research is distinguished by providing up-to-date and specific data that meets the immediate needs of businesses, enabling them to make informed decisions about marketing strategies, product development, and pricing. Although this research can be costly and time-consuming, the benefits it achieves in terms of accuracy and relevance make it a highly valuable investment.
Secondary Marketing Research
This is another type of market research that relies on analyzing data and information previously collected by other sources, instead of collecting data directly from the market or the target audience. This research is used to provide insights and analyses based on existing data, such as government reports, academic studies, general statistics, publicly available online data, and internal company reports.
Secondary marketing research aims to save researchers' time and effort, as they can access valuable information without the need for costly and complex field studies. Secondary marketing research is useful in the early stages of marketing research, where it is used to form a general understanding of the target market or a specific problem, as well as identifying information gaps that may necessitate conducting more specialized primary research.
Inferential Marketing Research
This is another type of marketing research that aims to deduce or extract information through available data instead of relying on collecting new data to reach conclusions and predict the future behavior of consumers and the market.
One of the most important advantages of inferential marketing research is that it is less costly and faster than primary marketing research, which requires collecting new data. It also allows companies to use the data and information they have more effectively and make more informed and objective marketing decisions based on available data analysis.
Types of Marketing Research Related to the Surrounding Business Environment
Marketing research related to the surrounding business environment constitutes a vital tool for understanding external factors affecting business activity, such as economic trends, technological developments, social and cultural changes, government policies, and market competition.
By analyzing these aspects, companies can make informed strategic decisions, improve their products and services, and develop marketing plans that align with the dynamic changes in the environment, helping them achieve sustainability and success in a volatile business environment.
This type includes multiple branches of marketing research:
Market Research: This branch is related to understanding the target market, its size, segmentation, and prevailing trends, in addition to identifying potential opportunities and threats.
Consumer Research: This is concerned with understanding consumer behavior, needs, preferences, and the factors influencing their purchase decisions, which helps develop products and services that meet their aspirations.
Competitor Research: This is another branch related to analyzing direct and indirect competitors, including their strategies, strengths, and weaknesses, which helps identify areas of superiority and avoid mistakes.
Economic Environment Research: This focuses on analyzing economic factors such as economic growth, inflation rates, unemployment, and income, and their impact on business activity.
Social and Cultural Environment Research: This is concerned with analyzing social and cultural trends, such as social values, customs, and lifestyle, and their impact on consumer behavior and purchasing patterns.
Legal and Political Environment Research: This is related to understanding the laws, regulations, and government policies that affect business activity, such as tax laws, trade, and consumer protection.
Other Types of Marketing Research According to Desired Objectives
Marketing research varies according to its desired objectives:
Exploratory Marketing Research
This is a type of research used to understand a problem or issue more deeply and in detail before embarking on more specialized and accurate research. This type of research is typically used when the problem is poorly defined or when available information is scarce or unreliable.
This type of marketing research includes qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews, case studies, and unstructured surveys, with the aim of collecting preliminary information that helps define the scope of the problem and guide future research in the right direction.
Exploratory marketing research is characterized by its flexibility and adaptability to different circumstances, allowing researchers to modify their strategies and methods according to the new information discovered, which is beneficial in revealing unexpected insights and providing companies with a deeper understanding of customer needs and behaviors.
Although the results derived from exploratory marketing research may not be widely generalizable, they provide a strong foundation for future quantitative research and help formulate accurate hypotheses that can be tested more realistically.
Causal Marketing Research
This type of marketing research aims to understand the causal relationship between different variables by focusing on determining the effect of a specific independent variable (such as a marketing campaign or a product price adjustment) on a dependent variable (such as sales volume or customer satisfaction) and controlling all different factors to ensure that any change in the independent variable directly affects the dependent variable.
Causal marketing research is distinguished by its ability to provide strong evidence about the effectiveness of different marketing strategies. For example, companies can use this research to determine whether a new advertising campaign actually increases sales or not, instead of relying on assumptions, and thus guide strategic decisions by providing accurate insights into the factors that directly affect the business's performance in the market.
Predictive Marketing Research
This type of marketing research aims to use data and statistical analysis to predict future market trends and consumer behavior based on advanced techniques such as predictive analytics, machine learning, and statistical models to analyze historical and current data in order to provide accurate forecasts about what might happen in the future to help companies make informed decisions regarding marketing, such as determining the best times to launch new products, identifying target markets, and developing effective marketing strategies.
Predictive marketing research involves collecting and analyzing large amounts of data from multiple sources such as sales records, customer data, social media, and economic data, then applying mathematical models and algorithms to analyze this data and extract patterns and trends, which contributes to predicting changes in consumer behavior, identifying future opportunities and challenges, and enhancing the ability of businesses to achieve sustainable competition in the market.
Types of Marketing Research in Terms of Qualitative and Quantitative
This type involves collecting non-measurable data and information with the aim of studying consumer behavior and deeply understanding marketing phenomena. This research is typically used in the early stages of product development or marketing strategies to understand customer needs and preferences, as it provides rich and deep insights into the reasons, preferences, and behaviors of customers, which helps companies develop more effective and efficient marketing strategies.
Unlike qualitative research, quantitative research collects measurable data and information to understand a specific phenomenon to support marketing strategies. Various businesses rely on this research to estimate market size, evaluate marketing performance, identify new marketing opportunities, and measure the impact of different marketing campaigns.
Perhaps an important question comes to your mind regarding how to conduct marketing research for your business, which we will answer in the following paragraph.
Essential Steps to Professionally Conduct Marketing Research for Your Business
1. Identify the Marketing Problem or Opportunity
This is the pivotal step in the marketing research process, through which the business context is understood more deeply and the aspects that need improvement or benefit from available opportunities are identified. For example, you might face a problem of declining sales or want to explore a new market, which requires a precise understanding of the problem or available opportunity to help guide the research and focus it on important points. Without accurately defining the problem or opportunity, research efforts are ineffective or misdirected, leading to wasted resources and time.
To implement this step professionally, you must:
Consult various work teams to get diverse perspectives to help identify all dimensions of the problem or available opportunity.
Analyze historical data and previous research to provide a clearer vision.
Focus on problems or opportunities that have a significant impact on the business objectives and future growth.
Use mind maps and charts to explain the problem or available opportunity and its impact on the business.
2. Set Research Objectives
After identifying the marketing problem or available opportunity, clear research objectives should be set to ensure the desired results are achieved effectively. For example, if the problem is declining sales, the goal might be to understand the reasons for this decline and provide recommendations to increase sales by a certain percentage.
The importance of this step lies in helping to define the scope of the research and ensure efforts are focused on the most critical aspects, as well as facilitating the process of evaluating results later and ensuring the research achieves the required purpose.
You can use these tips to implement this step correctly:
Rely on the SMART goals model, ensuring they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Define the key performance indicators (KPIs) relied upon to evaluate the achievement of research objectives.
Ensure that the objectives are directly linked to the defined problem or opportunity.
Ensure you have the necessary resources to achieve the set objectives efficiently.
3. Choose the Appropriate Research Methodology
This important step depends on a good understanding of the type of data required and how to collect it effectively. Will you rely on qualitative methods, quantitative methods, or integrate between them? The methodology that suits the type of problem or opportunity and the defined objectives should be chosen to ensure the collection of accurate and reliable data, which enhances the quality of results and recommendations, and contributes to obtaining deep and useful insights that can support strategic decision-making, as well as enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of the research in terms of time and resources used.
Therefore, you must:
Consult specialized experts to determine the best methodology that suits your problems or available opportunities.
Use a mix of different methodological approaches in marketing research to obtain a comprehensive view.
Evaluate available resources to ensure you have the necessary resources to implement the chosen methodology.
Review marketing research and previous studies in the same field to choose the best research practices.
Conduct a preliminary test of the chosen methodology on a small sample to verify its effectiveness.
4. Design Research Tools and Collect Data
After choosing the methodology, the step of designing the tools that will be used to collect data comes next, including questionnaires, interview forms, and monitoring and observation tools. These tools must be professionally designed to ensure the collection of accurate and reliable data, and the questions must be clear and unbiased to help ensure the accuracy of results and recommendations and obtain accurate insights into the problem or available opportunity.
5. Data Analysis
After data collection, this important step comes, which focuses on analyzing the collected data to extract useful patterns and insights, relying on data analysis tools and software such as SPSS or Excel for quantitative data analysis, while text analysis techniques can be used to analyze qualitative data to understand the relationships between variables and extract patterns that can be useful in decision-making.
To benefit from this step, you can take these tips:
Verify data accuracy by purifying and correcting any errors before the analysis process.
Look for patterns and trends in the data to understand the relationships between different variables and come up with results that serve your business.
Compare results with previous research to verify the validity of conclusions.
Ensure that the analysis includes all available data to avoid bias.
6. Implement Recommendations and Monitor Results
Once the marketing research is completed, the recommendations derived from the research must be implemented. An implementation plan must be set, including defining responsibilities and allocating tasks according to a timeline, then monitoring the results to find out the impact of the recommendations on the business performance and making adjustments if necessary.
We note that marketing research has many benefits, some of which we review below.
Importance of Marketing Research for Businesses
Marketing research plays a pivotal role in the success and growth of various businesses, as it is beneficial in:
Understanding the Market and Customers:
Marketing research helps brands understand customer needs, desires, and preferences. By studying consumer behavior, purchasing habits, practices, and reactions, companies can identify the products and services that best meet those needs and develop appropriate marketing strategies.
Identifying Opportunities and Evaluating Competition:
Marketing research helps businesses identify potential commercial opportunities and new areas for growth by analyzing the market and evaluating competition, identifying strengths and weaknesses in their products and services compared to competitors, and building marketing strategies that help them enhance their competitive advantage.
Product Development and Innovation:
Marketing research provides valuable details about market needs and customer response to current products and services. This information can be used to improve current products or develop new products that meet unmet needs and open doors for innovation.
Marketing Strategy Planning:
Marketing research serves as an assistive tool in determining effective marketing strategies. By understanding customer behavior, reasons for purchasing, and their preferred marketing channels, companies can direct their marketing efforts more effectively and achieve better results.
Evaluating Marketing Effectiveness:
Marketing research helps in measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of different marketing strategies by analyzing the impact of marketing campaigns and advertisements and evaluating the performance of products and services based on responses, sales, and financial returns, and then taking the necessary actions to improve performance.
Despite these great benefits of marketing research, there are many problems that prevent achieving the full benefit of this vital tool.
Key Marketing Research Problems and Practical Solutions to Overcome Them
The problems related to marketing research are numerous, including, for example:
Difficulty Accessing Accurate Data
Many businesses suffer from the difficulty of accessing accurate and reliable data due to the scarcity of reliable sources that can be relied upon or the lack of regular data updates, which leads to erroneous results that negatively affect marketing decision-making.
To overcome this problem, it is necessary to:
Rely on multiple sources to confirm data accuracy, including primary data sources such as surveys and interviews, and secondary data sources such as reports and previous studies.
Use advanced data analysis techniques such as predictive analytics and big data analysis to improve data accuracy and reduce reliance on unreliable data sources.
Periodically verify the data used in the research to ensure its timeliness and accuracy by continuously reviewing the data and making adjustments when necessary.
Cooperate with specialized research institutions and study centers to obtain more accurate and reliable data.
High Costs of Marketing Research
Marketing research is very expensive, as the process of collecting and analyzing data requires significant financial and human resources, which represents an obstacle for small and medium-sized businesses to conduct effective marketing research.
To solve this problem, it is necessary to:
Leverage technology to reduce marketing research costs, including using digital tools to collect and analyze data, such as online surveys and social media analytics.
Brands collaborate with each other to conduct joint marketing research, which reduces costs and increases the effectiveness of the research.
Use cloud-based research platforms to reduce infrastructure costs and improve efficiency in data collection and analysis.
Utilize data already available in current customer databases and social media to reduce the need for collecting new data.
Rapid Changes in the Market
Various brands face a major challenge represented by the rapid changes occurring in the market, which lead to data obsolescence quickly, making it difficult to rely on it to make effective marketing decisions.
Overcoming this problem requires:
Conducting continuous market research instead of periodic research to ensure data is constantly updated and keeps pace with rapid market changes.
Using predictive analytics to forecast potential market changes and adapt to them faster and more effectively.
Establishing a system for periodically monitoring market trends and updating marketing strategies based on new data.
Using social media and real-time analysis tools to get immediate customer feedback and adjust marketing strategies based on these responses.
Incorrect Data Interpretation:
Some businesses face a problem in data interpretation, leading to inaccurate conclusions that may negatively affect marketing decisions. This is due to a lack of experience or the use of inappropriate analysis methods, which requires:
Using advanced analysis tools such as analytical software and artificial intelligence to ensure accurate data interpretation and reduce errors in conclusions.
Using cross-analysis techniques to verify data validity by comparing results with more than one analytical method to ensure their accuracy.
Training teams on analysis by providing training courses for the teams responsible for marketing research to improve their skills in analyzing and interpreting data correctly.
Lack of Clarity in Research Objectives
Some businesses, especially small ones, suffer from a lack of clarity in research objectives due to a lack of experience, which leads to collecting inaccurate information and consequently difficulty in reaching useful results.
To overcome this problem, it is necessary to:
Clearly define objectives before starting the research, and ensure that these objectives are measurable and achievable.
Use an organized research framework to help clearly define objectives and research questions and guide the data collection process.
Review objectives periodically to ensure they are still appropriate and relevant to market changes.
A Final Word
Marketing research is considered the backbone of any business activity, as it is a vital tool indispensable for companies and institutions seeking to achieve success in highly competitive markets. Through accurate understanding of customer needs and preferences, businesses can develop effective marketing strategies that enhance customer loyalty and increase their market share. Investing time and resources in marketing research can lead to smarter decisions and greater long-term success thanks to innovation and developing new products that contribute to meeting customer needs, which positively reflects on consumer experience and their quality of life.
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