Some of the major steps involved in marketing research process are as follows:
1. Identification and Defining the Problem
2. Statement of Research Objectives
3. Planning the Research Design or Designing the Research Study
4. Planning the Sample
5. Data Collection
6. Data Processing and Analysis
7. Formulating Conclusion, Preparing and Presenting the Report.
Marketing research exercise may take many forms
but systematic enquiry is a feature common to all such forms. Being a
systematic enquiry, it requires a careful planning of the orderly investigation
process.
Though it is not necessary that all research
processes would invariably follow a given sequence, yet marketing research
often follows a generalized pattern which can be broken down and studied as
sequential stages.
The various stages or steps in the marketing
research process are discussed below:
1. Identification and Defining the
Problem:
The market research process begins with the
identification “of a problem faced by the company. The clear-cut statement of
problem may not be possible at the very outset of research process because
often only the symptoms of the problems are apparent at that stage. Then, after
some explanatory research, clear definition of the problem is of crucial
importance in marketing research because such research is a costly process
involving time, energy and money.
Clear definition of the problem helps the
researcher in all subsequent research efforts including setting of proper
research objectives, the determination of the techniques to be used, and the
extent of information to be collected.
It may be noted that the methods of explanatory
research popularly in use are—survey of secondary data, experience survey, or
pilot studies, i.e., studies of a small initial sample. All this is also known
as ‘preliminary investigation’.
2. Statement of Research Objectives:
After identifying and defining the problem with
or without explanatory research, the researcher must take a formal statement of
research objectives. Such objectives may be stated in qualitative or
quantitative terms and expressed as research questions, statement or
hypothesis. For example, the research objective, “To find out the extent to
which sales promotion schemes affected the sales volume” is a research
objective expressed as a statement.
On the other hand, a hypothesis is a statement
that can be refuted or supported by empirical finding. The same research
objective could be stated as, “To test the proposition that sales are
positively affected by the sales promotion schemes undertaken this winter.”
Example of another hypothesis may be: “The new
packaging pattern has resulted in increase in sales and profits.” Once the
objectives or the hypotheses are developed, the researcher is ready to choose
the research design.
3. Planning the Research Design or
Designing the Research Study:
After defining the research problem and deciding
the objectives, the research design must be developed. A research design is a
master plan specifying the procedure for collecting and analyzing the needed
information. It represents a framework for the research plan of action.
The objectives of the study are included in the
research design to ensure that data collected are relevant to the objectives.
At this stage, the researcher should also determine the type of sources of
information needed, the data collection method (e.g., survey or interview), the
sampling, methodology, and the timing and possible costs of research.
4. Planning the Sample:
Sampling involves procedures that use a small
number of items or parts of the ‘population’ (total items) to make conclusion
regarding the ‘population’. Important questions in this regard are— who is to
be sampled as a rightly representative lot? Which is the target ‘population’?
What should be the sample size—how large or how small? How to select the various
units to make up the sample?
5. Data Collection:
The collection of data relates to the gathering
of facts to be used in solving the problem. Hence, methods of market research
are essentially methods of data collection. Data can be secondary, i.e., collected
from concerned reports, magazines and other periodicals, especially written
articles, government publications, company publications, books, etc.
Data can be primary, i.e., collected from the
original base through empirical research by means of various tools.
There can be broadly two types of sources
(i) Internal sources—existing within the firm
itself, such as accounting data, salesmen’s reports, etc.
(ii) External sources—outside the firm.
6. Data Processing and Analysis:
Once data have been collected, these have to be
converted into a format that will suggest answers to the initially identified
and defined problem. Data processing begins with the editing of data and its
coding. Editing involves inspecting the data-collection forms for omission, legibility,
and consistency in classification. Before tabulation, responses need to be
classified into meaningful categories.
The rules for categorizing, recording and
transferring the data to ‘data storage media’ are called codes. This coding
process facilitates the manual or computer tabulation. If computer analysis is
being used, the data can be key punched and verified.
Analysis of data represents the application of
logic to the understanding of data collected about the subject. In its simplest
form analysis may involve determination of consistent patterns and summarizing of appropriate details.
The appropriate analytical techniques chosen
would depend upon informational requirements of the problem, characteristics of
the research designs and the nature of the data gathered. The statistical
analysis may range from simple immediate analysis to very complex multivariate
analysis.
7. Formulating Conclusion, Preparing and
Presenting the Report:
The final stage in the marketing research process
is that of interpreting the information and drawing conclusion for use in
managerial decision. The research report should clearly and effectively
communicate the research findings and need not include complicated statement
about the technical aspect of the study and research methods.
Often the management is not interested in details
of research design and statistical analysis, but instead, in the concrete
findings of the research. If need be, the researcher may bring out his
appropriate recommendations or suggestions in the matter. Researchers must make
the presentation technically accurate, understandable and useful.