Importance of market research pdf

Depending on the purpose of your research, you can choose either of the two main types of market research. These are primary research and secondary research. Primary research is direct research that you conduct yourself or hire someone else to do it for you. It involves reaching out to your target market, asking them questions, collecting data, and analyzing the information gathered. Based on the data, strategies are devised, decisions are made, and policies are created.

Primary research helps you explore issues, dig deeper, and ask specific questions that are relevant to what you are looking for. Research that is already conducted, organized, and published is often used by small businesses to gauge market trends, current economies, and to devise plans. A lot of government agencies conduct market research for various purposes. However, there are private companies that publish their reports publicly. Additionally, you can also go online and conduct Google searches looking for specific phrases relevant to your research purpose to find valuable data.

Accurate market research helps you identify business areas that are performing well, those that need more attention, and also those that you should perhaps give up. Back in , two young tech enthusiasts launched a location-based app — Burbn — that would allow consumers to check-in, make plans of hangouts with friends, share pictures, and more.

They took a long, hard look at their app again — which had already been launched — and started working on it from scratch, removing all the features and only letting the photo-sharing, liking, and commenting options intact. And thus, Instagram was born. It is not enough that you know your business; you got to know what your customers are saying about you — and about your competitors. A huge part of business market research is always dedicated to gauging customer satisfaction rates, their reactions to a new product, and what they are looking for next.

In , when YouTube initially launched, it was for a very different purpose : dating. Pretty soon into launch, however, and by investing in robust market research a part of which they conducted themselves the founders realized that their video dating app is not what their customers are looking for.

Analyzing the data, they discovered that there is no app or platform in the market for video sharing. The websites that were offering this service were patchy at best and not intuitive at all. Following what your customers are talking about, listening to them, and then delivering on their needs is an important task that you can fulfill with timely customer-centered market research.

Launching and running a business means making decisions every day — about products, services, expansions, HR, and so much more. Without solid market research backing your decisions, all you are doing is guess-work, hoping the results will be in your favor.

This is certainly what Starbucks does. The platform helps them remain informed on all important aspects of business investment and propels them towards ventures and venues that hold the most potential. Plus the results can be relevant for a lot of related areas that you may want information on. This approach spells long-term disaster. While you should certainly keep your focus on your own efforts, it is critical — and smart — to keep tabs on your rivals and know what they are thinking or planning.

With regular research, you can not only learn to anticipate their next move but be in a better position to avert any possible damage from their end. In addition to conducting market research, you can pair it up with regularly monitoring their social media , blog posts, and seeing what is trending in your market.

Here is a great resource on how you can go about it. The idea screening stage therefore is a stage where one screens out ideas.

Similarly at this stage, product planner looks for ideas that are worthy for further study by eliminating irrelevant ones. The concern here is to be able to determine which of the ideas is feasible and practicable technically, economically, financially and other wise. Also the long-term potentials of the business enterprise are looked into. At this stage, therefore, the product features, product profitability, estimated demand, as well as the possible returns on investment are considered.

Only idea s with the greatest potentials for success are accepted. Only few quantities are produced so that the products can be tested in the market to practically determine its feasibility. The reasons for test marketing are to determine; a. Whether the market will accept the product. The marketing programme that will be eventually used. Whether the products can even be marketed profitably. The product quantity and the price at which consumers will accept the product. Full scale production and marketing programme are planned and executed and the product is then launched.

Before commercialization of a product takes place, the product planner has the full control over the product, but after the product have enters the market, forces within the external environment over which he may have little or no control can distort its success tremendously. To this end, we can therefore see that marketing research plays a very vital role in the survival and performance of an organization.

Marketing research results are useful and needed in four main areas; Specific Problem Solving and Reduction of Uncertainty: If marketing research is done quickly enough, it will provide vital information needed to certain or curb the problem.

Marketing research is very useful in indetifying problems, and also increases the decision maker probability of making the right decision s. Environmental Monitoring of the Uncontrollable: The alert and competent marketer sets up an information system in order to monitor the key variables in the external environment. The proper thing is to set up a marketing information system MIS which regularly collect information and makes it available to the manager or decision maker for action.

Marketing Planning and Control: Quite a huge amount of marketing research studies concentrates on the elements of the marketing mix. The initial role of research is to provide information to assist in the design of the elements of the marketing mix that spell out the entry strategy of the firm. Marketing research tell which product features are popular, which price ranges are acceptable to buyers, which retail outlets are favoured by users and through what media users are likely to be reached.

Market Analysis: Marketing research is an important exercise in that it furnishes information about a market in the following areas; i. A quantitative estimate of demand in units and naira. This will also involve an estimate of the maximum possible demand market potential and demand forecasts for the company itself sales forecast. A behavioural study of the buyers: Marketing research enables a firm to know the behaviour of their customers; who they are, where they are, the key motivating influences in purchase, purchasing habits etc.

Studies of the competitors and operational strategies. Evaluation of the middlemen involved in the trade v. Selecting target market.

The manager looks for new users and market segment. The manager also looks for ways to stimulate and increase usage among present consumers. The manager may want to reposition the brand to appeal to a large or fast-growing segment. While in product modification, the product manager modifies the characteristics such as quality, features or style to attract new users and also increase its usage. A strategy of quality improvement aims at increasing the functional performance of the product, its ability, reliability, speed and taste.

It is a statement of only the essential element to a study those that provide the basic guideline for details of the research work.

It comprise a series of prior decisions that are being taken together to provide a master plan for excellent research work.

Put in a simple way, research is a way of collecting data either from new or past records. It involves the evaluation and analysis of data collected in order to find out how the data will be used in a practical sense. The researcher of this study adopts simple method of data collection involving administration of questionnaire in preparing this research study, the researcher also made use of tables and percentage as the basic instruments of data analysis.

So in all, total number of thirty seven questionnaire were administered in which twenty five 25 of the questionnaire were returned. The population of this research work comprises of both senior and junior staff of Unilever Nigeria plc lokoja branch office, which is Sample refers to the part or fraction of a population that is subjected to detail and wide ranging examination.

Toluhi, A sample size of 25 staff is drawn from the total staff of Unilever Nigeria plc Lokoja. Judgments or purposive sampling will be used in this sample selection in order to meet the requirement of the intention of this work. The data used for the purpose of this study is the primary data. Primary data are data collected primarily and for the first time. They are usually collected and used for a specific purpose for which they are required.

Most marketing investigations use some form of questionnaire either posted or administered through personal visitation. Questionnaires are the backbone of most surveys and require careful planning and execution.

Questionnaires were mailed to the sample of the research population. This method is specifically attractive on account of cheapness. It determines and reports the ways things are, it involves assessing attitudes or opinions towards individuals business.

The researcher then resolved into personal and face to face administration of questionnaire in which respondents are issued set of questionnaires to answer and as well asked some oral questions in which they delightedly responded to. There are several ways through which research adopts the used of table and percentage in analyzing the research data collected. Questionnaires were administered to respondents and their responses were analyzed in a tabular form with percentage as the basis of analysis.

The use of table and percentage makes the analysis to be precise, accurate and properly structured. Data in this regard can be presented in so many ways; it could be presented in charts diagrams, graphs, tables etc. In the course of this research study, the researcher adopted the use of table in presenting the data used. This follows immediately after data has been processed into a more comprehensive form that will enable the researcher as well as the users to extract relevant information.

Data analysis takes many forms, and shapes ranging from simple comparison to complex statistical and mathematical analysis to display various features of the processed data. Table 3 Question: Marketing research is necessary in developing new products? Table 4 Question: Marketing research is of benefit to employees and employers of Unilever Nigeria plc lokoja. Table 5 Question: Customers of Unilever Nigeria plc lokoja branch office, benefit from marketing research?

Table 8 Question: Marketing research helps manager to produce product that can effectively satisfy his customers. Table 9 Question: Marketing research enable marketing managers to sustain their market share. Table 12 Question: marketing research helps managers of Unilever Nigeria plc, lokoja in truly analytical and scientific approach to decision making? This study shows that there is no thorough marketing research in our organizations today.

Thus, many organizations have gone into the development of product, but at the wrong time and for the wrong target markets. More so, this study has shown that some marketing and research managers do not take marketing research too seriously as it should have been taken. Some managers go to the field of research without the right focus and motive directed or aimed at gathering information about the customers and their needs in order to produce products that will satisfy those needs.

Also, this study reveals that dishonesty and incompetence are other paramount causes of failure of organization engaging in marketing research before developing new products. Some of the researchers today have no knowledge and experience as to how a proper and thorough marketing research should be conducted so as to help their organization s in taking decision on which strategy and policy to be adopted in developing new products that will satisfy the needs of their target market and in turn bring high productivity, effectiveness, efficiency and profitability.

It was also revealed that there is no good management decision in regard to marketing management in our organizations today.

It was revealed that there is no good and easy flow of information between the marketing managers and their target market during research and product development is stunted. Finally, this research study has also revealed that inadequate timing is another problem faced by managers.

If the product is not developed on time, competitors may come into the market and render the efforts to see that their products are developed on time especially when the demand for them is high. Unilever Nigeria plc was used as the case study. It was revealed that lack of adequate fund and time committed to marketing research has caused failure to our organizations in their attempt to develop products that will satisfy their target market.

The study also show that lack of good communication network between managers and their customers, poor and ineffective management decision, dishonesty and incompetence on the part of marketing managers and research planners, as well as absence of thoroughly planned and effective execution of marketing research in our organizations in developing products that will satisfy the needs of the target market, at a profit level that will ensure continuity, growth and expansion of the organization and as well enhances the overall achievement of the organizational goals.

Also, through a thorough planning and effective execution of marketing research, the organization will be able to know which product to develop, for which market to produce, when to produce and where the production should be done.

This will enable to put the organization on a balance in its marketing operations. There must be good management design and approach. The management must be very skillful, considerate and effective in its decision making by applying a truly analytical and scientific approach to its decision making process. Different tactics and strategies should be put in practice in order to have an effective and efficient product development resulting from a thorough planning and execution of marketing research.

This will in turn help the management to achieve the overall organizational goals and objectives. Firms should appoint product managers to manage individual products and new product teams to ensure that the process is carried out successfully. Marketers should look for ways to design better quality into new products and to improve the quality of the existing ones.

They should ensure that exact quality, size and the features of their product should be made known to the public customers through the use of informative and transparent advertisements.

McGraw-Hill, New York. Hamza G. Ibrahim : Introduction to Marketing Volume 2. Haward Printers, Lokoja. Lois Farese : Marketing Essentials. Frank Zinni, Dr. Keith Beauregard, Wayne Robertshaw, and Jane Orner, all of whom provided considerable assistance in compiling the survey data presented. Orly Maravankin.

It has been validated against in market share and sales in multiple consumer product goods CPG categories. First, an Augmented Dickey-Fuller test Enders, unit root tests verifies the univariate time-series properties stationarity versus evolution for each variable.

This test addresses the question of whether a variable is mean-reverting stationarity or has changed permanently the null hypothesis in the data sample evolution.

If sales are mean reverting, no marketing- induced change has had a permanent sales effect. Second, we assess whether a metric is a leading indicator of sales performance by testing whether it Granger causes sales. Granger, ; Hanssens, et al. The assumption underlying Granger causality or, technically, non-causality tests is that if an event y is the cause of another event x, then logically event y should precede x.

A variable X is said to Granger-cause the performance variable Y if the mean squared forecast error of Y using a bivariate model i. Granger modeling involves assessing incremental forecasting power and is a statistical test of the joint significance of the other variable s in a regression, including dependent variable lags, enabling the testing of the impact on the dependent variable of multiple lag periods.

An important choice is the number of time lags considered in these tests, as choosing a wrong number may lead to the erroneous conclusion that there is no Granger causality Hanssens, Because we use these tests to eliminate variables deleting variables that do not Granger-cause sales at any lag , we apply the tests for lags from 1 up to 6 months and consider a significant test result at any lag to be an indication that the variable is Granger-causing performance.

Third, we estimate the dynamic interactions among sales and all leading performance indicators using Vector Autoregressive VAR models.

Fourth, we use the estimated VAR parameters to quantify the dynamic explanatory value of each endogenous variable on performance. We allowed the GFEVD sufficient lags up to a year to stabilize on the dynamic percentage of performance variation that is explained by a particular variable.

Finally, we quantify the magnitude and timing of the effects of each endogenous variable on performance by means of GIRFs. GIRF uses the simultaneous-shocking approach Evans and Wells, ; Dekimpe and Hanssens, , in which the information in the residual variance-covariance matrix of Equation 1 is used to derive a vector of expected instantaneous shock values. We derive the following three summary statistics from each GIRF: a the immediate performance impact on brand sales, b the permanent impact that is, the value to which the IRF converges , and c the total or cumulative impact, which combines the immediate effect with all significant effects.

In the absence of permanent effects, this cumulative impact becomes the relevant metric to evaluate performance outcomes Pauwels, et al. We do not report the statistical significance of this cumulative impact because we accumulate only the impulse response coefficients that are significantly different from zero; the absence of statistical significance is shown as zero cumulative impact.

As an example of our approach, Table A-1 shows the results of the unit root tests, the Granger Causality tests and the Forecast Error Variance Decomposition results for the snack product. For the unit root tests, we display the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test statistic, for which values under For forecast error variance decomposition, we display the percentage dynamic variation in sales explained by the variable. Brand Presence Brand Awareness Top-of-mind Brand Impressions Occasions of Use For on the go Brand attachment Brand I trust Brand Value Good value for money We also show the wear-in, the number of months it takes until the peak sales impact is reached 0 meaning the peak impact is immediate , and wear-out, number of months with significant effects after peak impact, results.

The power of the VAR-model to explain sales R2 was 0. In out-of-sample tests, the metrics produced by the VAR- approach showed a better predictive ability than those obtained by reduced rank regression and by stepwise regression, two other used analytical techniques Pauwels and Joshi Managing Brand Equity.

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