ZIMSEC O Level Business Studies Notes: Marketing: Marketing Research

  • Businesses identify and anticipate customer needs and wants using market research
  • Market research is the process concerned with identifying consumer needs and wants
  • Market research is not to be confused with marketing research
  • Market research is merely one part of market research
  • Marketing research is the systematic and objective collection, analysis and evaluation relating to markets and marketing
  • Marketing research involves several steps and processes including:
  • Market Research
  • Product Research
  • Sales Research
  • Promotion research
  • Consumer research

Market research

  • Involves identification of the market
  • Determining its size
  • Geographical location
  • Future potential of the market
  • Customer behavior and
  • Market segments among other things

Product research

  • Involves evaluating current/proposed products in relation to customer needs and wants
  • Investigating new uses for the product
  • Working on product variations
  • Packaging research
  • Research pricing policies etc

Consumer research

  • identification of the preferences,
  • motivations,
  • and buying behavior of the targeted customer.

Purpose of marketing research

  • Marketing research is carried out mainly to reduce the business risk of failure
  • It increases the success of the business’s existing products
  • It also improves the success of new product launches
  • Allows the business to keep pace with technological changes
  • Enables the business to fight the competition
  • Gives a sense of direction to the Research and Development departments

Qualitative vs Quantitative information

  • During marketing research there are two types of data:
  • Qualitative Data and
  • Quantitative data
  • Qualitative data refers to data that cannot be expressed in numerical terms
  • Examples include customer motivations, attitudes, preferences and buying habits
  • Quantitative data refers to data that can be expressed in numerical terms
  • This sort of data can be manipulated and analysed using statistical models
  • It tends to be factual examples include:
  • Market share, probable level of sales etc

To access more topics go to the O Level Business Notes