International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences

March 2014, Vol. 3, No. 2

ISSN: 2226-3624

The Importance of Market Research in Implementing

Marketing Programs
Hamza Ali Al-Shatanawi
School of Business Innovation & technopreneurship
University Malaysia Perlis
Email: [email protected]

Abdullah Osman
School of Business Innovation & technopreneurship
University Malaysia Perlis
Email: [email protected]

Mohd Suberi Ab Halim

School of Business Innovation & technopreneurship
University Malaysia Perlis
Email: [email protected]

DOI: 10.6007/IJAREMS/v3-i2/790 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJAREMS/v3-i2/790

Abstract
This study provided a deep understanding of the market research and the process which
involved and participated in achieving the needed goals. This study also discussed the role of
research in building & implementing successful marketing programs. As well as it explained the
role of marketing research and its importance in taking the decisions, also we will not forget
that this study gave the needed and how we can apply market research on our business.

Keywords: market research, marketing program, market challenge

1.0 Introduction
Marketing is a restless, changing, and dynamic business activity. The role of marketing itself has
changed dramatically due to various crises—material and energy shortages, inflation, economic
recessions, high unemployment, dying industries, dying companies, terrorism and war, and
effects due to rapid technological changes in certain industries. Such changes, including the
Internet, have forced today’s marketing executive to becoming more market driven in their
strategic decision-making, requiring a formalized means of acquiring accurate and timely
information about customers, products and the marketplace and the overall environment. The
means to help them do this is marketing research.

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2.0 What is Research?

Research is a systematic and objective investigation of a subject or problem in order to discover
relevant information or principles. It can be considered to be either primarily fundamental or
applied in nature. Fundamental research, frequently called basic or pure research, seeks to
extend the boundaries of knowledge in a given area with no necessary immediate application to
existing problems, for example, the development of a research method that would be able to
predict what people will be like x years in the future. In contrast, applied research, also known
as decisional research, attempts to use existing knowledge to aid in the solution of some given
problem or set of problems (Chintagunta, Nair & Sukumar, 2009).
Marketing research assists in the overall management of the marketing function. A marketing
manager must prioritize the more important and pressing problems selected for solution, reach
the best possible solution based on the information available, implement the solution, modify
the solution when additional information so dictates, and establish policy to act as a ready-
made solution for any recurrence of the problem (Danaher, Hardie & Putsis, 2001). As suggested
by Goeree (2008), marketing research often focuses on understanding the “Customer”
(purchasers, consumers, influencers), the “Company” (product design, promotion, pricing,
placement, service, sales), and can also be expanded toward the environment to include
“Competitors” (and how their market offerings interact in the market environment).

3.0 Market Research Definitions:

Market research is a process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a

market, about a product or service to be offered for sale in that market, and about the past,
present and potential customers for the product or service; research into the characteristics,
spending habits, location and needs of your business's target market, the industry as a whole,
and the particular competitors you face (Gupta & Benedett & 2007). Market research provides
relevant data to help solve marketing challenges that a business will most likely face--an
integral part of the business planning process. In fact, strategies such as market segmentation
(identifying specific groups within a market) and product differentiation (creating an identity for
a product or service that separates it from those of the competitors) are impossible to develop
without market research (Nevo, 2001). The process of assessing the viability of a new product
or service through techniques such as surveys, product testing and focus groups.
Market research allows a company to discover who their target market is and what these
consumers think about a product or service before it becomes available to the public van den &
Joshi (2007). Market research may be conducted by the company itself or by a third-party
company that specializes in market research. Therefore, market of marketing research is to
acquisition and processing of primary and secondary data information about customers
attitude and behavior and also product demand (McDonald, 2002). The purpose of marketing
research as proposed by van, Fok & Stremersch, (2009) is as follows:
3.1 Purpose of marketing research:
 To gain an understanding of markets
 To identify changes in the market
 To Improve market awareness

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ISSN: 2226-3624

 To gain an understanding of customer needs

 To reduce the risk and uncertainty
 To anticipate /forecast market trends
 To provide a sound basis for marketing decisions.

4.0 Qualitative and quantitative Market Research

The distinction between primary and secondary research is the different sources of market
information. There are different method of market research is to consider qualitative or
quantitative.
4.1 Qualitative research
Qualitative market research means "quality." Conversely, and importantly, it does not mean
"quantity." Qualitative research methods are designed to talk to a relatively few people in the
target audience of interest. The purpose of qualitative research is to plumb the depths and
range of buyer attitudes and beliefs, not to measure incidence, project, or forecast quantity
(Barabba & Gerald, 1991).
Popular qualitative market research methods include focus group studies, depth interviews
triads (one interviewer, two respondents, and dyads (one interviewer, one respondent,) and
observational techniques such as ethnography and, popular in marketing research, photo
ethnography (Creswell, 2003). Qualitative market research methods refer to "market survey"
method because they offer a way to measure the market, again, in terms of depth and range of
buyer perceptions and needs rather than quantity. Often market researchers and clients
succumb to the temptation to inappropriately impute quantitative implications and projections
based on this type of market survey. The quality and validity of market surveys is driven by the
design, interviewing experience of the moderator or principal interviewer, and the
interpretation of results by the market research consultant or marketing analyst.
Qualitative research is based on opinions, attitudes, beliefs and intentions. This kind of
research deals with questions such as “Why”? “Would?”, or “How?”. Qualitative research aims
to understand why customers behave in a certain way or how they may respond to a new
product. Given that these opinions are often obtained from small numbers of people, the
findings are not necessarily statistically valid. However, such data can highlight potential issues
which can be explored in quantitative research. Focus groups and interviews are common
methods used to collect qualitative data. The data is often revealing and useful, but it is costly
and time-consuming to collect, particularly for a start-up or small business (Creswell, 2003).
4.2 Quantitative research
Quantitative market research methods attempt to gauge quantity. Using a range of sampling
strategies, quantitative market research methods seek to project results of a quantitative
market survey to the entire marketplace. Popular quantitative market survey methods include
online surveys, personal quantitative interviews, mail surveys, and telephone surveys.
Combinations of these marketing research survey tools are referred to as "hybrid" research
methods Hair, Bush & Ortinau (2006). The data collection technique through phone, face to
face interviews, web interviews, traditional mail surveys and will based on marketing research
objective, time and quality issues (Creswell, 1994).

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Normally, this is research based on larger samples for more statistically valid. Quantitative
research is concerned with data and addresses question such as “how many?”, “how often”,
“who?”, “when?” and “where?”. The results of quantitative research will generally be numerical
form, such as:
 35 percent of customers rate the new product as “attractive”
 70 percent of potential customers use the Internet to buy their hotel accommodation
 3 out of 5 customers will buy a new food product after being offered a free in-store
sample

5.0 Market Research Methods

There are two types of collecting data, primary data and secondary data. Secondary data are
data that were previously collected for some other project. This type of data is easily accessible,
relatively inexpensive, quickly obtained and is useful when it is not feasible for the firm to
collect primary data, for example a population census. Therefore the examination of secondary
data is a prerequisite to the collection of primary data. However, due to the fact that secondary
data was collected for some other purpose, their usefulness to the problem at hand may be
limited. Primary data may be qualitative or quantitative in nature (Jarowski, Kohli & Arvind,
2000).

5.1 Why do Market Research

Market research is important for every business, and should not be just a one-off activity.
Successful businesses conduct research on a continual basis to keep up with market trends and
to maintain a competitive edge. Regardless of whether you’re starting or expanding your
business, market research is vital to understanding your target market and increasing sales
(Oud, 2004). Several issues need to highlight before a market research to be implemented. The
issues are as follows:

 Identify potential customers

Who is going to use your product/service? How old are they? Are they male or female?
Are they married, single or divorced? Do they have children? Where do they live? What
is their level of education? (Barabba & Gerald, 1991).
 Understanding your existing customers
Why do customers choose your product over competitors? What do they value? Is it
service, product quality or the prestige associated with consuming your
product/service? Who influences their buying decision? What magazines do they read?
What websites do they visit? What do they enjoy doing?
 Set realistic targets
From the information you collect you’ll be able to set realistic targets for areas such as
growth, sales and the introduction of new products/services.
 Develop effective strategies
From your research you’ll be able to make informed marketing decisions about how to
price your product/service, how to distribute your product/service, which media

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channels to use (eg: newspaper, radio or direct marketing) or whether to develop a new
product/service. It will also help you make an informed decision about starting, building,
consolidating, diversifying or reducing business activity.
 Examine and solve business problems
If you’ve identified a business problem, research will help you work out what is
happening. For example, if your sales have fallen you might discover that brand
awareness has also fallen, or that a new competitor has entered the market or a
substitute product has become available.
 Prepare for business expansion
Research will help you identify areas for expansion and test the market’s readiness for a
new product/service. For example you could be looking to open a new retail store and
you need to find the right location or you could plan to make changes to your
distribution channels (eg: from home parties to retail) and need to determine how that
will affect your customer base.
 Identify business opportunities.
Your research could identify new business opportunities. You may find an un-serviced or
under-serviced market. You could identify changing market trends such as population
shifts, increasing levels of education or leisure time which bring new opportunities
(Barabba & Gerald, 1991).

5.2 Successful Market Research:

Market research helps you understand your market, your customers, your competitors and
industry trends. High-quality research will reveal details about your current customers and will
help you target new customers (Balmer & John, 2001). For example, to operate an organic
produce market, it is important to find out if there is a demand for food grown without
pesticides and whether customers will afford or willing pays more. Market research involves
two types of data that shown on Fig. 1.

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ISSN: 2226-3624

Fig. 1. Types of Data

Source: Balmer & John, 2001

6.0 The importance of Market Research:

Market research focuses your marketing strategy on potential customers that want your
product. Small and local businesses may find researching their market easier than large,
nationwide businesses because their customer base is smaller. Timely information reduces
business risks and helps spot sales opportunities. It is important that to identify current
challenges and potential problems in the current market, a proper plan and strategy need to be
to develop.

This will helps a marketer understand market, customers, competitors, and industry trends.
High-quality research will reveal details about present customers and this will help the new
operator to target their new customers. For example, Coca-Cola's introduce new product,
branded New Coke in the 1980s. Coke revised the formula of its traditional brand of soft drink
and lost millions in sales. As a result the product was not been accepted by consumer and this
demonstrate Coca Cola failed to conduct detail market research. Therefore, if a proper study is
conducted and determine the need and wants of new formula, Coke will be survived more
better (Dekeba & Alemayehu. 2003).
7.0 Market Research Challenges
There are several challenges in conducting market research. This challenge is proposed by
Dekeba & Alemayehu. 2003) which involved the following:
 Objectives are unclear, leading to conflicting or unrealistic expectations. This often is
due to imprecise or too many goals.
 Consumer cannot easily express how they feel.
 Sometimes data providers are not strategic advisors.

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 Sample has quality issues (participants are not sufficiently qualified or authenticated, or
do not pay adequate attention), or needed sample size is unmet.
 Instrument is poorly designed. Long, complicated questionnaire design (or rambling
discussion guides for focus groups or in-depth interviews) confuses participants with
awkward question sequences and poor answer options.
 Data analysis is conducted with more attention to techniques than results; either the
choice of analytics is poor or is misaligned with client needs.
 Poor matching of methodology and customer needs (incorrect use of qualitative or
quantitative methods).
 Schedules slip significantly; research is completed too late to support intended
decisions.
 Internal clients unable to apply the research as originally intended; “action-ability” of
research.
 Programming (for online or telephone data collection) is done hastily, and questionnaire
logic is not enforced nor approved by client. Entire questions are missing, and answer
options are not properly presented.
 Research report may contain egregious errors.
 Client-agency relationship is unproductive or strained, causing miscommunication and
conflicts.

8.0 Who is responsible for performing market research?

 Participation will vary based on the organization and types of supplies or services
needed.
 A wide range of consumer may participate in market research, based on their area of
expertise.
 A team approach may be best since many functional areas may need to be gathered
during market research, the team may be composed of: Project Officers, End Users,
Technical Specialists, Logistics Specialists, Scientific Researchers, Testing Specialists, Cost
Analysts, Legal Counsel, Contract Specialists, and Contracting Officers.
 Conserve energy and time by making sure the individual responsible for the operational
requirement is on the team.

9.0 Results and recommendations:

The appropriate steps for market research based on Creswell (1994), as shown on Fig. 2.

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ISSN: 2226-3624

Fig. 2. Steps in Markets Research

 Define the Objective & Problem

Perhaps the most important step in the market research process is defining the goals of
the project. At the core of this understands the root question that needs to be informed
by market research. There is typically a key business problem (or opportunity) that
needs to be acted upon, but there is a lack of information to make that decision
comfortably; the job of a market researcher is to inform that decision with solid data
(Bakery, 2006).

 Determine Research Design

The second step is objective of research. This involved type of research and duration to
collect primary data. Proper research design need to be plan and this will involve survey,
focus group and other variables.

 Design & Prepare Research Instrument

In this step of the market research process, it’s time to design research tool.

 Data Collection
This is the important dimension/step that will involve administering research question,
and observations through collection and recording questionnaires.

 Analyze Data
Once data had been collected, it needs to analyze. The process may involve the
statistical tool such as SPSS, SEM or Rasch technique.

 Visualize Data and Communicate Results

The result of the finding will help an individual or industry to identify the possible
solution to overcome any shortcoming before the product or service to be introduce.

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10. The best practices to deal and benefit from market research:

 Describe what have learned from the market research finding. The standard business
provisions and conditions used, such as terms, payment, delivery, warranties,
acceptance, and payment terms. Thus range of prices, fair price, Competition vs. non-
competitive, sources, leading edge of technology, availability, lead times, new product
or service.

 Summarize trade studies, cost/benefit, or other analyses that influenced the outcome of
the market research.

 Include results of any ongoing market research.

 State if commercial products or services or non-developmental items solutions exist.

 Summarize how a fair price will be determined, including consideration of customary

terms and conditions such as payment, freight delivery, acceptance, warranties,
performance standards and training.

 Discuss how the original requirement was restated to commercial or non-

developmental items to satisfy the Government’s policy.

 Discuss the impact of market research on the acquisition strategy.

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