Scope of marketing research
The scope of marketing research encompasses various areas that help businesses and organizations make informed decisions and drive growth. Here's an in-depth explanation of the five key areas:
1. Product Research
Product means the goods and services which are sold to the consumers. It includes consumer products and industrial products. Product research studies the individual product. It studies the making and marketing of the product. It studies the colour, size, shape, quality, packaging, brand name and price of the product. It also deals with product modification, product innovation, product life cycle, etc. The product is modified (changed) as per the needs and wants of the consumers. Therefore, the product will not fail in the market.
2. Sales Research:
Sales research studies the selling activities of the company. It focuses on understanding sales processes, performance, and optimization. It helps businesses identify effective sales strategies, tactics, and channels to reach customers. Sales research includes:
- Sales forecasting and analysis
- Sales force effectiveness and optimization
- Sales channel management and selection
- Sales performance metrics and benchmarking
3. Customer Research:
Explores customer behaviors, preferences, needs, and satisfaction. It helps businesses understand their target audience, build strong relationships, and develop effective marketing strategies. Customer research includes:
- Customer segmentation and profiling
- Customer needs and preferences analysis
- Customer satisfaction and loyalty measurement
- Customer journey mapping and experience optimization
4. Pricing Research:
Pricing Research studies the pricing of the product. It examines pricing strategies, tactics, and optimization. It helps businesses determine optimal prices for their products or services, balancing revenue goals with customer affordability and perceived value.
Pricing research includes:
- selects a suitable method of pricing
- It fixes the price for the product
- It compares the company's price with the competitor's price.
- It also fixes the discount and commission which are given to middlemen.
- It studies the market price trends.
- It also studies the future price trends.
5. Advertising Research:
Advertising research studies the advertising of the product. It fixes the advertising objectives. It also fixes the advertising budget. It decides about the advertising message, layout, copy, slogan, headline, etc. It selects suitable media for advertising. It also evaluates the effectiveness of advertising and other sales promotion techniques.
6. Distribution Research
Distribution research studies the channels of distribution. It selects a suitable channel for the product. It fixes the channel objectives. It identifies the channel functions like storage, grading, etc. It evaluates the competitor's channel.
7. International Marketing Research
International marketing research studies the foreign market. It collects data about consumers from foreign countries. It collects data about the economic and political situation of different countries. It also collects data about the foreign competitors. This data is very useful for the exporters.
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