The significance of market research
The importance of market research for marketing management is like the reconnaissance for military command. Do not do systematic and objective market research and forecasting, only based on experience or incomplete information, to make all kinds of marketing decisions is very dangerous, but also very backward behavior.
Specifically, the importance of market research on marketing management in five areas.
1, to provide information as a basis for decision-making;
2, to make up for the shortcomings of the lack of information;
3, to understand the external information;
4, to understand the changes in the market environment;
5, to understand the new market environment;
As an important link in the marketing activities, market research provides consumers with the opportunity to express their opinions. Opinions, so that they can put their own views on the product or service, the idea of timely feedback to the enterprise or supplier. Through market research, can let the product production or provide services to the enterprise to understand the consumer on the product or service quality evaluation, expectations and ideas.
Classification of market research
Contains different classification directions, in the classification of methodological attributes, including quantitative research, qualitative research, in the field of research, can be divided into channel research or retail research, media and advertising research, product research, pricing research, etc.; in the industry attributes can be divided into commercial and industrial research; as well as for ethnic minorities and special groups of the study, public opinion surveys and relatively independent research such as desktop (case-face) research.
Along with the development of the Internet and the application of new technologies, market research often collects information and processes data with the help of professional online surveys.
Companies in the market research problems in general:
Market research is a lot of small and medium-sized marketing managers feel confused about the problem: manpower, there is no full-time market research staff, but also no independent market sector; financial resources, can not afford to hire a professional market research company? And market research work can not do, do not know who you want to please the object is who, what he is thinking, what to do; do not know how their competitors are doing or will do.
Functional role of market research
The function of market research is to get what results can be obtained through market research, mainly in the following three aspects:
One is to collect and state the facts (to obtain feedback on market information, you can provide decision makers with information about the current market and conduct marketing activities on the line);
The second is to explain the information or activities ( Understand the reasons for the formation of the current market conditions and some of the influencing factors);
Third, the predictive function (through the past market information to speculate on the possible market development changes).
The role of market research mainly depends on how the user to use the results of the research, mainly in the following aspects play a role.
(1) By understanding and analyzing the market information provided, you can avoid mistakes in the development of marketing strategy, or can help marketing decision makers to understand the current marketing strategy and marketing activities, in order to make appropriate recommendations. Only the actual understanding of the market situation can be targeted to develop marketing strategies and business development strategies.
In the case of business management and related personnel to make decisions on certain issues, such as product strategy, pricing strategy, distribution strategy, advertising and promotion strategy development.
Usually have to understand the situation and consider the problem is multi-faceted, mainly: the enterprise product sales in what market is better, there is the potential for development; in which specific market is expected to sell the number of how much; how to expand the enterprise product sales; how to grasp the sales price of the product; how to set the price of the product to ensure that sales and profits in both up; how to How to organize product marketing, sales costs will be how much, and so on.
These issues are only through specific market research, can get a specific answer, and only through market research to come to a specific answer as the basis for business decision-making. Otherwise, it will form a blind and detached from the actual decision-making, and blindness often means failure and loss.
(2) Provide correct market information, you can understand the possible trends of the market as well as the potential purchase motives and needs of consumers, to help marketers to identify the most profitable market opportunities, to provide new opportunities for the development of enterprises
The development of market competition is increasingly intense and constantly changing, and prompted by the market to change for a number of reasons, in the product, price, Distribution, advertising, sales and other market factors and related political, economic, cultural, geographical conditions and other market environment factors. These two types of factors are often interlinked and interact with each other, and constantly changing.
Enterprises in order to adapt to this change, only through extensive market research, timely understanding of the various market factors and changes in the market environment factors, so as to take targeted measures, through the market factors, such as price, product structure, advertising and other adjustments to cope with market competition.
For enterprises, the ability to understand the market changes in a timely manner, and to take appropriate measures to respond is the key to winning.
(3) Help to understand the current development of related industries and technical experience, to improve the enterprise's business activities to provide information
Today's world, the rapid development of science and technology, new inventions, new creations, new technologies and new products come out of the endless, ever-changing. This technological progress is naturally reflected in the commodity market in the form of products. Through market research, we can get the data and information that help us to understand the market economic dynamics and scientific and technological information in a timely manner, to provide enterprises with the latest market intelligence and technical production intelligence, in order to better learn and absorb the advanced experience of the same industry and the latest technology, improve the production technology, improve the technical level of personnel, improve the level of management of enterprises, so as to improve the quality of the product, accelerate product Upgrade, enhance the competitiveness of products and enterprises, to protect the survival and development of enterprises.
(4) The overall publicity strategy needs to provide information and support for the enterprise's market position and product publicity
Market publicity and promotion of the need to understand a variety of information dissemination channels and dissemination mechanisms, in order to find the appropriate publicity and promotion of the carrier and the way as well as the detailed marketing plan, which also requires market research to solve, especially in the high-speed change of the environment, the past experience can only reduce the This also requires market research, especially in a fast-changing environment, where past experience only reduces the chance of making mistakes, and real-time information updating is needed to ensure that publicity and promotion are in place. Usually in the market publicity and promotion of also need to cite the strong institutions of the market information support, such as consumer recognition, brand awareness, satisfaction, market share, etc. to provide the advantages of the enterprise information to meet the needs of further.
(5) The information obtained through market research, in addition to understanding the market situation, but also can be predicted on the market trend, so that you can plan ahead of time on the enterprise's response to make plans and arrangements to take full advantage of market changes, from which to seek the interests of the enterprise. The report predicts that in the next 10 years, the development of China's newspaper industry will show eight major trends: the intensive level of newspaper publishing will be significantly increased; the newspaper industry's fourth growth cycle is coming; the central party newspapers and provincial party newspapers will establish the leadership of the high-end mainstream broadsheets; the development mode of metropolitan newspapers will be a major transformation; the industry's professional newspapers will generally set up a resource-centered view; ? Digital Newspaper Industry will change the shape of the traditional newspaper industry; professional newspapers and professional newspaper managers will accelerate the formation of groups; overseas newspaper market will become a new space for development. A few days ago, 2013 real estate market continues to be active, the first 11 months of real estate development investment has exceeded last year's total, a year-on-year growth rate of 19.5%. Previously intensively introduced real estate control policies were also digested by the market, active rigid demand to promote the residential market volume and price. In order to cool down the market, the end of the year, the first and second tier cities have introduced local control policies, including strict restrictions on purchases, increase the proportion of down payment of the second suite. It is expected that the regulation of the residential market will continue in the short term.
The steps of the market research process
1. Determine the need for market research
2. Define the problem
3. Determine the research objectives
4. Determine the research design
5. Determine the type and source of information
6. Determine the collection of information
7. Questionnaire design
<8. Determine the sampling plan and sample size9. Collect information
10. Analyze the information
11. Write the research report
Research process: research plan writing? Research questionnaire design? Research questionnaire implementation? Collection and organization of questionnaires? Data analysis? Research Report Writing