While it is a tool used quite commonly in the marketing mix by many businesses, there surprisingly isn’t a uniform understand of what market research is. The most common understanding of market research is as follows: Marketing research is where a company/business gathers information and researches markets for acceptance of a specific product or service.  Market research can be online or offline and can include different types of social and opinion research about individuals and organizations using a variety of methods and techniques to gain insight.

Market Research Definitions

As mentioned above, there are different definitions of market research and this can result in a business seeing only one aspect of this rather vast field and limiting the scope of market research. Below are some of the more popular definitions of market research:

Wikipedia Definition of Market Research:

Marketing research is “the function that links the consumers, customers, and public to the marketer through information — information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.”

Entrepreneur.com Definition of Market Research:

“The 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.”

American Marketing Association Definition of Market Research:

Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information–information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.

BusinessDirectory.com’s Definition of Market Research:

Market research: identification of a specific market and measurement of its size and other characteristics.

The Free Dictionary’s Definition of Market Research:

The gathering and evaluation of data regarding consumers’ preferences for products and services.

Market Research as Defined by MarketResearchWorld.net

Market Research is a systematic, objective collection and analysis of data about a particular target market, competition, and/or environment. It always incorporates some form of data collection whether it be secondary research (often referred to as desk research) or primary research which is collected direct from a respondent.

The purpose of any market research project is to achieve an increased understanding of the subject matter. With markets throughout the world becoming increasingly more competitive, market research is now on the agenda of many organizations, whether they be large or small.

Investopedia’s definition of Market Research

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. Market research may be conducted by the company itself or by a third-party company that specializes in market research. Test subjects are usually compensated with product samples and/or paid a small stipend for their time.

Common threads in every definition of market research

Whatever definition you choose to adopt, there are many common thoughts contained in most definitions of market research center around:

• It is about information gathering with a specific objective
• It is not about influencing a market, but about studying a market
• It puts the customer at the center of the research
• It does not make any assumptions, but rather gathers information to facilitate data-driven decision making
• It does not define the channel of research and is independent of the tools and techniques used to conduct the market research

Steps in Market Research

Market research is an extremely powerful marketing tool. When done in a scientific and structured way, without assumptions and bias, it can provide a number of benefits to an organization. For it to be meaningful, market research should include the following steps:

• Collect and analyze data: on the market, its needs, demographic, socio-economic and other segmentation, expectations, perceptions about your business and much more.
• Identify and prioritize markets: This data can help businesses identify, define, segment and prioritize the markets and/or market segments they would like to target.
• Quantify & communicate goals & results to stakeholders: Once a business has focused on a market to target, it can define goals, develop strategies, quantify expected and achieved results, and communicate more effectively to stakeholders.
• Measure and track customer relationships: To make market research effective, it is important to act on the findings. When a business takes actions after analyzing the research data, it is also important to track the impact on customer relationships and measure success.

Market Research Services from HMS

Market research can be vital to many aspects of a business. Good market research can help a business develop products and services that the target audience needs; develop marketing plans based on the information and insights gathered in order to reach all potential customers effectively.  Well executed market research can provide key information that can help a business gain advantage over competitors and ensure customer delight. It is a field of specialization — and an area in which HMS has many years’ experience and expertise.

A business can conduct market research using a variety of methods and the outcome can often rest on these decisions.  This is where it makes sense to work with specialists. Our experienced team of marketing and research analysts will provide relevant results to help you assess your specific needs with research beginning with the specific and moving toward the general.

Let HMS partner you for the success of your business by developing and executing your market research needs.