Differentiating Market and Marketing Research
Just the phrase market research can make daunting and overwhelming for a lot of people, but understanding what it is and why it’s important you can help you grow or even save your business. Many people do not understand that there is a difference in market research and marketing research. Let’s differentiate the two.
Market research is when you have identified a specific “target market” and you are delving into the behaviour and psyche of that target market.
In other words, its research into a very narrow group of consumers.
Marketing research is different – it is dealing with a broader range of consumers. Marketing research includes “market” research, but it also delves into new product research and distribution methods. So it is important to understand that marketing research is really about researching the marketing process of a company, not just who they are targeting.
Marketing research usually includes the following steps:
- Problem definition: The problem is the focus of your research. Example: Why are sales soaring in the north, but dismal in other parts of the country?
- Data collection: How will you collect the data that you will need to solve the problem? Will you use online surveys, telephone calls or focus groups? Decision needs to be made.
- Sample method: Sampling represents those you will collect information from. Will it be a random sampling, a sampling that contains a similar element or a natural sampling?
- Data analysis: Analysis is key. How will you analyse the data? Will you use software or do it manually? How accurate do the results need to be?
- Budget and timeframe: How much are you willing to spend on the research and how soon must the research be complete?
There are many factors to consider before designing and launching your own market or marketing analysis. And even though two of them differ in nature and scope, both of them share one common goal: provide you with more knowledge and improve the fortunes of your company. Don’t neglect that.