Marketing research - introduction

Author: Jim Riley  Last updated: Sunday 23 September, 2012

To undertake marketing effectively, businesses need information. Information about customer wants, market demand, competitors, distribution channels etc.

Marketers often complain that they lack enough marketing information or the right kind, or have too much of the wrong kind. The solution is an effective marketing information system.

The information needed by marketing managers comes from three main sources:

(1) Internal company information

E.g. sales, orders, customer profiles, stocks, customer service reports etc

(2) Marketing intelligence

This can be information gathered from many sources, including suppliers, customers, distributors. Marketing intelligence is a catch-all term to include all the everyday information about developments in the market that helps a business prepare and adjust its marketing plans. It is possible to buy intelligence information from outside suppliers (e.g. Mintel, Dun & Bradstreet, Mori) who set up data gathering systems to support commercial intelligence products that can be profitably sold to all players in a market.

(3) Market research

Management cannot always wait for information to arrive in bits and pieces from internal sources. Also, sources of market intelligence cannot always be relied upon to provide relevant or up-to-date information (particularly for smaller or niche market segments). In such circumstances, businesses often need to undertake specific studies to support their marketing strategy - this is market research.

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