The Need for Market Research in Contemporary Business Environment - Essay Example

?Business Research and Consulting: the Need for Market Research in Contemporary Business Environment ID Abstract The ever empowered customer and the growing trends in consumerism and consumer culture have triggered the need for consistent research and analysis among businesses today. Research and analysis assists researchers and sponsors in paving road maps to the future of the organizations in a calculated manner. Research provides solid grounds and rationales to the organizations to lay down their plan of action. Validity, credibility and precession are keys to success in research and various methods have been discussed in this paper that enables the researchers in getting the best out of their research processes. Existing works of authors and scholars have been consulted in this paper to determine the best practices in research analytics in order to make the outcomes of research more meaningful and credible for the researchers and other stakeholders. Introduction The research is descriptive and a blend of qualitative and quantitative research styles. Going for a blend of both is understood as preferable because it will lead to a much more comprehensive study of the problem statement and would also allow doing a detailed analysis before the conclusion is reached. In today’s fast moving world, where the customers have become so powerful that if they dislike a particular product then it doesn’t really matter how good the product was, the role of research has become even more significant (McBurney, 2009). The prevalent rules of consumerism and consumer culture have made it ever more difficult for the companies to decide upon the product strategy. It’s not about dominance in the marketplace anymore. It’s about survival, and with customer as the boss, only the fittest will survive. Companies that are close to the hearts and minds of the customers are those that identify and understand customer demands and then fulfil them in accordance with the customer criteria (Lodziak, 2002). The Need for Research in Today’s World It has not taken too long for the companies across the spectrum to recognize the necessity to conduct timely researches and stay acquainted and abreast with the changes in the consumer behaviour over time. Today the customers demand the best worth out of each penny that they spend and this is because of the growing globalization and the increasing competition. Today customers have as many alternatives for a single product as they never have had in the past. This phenomenon has empowered the customers to a great extent and has given rise to the need for research. Companies spend major chunks of their budgets on research today. Research does not only reveal facts about customer psyche but also guide the researchers and the sponsors to the gaps and unidentified niches in the market, thus opening new horizons of opportunities and profitability to be taken advantage of (Stearns, 2006). Research outcomes serve as guidelines to the researchers in order to lay down a road map for future decision making of the business/organization. In today’s’ world businesses cannot afford to base their decisions on gut feeling and guesses. It’s time to be precise and accurate. The cause and effect relationship needs to be studied while making even the smallest of decisions. Research provides the decision makers to base their decision making on solid basis and rational grounds. The outcomes of researches help businesses build strategies and also monitor the anticipated performance by comparing it with the actual and studying the lapses incurred and the probable corrective measures that can be adopted before it’s too late (Sekaran, 2010). Dependable and solid outcomes do not come voluntarily in fact research is a whole world of technical analysis and execution and thus it is required to be conducted in great depth with a predetermined plan and objective in mind. Research is a delicate and sensitive art, because the outcomes of research are used for future decision making and well being of the organization as well as the community. So to do justice with research and ensure its outcomes are fruitful to all the stakeholders, in one way or the other, various sophisticated methods are employed to carry out a premium research (Shop, 2006). Research Types Provided the intriguing and complex market situation the research must be flawless, reliable and relevant to the requirements of the company. To ensure that the research is equipped with precession and accuracy various research methodologies and types have been developed by researchers over time (Hawkins, 2011). The types of research can be broadly categorized into two main forms, primary and secondary. Each type of research and its significance to the outcomes of research and its relevance to a given scenario are discussed at length in the sections to follow, Primary Research The first hand data that is collected through observations, focus groups, personal interviews, telephone interviews and self administered questionnaire is referred to as Primary research. This is to provide the research originality and increases its validity. The collection of data through primary resources actually enhances the credibility of the research as it sometimes lead to conclusions which were unexpected to be observed. Thus this method tends to be more reliable as it gives the one-on-one information which is more current and capable to better predict the future requirements (Northouse, 2009). In order to make the most of this method one needs to clearly identify the objective and overall purpose of the research followed by the careful understanding of all the dimensions and variable associated. Until and unless these variables are identifies the questionnaire for the survey cannot be prepared. Thus observation and focus groups play an important role in identifying the variables and therefore this is where from which the research starts (Davies, 2007). Primary research can serve as a significant tool when it comes to finding answers to unique problems and dilemmas, things that have never occurred in the past. Real and life time activities can be conducted in order to identify the original response of the target audiences (Davies, 2007). Focus groups for primary research can be conducted by taking small segments of representative target populations on board and discussing with them the problem at length to identify unexplored dimensions of the problem. Focus groups usually form part of exploratory research. At this stage the researchers try to clarify the scope of their research and define boundaries to their work. Exploratory research aids researchers in further examination of the situation and to develop a better understanding of the scenario by taking the concerned population on board directly (Collis, 2003). Focus groups assist the researchers in proceeding further with the research and taking it to various levels and stages. This phase also assists the researchers in getting through technical processes of the primary research and this includes designing of the questionnaire, deciding upon the possible queries, selecting demographics for the research, target audience to be focused upon and other basic ingredients that are required to make the outcomes of the research meaningful, valid and reliable (Levi, 2007). Besides Focus groups, interviews are another method employed while conducting primary research. In order to seek the view of industry experts and professionals a focus group within marketers and industry specialists can be conducted to understand the needs and requirements as well and to understand what factors matter them the most when they pursue a medium to advertise or disseminate product information. On the basis of findings from the observations collected and focus groups conducted a survey questionnaire is designed to probe the target audience and this brings both the marketers and the customers on the same page of the book so that a connection can be identified (Brown, 2001). Questionnaires shall be distributed among a sample of target audience to gather their responses. Three methods of questionnaire data collection are used. One is to randomly distribute the questionnaires among target audience groups directly. This is an effective method but has certain limitations as well (Dawson, 2009). The respondents shall feel shy or influenced by the presence of researchers and peers while responding to the research questions and shall submit responses that are either biased or false (Kumar, 2010). This phenomenon shall disturb the outcomes and objectives of the research. Telephonic survey is also considered a viable option so to avoid discrepancies mentioned (Miles, 1998). With the benefits like current, validity, reliable and objective focused there are certain limitations and reservations to the primary research as well. Firstly it is a time consuming process, since the participant volunteer to take part in the research and fill away the questionnaires thus it is difficult to tie them up to a certain time limits. Secondly it is an expensive way of data collection other than the emailed ones. Telephonic questionnaires and getting the hard copies filled needs money to be injected to the process (Hogg, 2008). Thirdly and most importantly there will always be certain unavoidable biases of the respondents and thus questionnaire is such designed that it minimizes the incorporation of those biases. Lastly but of course not the least, it cannot be assumed that all the respondents will be able to understand the questionnaire completely and even very intelligently designed questionnaires can be misunderstood by the respondent and thus an extra chunk of questionnaires is filled to back any discrepancies (Creswell, 2008). Validity According to Cook and Campbell (1979) validity is the best available approximation to the truth. They further elaborate validity as falseness or inaccuracy of an existing inference or conclusion. To make sure that the research is valid, non probability judgmental sampling focusing on people who are associated to the marketing industry ensuring that an optimum mix of people from different geographic areas must be used in the research (Dana, 2000). Besides this the research must be a mix of multi method approach using both questionnaires and one on one interview to strengthen the validity of the research. Responses from an eligible representative population of the target population shall be taken to increase the validity of responses and to make the research a strong and reliable work (Dane, 2010). Reliability The consistency of responses is called reliability and it is the measure of authenticity of the research (Carmines and Zeller, 1979). According to Robson (2002) the major causes of unreliability are either the errors and biasness of the respondent or error and biasness of the observer. In order to make sure that the research is reliable interviews must be conducted in extreme privacy to avoid any interventions that could have conked out the focus of the respondent. The pilot testing of the questionnaire should also be conducted before the actual survey in order to minimize any misunderstandings of questions and the data collected through the questionnaires must be rechecked all over again, respondents should take part voluntarily and there shouldn’t be any coercion (McNiff, 2011). Secondary Research It is the sorting out of existing information through available resources about the subject. In order to answer the research question or even to create the question it is important to know that whether this question has been raised in past or not and if it was then what are the available solutions to it. Is there any further requirement to explore the topic or was there any which was left veiled or untouched when the research was initially done. It is important to know how much has already been done on the subject so that the researcher can identify a road map of what is to be achieved and how can it be achieved (Thornton, 2010). The sources of secondary data can be paper based as well as electronic. Paper Based sources include newspapers, magazines, books, journals, abstracts, articles, research papers, directories, internal records, governmental data and data gathered by various research companies. Electronic data includes online databases, websites, blogs, online journals and portals, CD ROMs, videos and broadcasts etc. Secondary research has various benefits like it is easily and widely accessible and advent of online libraries and internet services data can be easily accessed in no time. It is really a cost efficient method. It clarifies the research question and help narrow down the research topic by providing all the existing research on the subject. Besides these it also has some disadvantages like the quality of the research is questionable, may be methods followed and the processes undertaken are not up to date. May be although the work is relevant to the subject but has no connection to the area on which the current topic is based on (Katzenbach, 2005). Sometimes the information provided is incomplete and requires a lot of further improvement and exploration to verify the information and further process it to make usable. One of the most critical drawbacks is the outdated information secondary research results in, it tends to create confusion because with increased globalization information keeps on changing with every passing moment and thus there is an increased need of up to date information (Blaxter, 2006). Research Limitations No matter how comprehensive the design of a research is and no matter how professional and expert the researchers were, there are certain aspects that tend to limit the accuracy and outcomes of the research, these aspects and barriers are known as limitations (Berger, 2011). Most common types of limitations include, Time: Lack of time as gathering data both through primary and secondary resources is a tedious as well as a time consuming task. Since data gathering is a phase that involves interaction of the researchers with the target audience therefore it is not very likely that both the parties will be in a position to meet the demands of time on a mutual agreeable instance. Sometimes the researcher and on other occasions the respondents are running short of time and this results in hampering the data collection process (Shipman, 1998). Data Interpretation: The analysis and interpretation of data can also be subjected to hindrance. The usage of various scales and techniques such as the Likert’s scale shall make the analysis of research a technical and tedious task (Forsyth, 2009). Quantifying subjectivity is the main concern at the hands of the researchers and analysis of subjectivity shall vary from one researcher to another. Bearing this in mind a mutual consensus shall be developed among the research analysts to allocate certain weights and interpretations to responses, even before they are gathered (Bangura, 1992) Human Error: Since analyses of the collected data entails usage and application of various soft-wares and programs such as excel sheets and SPSS to draw the graphs and charts therefore there is a probability that certain unavoidable human errors could occur in data recording. Some human errors are also expected on account of respondents who are scattered and not in a unified region (Brooks, 2009). Small Sample Size: Due to limited time and scare resources, a limited number of respondents are usually taken onboard to participate in the research and represent the whole lot of population. Sample size and its determination is one of the key factors that determine the credibility and validity of the research findings. The sample shall be selected bearing in mind that it represents the target population and that the findings and the outcomes obtained, can be generalized over the entire target population (Dawson, 2005). Scarcity of Secondary Data: Necessary records, publication may not be available. This constraint may narrow the scope of the research. This is particularly of great significance as collecting secondary data is one of the primary steps taken by the researchers to define the scope of their probation. If the problem is not well addressed in the past then the researchers will have to define the boundaries in accordance to their own judgment and this is where human errors also come into play (Badke, 2011). Conclusion Increasing globalization has transformed the world in to a “global village” marketing plays an important role in surviving the contemporary issues in today’s dynamic and challenging business environment marketing. With taut competition and ever increasing risk of substitutes the communication strategy of a brand turns out to be the only tool that can mark it an edge and set it apart from others. It is the communication strategy that controls the power to make or break all the efforts of the forecasting and planning teams (McIntyre, 2003). With the advancement of technology and emergence of the concept of consumerism to the surface, customers have become ever more dominant and powerful in the marketplace. Nowadays all the companies shed off myopic ideas and try to incorporate consumer’s will in the decision making process. This is particularly important because customer satisfaction is the ultimate objective that leads to profitability and endurance in organizations. To attain stability, organizations spend millions of dollars today on their Research and Development departments to get the best and most accurate knowledge regarding consumer behaviour and expectations. This knowledge and information is utilized by organizations in improving their processes to meet the demands and requirements of the customers and thus deliver a “wow experience” every time the customer interacts with the offering (Berger, 2011). In other words, this shall not be exaggeration to state that, research is one of the key pillars to success of an organization, in the contemporary market dimensions. Any idea or tactic backed up by research findinngs is more durable and dependable then something that is implemented out of the blue. Research does not only assist organizations in deciding which route to success shall be adopted, in fact contingency measures and sporadic adjustments to deviations and evaluation of the implementation are some of the broad areas that are addressed at length by researches (Thornton, 2010). References Abdul Karim Bangura, 1992. The Limitations of Survey Research Methods in Assessing the Problem of Minority Student Retention in Higher Education (Distinguished Dissertations). Edwin Mellen Pr. Christian Berger, 2011. Influence of peer group norms on aggression in early adolescence. Edition. ProQuest, UMI Dissertation Publishing. Christine Thornton, 2010. Group and Team Coaching: The Essential Guide (Essential Coaching Skills and Knowledge). 1 Edition. Routledge. Conrad Lodziak, 2002. The Myth of Consumerism. Pluto Press. Daniel Dana, 2000. Conflict Resolution. 1 Edition. McGraw-Hill. Daniel J. Levi, 2007. Group Dynamics for Teams. 2nd Edition. Sage Publications, Inc. Donald H. McBurney, 2009. Research Methods (Examples & Explanations Series). 8th Edition. Wadsworth Publishing. Donelson R. Forsyth, 2009. Group Dynamics. 5 Edition. Wadsworth Publishing. Dr Catherine Dawson, 2009. Introduction to Research Methods: A Practical Guide for Anyone Undertaking a Research Project. 4 Edition. How to Books. Francis C. Dane, 2010. Evaluating Research: Methodology for People Who Need to Read Research. Sage Publications, Inc. Ian Brooks, 2009. Organizational Behaviour: Individuals, Groups and Organisation. 4 Edition. Prentice Hall. Jean McNiff, 2011. All You Need to Know About Action Research. Second Edition. Sage Publications Ltd. Jill Collis, 2003. Business Research. 2nd Edition. Palgrave Macmillan. John W. Creswell, 2008. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 3rd Edition. Sage Publications, Inc. Jon R. Katzenbach, 2005. The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization. Edition. McGraw-Hill. Lisa McIntyre, 2003. Need to Know: Social Science Research Methods. 1 Edition. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages. Lorraine Blaxter, 2006. How to Research. 3 Edition. Open University Press. M. D. Shipman, 1998. The Limitations of Social Research (Longman Social Research Series). 4 Sub Edition. Longman Pub Group. Martin Brett Davies, 2007. Doing a Successful Research Project: Using Qualitative or Quantitative Methods. Palgrave Macmillan. Michael A. Hogg, 2008. Social Psychology. 5 Pap/Psc Edition. Financial Times Management. Peter G. Northouse, 2009. Leadership: Theory and Practice. Fifth Edition Edition. Sage Publications, Inc. Peter Hawkins, 2011. Leadership Team Coaching: Developing Collective Transformational Leadership. Edition. Kogan Page. Peter Stearns, 2006. Consumerism in World History: The Global Transformation of Desire (Themes in World History). 2 Edition. Routledge. Planning Shop, 2006. Successful Business Research: Straight to the Numbers You Need - Fast!. Book Edition. Planning Shop. Ranjit Kumar, 2010. Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. Third Edition. Sage Publications Ltd. Ross Dawson, 2005. Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships. (Second Edition). 2 Edition. Butterworth-Heinemann. Rupert Brown, 2001. Group Processes: Dynamics Within and Between Groups. 2 Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. Steven Miles, 1998. Consumerism: As a Way of Life. Sage Publications Ltd. Uma Sekaran, 2010. Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. 5 Edition. Wiley. William Badke, 2011. Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog. Edition. iUniverse.com. Read More