If the research budget is limited, there is no need to conduct marketing research - Essay Example

This essay discusses that as marketing research is important in the successful promotion of the products/service of an organisation, it must be given due consideration. It is inevitable for an organization to allot a separate budget for marketing research. Undoubtedly, an organisation that desires to thrive in the field can never say excuse for having not enough funds. As far as an organisation is concerned, market research is conducted not only for learning purpose but also for flawless decision making process.

It is on the basis of the information gathered through research an organization decides whether or not to make changes in the existing product line. To illustrate, a well conducted research would propose multiple options for introducing new product line or entering into new markets. Apart from obtaining new customers, more importance must be given for retaining the existing customers. Long term loyalty and relationship between the organisation and the customers are not just developed on a single day.

They are the result of strenuous efforts made by the organisation by closely understanding the needs and preferences of the customers. Moreover, the data collected through market research can help marketers to make decision on product quality or services expansion. It may result in introducing more innovative product or redesigning the marketing strategy. Similarly, the potential problems associated with launching a new product can also be identified through marketing research. If the probable difficulties are known in advance, firms can take steps to address them on time.

The research conducted after a product launch will help the firm to determine further steps. According to Malhotra & Dash (2009, p.45), Marketing research helps an organisation to know the demographics and psychographics of customers. It reveals the number of persons who buy the products, why they buy, when they buy, the frequency of their buying, and the sources of their buying; and it also includes the social status and the regional location of the customers (ibid). As market research bring out information regarding age, sex, population, buying behavior, and location, firms can easily determine whether to change their market segments or business destinations to more favorable ones.

In the absence of such a study, taking flawless decisions is unlikely. Marketing research is one of the best ways of knowing the strategies of competitors, their identity, marketing network, scale of focus and many more. It is important for a business firm to observe how its rivals carry out business as it evaluates its own progress or loss. By imitating the competitors on an equal scale, one can retaliate on the same manner as the competitors do. These actions would help the firm not only to improve the product quality but also to obtain prospective customers for the organisation.

Marketing research can sometimes be used as an evaluation tool which may help in making comparative studies so that the organization can track its own progress over a period of time. In addition, in some occasions marketing research helps to explore what went wrong. For example, Johnson & Johnson Company probed into the poisoning of their capsules