Twelve Steps in Marketing Research Process

Steps in marketing research process

Following image depicts the steps in a marketing research process.

Image credits © Prof. Mudit Katyani.

The twelve stages or steps in a marketing research process are:

1. Problem identification,
2. Problem definition,
3. Research design,
4. Determining data needs,
5. Determining data sources,
6. Sampling design,
7. Designing questionnaire,
8. Field staff selection,
9. Collection and processing of data,
10. Analysis and interpretation of data,
11. Project reporting and
12. Follow up.

Now let's discuss above steps involved in a marketing research process.

1. Problem identification

The first step in a marketing research process is to identify the problem or opportunity. The problem may be about decrease in sales, increase in competition, expansion of market, etc.

2. Problem definition

The second step in a marketing research process is to define the problem. In this stage, the researcher must understand the problem correctly. He must find out the scope of the problem, the type of information needed, etc. If the problem is not defined properly, then it will result in waste of time, money and resources.

3. Research design

The third step in a marketing research process is to prepare research design.

Research design is a plan for conducting a research. It guides the researcher in data collection. It gives proper direction to the research.

There are three types of research designs:

1. Exploratory research,
2. Descriptive Research and
3. Experimental Research.

All three types are used for marketing research.

4. Determining data needs

The fourth step in a marketing research process is to determine the data needs. The researcher must consider the following issues:

1. Whether to use primary data or secondary data or both.
2. The accuracy and reliability of the data.
3. The availability of accurate and reliable data.
4. The cost and time required to collect the data.

5. Determining data sources

The fifth step in a marketing research process is to determine the data sources.

The researcher decides the sources of collecting data. The two main sources are secondary data and primary data.

The researcher first collects secondary data. This is because it is easily available and less costly. It is collected by Desk Research. Desk Research can be internal for e.g. collected from company's records or external i.e. acquired from libraries, trade journals, government sources, etc. If the secondary data is not sufficient to solve the marketing problem, then primary data is wheeled.

Collecting primary data is very costly and time consuming. It can be collected by using survey methods, i.e. by doing personal interviews, telephone interviews and mail surveys. It can also be collected by using observational method and experimentation method.

So in this step the researcher decides what source and what method to use for collecting data.

6. Sampling design

The sixth step in a marketing research process is of sampling design.

The Researchers has limited time and other resources. So he cannot contact the total population. That is, he cannot collect information from all the people in the market. Therefore, he selects few persons from the population. These handful persons are called sample respondent. They are considered to represent the total population. The researcher collects data from the sample respondents.

Sampling helps to save time, efforts and cost. It is used to collect primary data. The researcher has to decide about method of sampling, the size-of-sample, etc.

7. Designing questionnaire

The seventh step in a marketing research process is of designing a questionnaire.

In this stage, primary data is collected with the help of a questionnaire. So the researcher has to prepare a questionnaire. A questionnaire is a list of questions. These questions are asked to the respondents for collecting data. The questionnaire must be suitable so that the require data is collected easily, quickly and correctly. It is used for conducting person interview, telephone interviews and mail survey. The researcher must decide about the type of the information required, the type of questioned to be asked, the wordings of the questionnaire, its order, etc.

8. Field staff selection

The eighth step in a marketing research process is of selecting field staff.

After preparing the questionnaire, the researcher selects field interviewers. The field interviewers collect information from the respondents. They must be property trained. Students of psychology and statistics are good for this job.

9. Collection and processing of data

The ninth step in a marketing research process is of collection and processing of data.

In this stage, the data is collected from the respondents. The questionnaire is used for collecting data. In case of mail surveys, the questionnaire is sent to the respondents by post. In case of telephone interviews, the data is collected through telephone. In case of personal interviews, the data is collected by the field interviewers. The researcher can also use observation method and experimentation method for collecting data. The data collected must be reliable and complete. It must also be collected quickly. Secondary data is also collected. The data collected is raw. It cannot be used directly. It has to be processed and organised neatly. That is, the data must be edited, coded, classified and tabulated. Editing helps to remove the unwanted data. Coding, classification and tabulation make the data ready for analysis and interpretation.

10. Analysis and interpretation of data

The tenth step in a marketing research process is of analysis and interpretation of data.

In this stage, the researcher analyzes and interprets the data. That is, he studies the data very careful and draws conclusions from it. These conclusions are then used to solve the marketing problem.

11. Project reporting

The eleventh step in a marketing research process is to prepare a project report.

In this stage, the researcher prepares the final research report. This report contains a title of the report, method used, findings, conclusions and suggestions about how to solve the marketing problem. The language of the report must not be very difficult. The report must be submitted to the marketing executives for recommendations and implementation.

12. Follow up

Finally, the last step in a marketing research process is to do a follow up.

In this stage, the marketing executive makes changes in the product, price, marketing policies, etc. as per the recommendations of the report. Here, the researcher should find out, whether his recommendations are implemented properly or not. He should also figure-out, whether the marketing problem is solved or not.

So these are the twelve steps in a marketing research process.