Marketing research is a process, which involves gathering a range of information from both primary and secondary sources on a particular subject. This research is then put to use order to help design or improve a product. This essay will list and describe the four steps of the marketing research process. The most difficult step to undertake in the process will be explained and illustrated with an appropriate example. The question requests for the steps in the process to be listed and described, therefore the steps in the marketing research process will be recounted and itemised in a series of concise statements. The most difficult step will be illustrated with an example to clarify the stage. The outcome of these descriptions will be concluded at the end of this essay.

The first step in the research process is to define the problem and to describe research objectives as completely as possible. It is necessary for the marketing manager and the researcher to work with each other to define the problem thoroughly and agree on the research objectives. "The manager best understands which information is needed; the researcher best understands marketing research and how to obtain the information." (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004:216). Managers are required to know about market research "to help in the planning and to interpret results" (Kotler et al, 2004:216). At this stage of the process the marketing researcher should be involved to be able to assist the manager in defining the problem and recommend methods that research can improve manager's decision making. Once the problem has been defined, the manager and the researcher must set objectives. The success of a project depends upon clearly understood objectives. Market research objectives can be classified into three categories. Exploratory objectives have the goal of formulating problems more precisely, clarifying concepts, gathering explanations, gaining insight, eliminating impractical ideas and forming hypotheses. Exploratory objectives can be performed using a literature search, surveying certain people about their experiences, focus groups and case studies. Descriptive research sets out to describe users of a product, determine the proportion of the population that uses a product or predict future demand for a product. Descriptive objectives should define questions, people surveyed and the method of analysis before beginning data collection - the who, what, where, when, why and how aspects of the research. Causal research seeks to find cause and effect relationships between variables. It accomplishes this through laboratory and field experiments. The manager and the market researcher must agree on the purpose and results of the research by putting the statement in writing. "The statement of the problem and the research objectives will guide the entire research process" (Kotler et al, 2004:218).
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The second stage of the marketing research process is designing the research. This entails "determining the information needed, developing a plan for gathering it efficiently and presenting the research design to marketing management in the form of a plan" (Kotler et al, 2004:281). The plan includes sources of secondary data and makes clear the specific research approaches, contact methods, sampling plans and instruments that researchers will use to collect primary data. Research objectives must be explained in terms of specific information needs. The research may gather secondary data, primary data or both to satisfy the manager's information needs. ...

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