Read the overview below and complete the activities that follow. At the heart of the market research process is a search for understanding. Sometimes management seeks answers to a particular problem. In other situations, an opportunity needs to be evaluated before committing resources.
This activity is important because marketing managers need to understand the market research process, even when part of it is being conducted by an external agency, in order to ensure that the information yielded from it is both valid and capable of guiding relevant decisions.
The goal of this exercise is to demonstrate your understanding of the specific sequence of activities that comprise the market research process. The market research process should help instill in marketing managers greater confidence in the information they are receiving and, hopefully, make better informed decisions.
The market research process consists of six steps.