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Creating Market Research Surveys

Market trends are reflective of what consumers consider important. If a company is not aware of how quickly trends change in the market, they can face lower sales, poor branding, and consumer reluctance. When new products and competition enter the market, or when a consumer base has its purchasing power shift, a company has to make changes to its products and how it markets them.

Market research surveys are important to track market trends for a number of reasons:

  • Value – Tracking market trends brings value that is reflected in product sales. They are also reflected in savings. Companies save money when they know which products are selling well and which aren’t. They also save money when they understand why consumers are not buying their products in a given quarter. Once a company has that information, they can make necessary changes to products and/or pricing. Even the marketing and distribution strategies can be updated with information gained from market research surveys.

  • Relevance – Unlike information gained from end-of-quarter sales or annual reports, market research surveys provide relevant information on specific products. They also give important information on trends. If a company’s sales of a new line of house cleaning products sells only a few items well, managers have to get information quickly on the products that aren’t selling well. This saves time and allows for relevant information for specific sales/product innovation decisions to be made.

  • Quality – Unlike financial information on sales and profits, market research surveys give direct information on product quality. When consumers are asked specific questions about the quality of products, they are more likely to give accurate information about product specifications.

  • Data vs. Information vs. Knowledge – Surveys provide data only. It is up to the person designing and interpreting the data to turn it to information and knowledge. This means that survey questions have to be carefully and precisely designed. Once the data is gathered from consumers, it is turned into information such as charts and graphs. This is only information, though, and real knowledge is based on insights and experience.

2.1.Challenges in designing the ‘right’ survey

There are several challenges that companies face when designing the ‘right’ market research survey:

  • The most important challenge is the creation of the right statements/questions. If they are not relevant and to-the-point, the information gained from them is useless.

  • Another challenge is using the right devices to measure market information. Whether they are print or online surveys, the right devices are necessary to gain useful information.

  • Understanding the limitations of the survey is a challenge. Surveys are limited in their scope by many factors such as the biases of the person designing them. A general manager, for example, will design a survey that is different from the one designed by a production engineer.

2.2.The market research process

The market research process is a multistep one as seen in Figure 3. From formulating statements or questions to making marketing decisions, every step requires careful planning and execution. Each step must be completed before proceeding to the next.

  1. Marketing research problem – The first step in the research process is to define the problem. In marketing, there are a number of ways to do so. For example, a company manager will want to determine the answer to the question: What specifications and requirements do consumers want in a vacuum cleaner? The more specific a research problem, the better the information gained from the surveys.

  2. Sample source and size – As seen in Module 1, you must determine your sampling methodology (probability, non-probability) before designing the marketing survey. You must also determine a sample size and a way to contact the respondent. In online surveys, consumers are either sent the survey as an e-mail or they are prompted to fill it out when they visit the company site.

  3. Survey design – With a clear research problem and sample source/size, survey questions or statements can be designed. You must determine if the questions will be open or closed. Also to be determined is whether the survey is to be confidential and/or anonymous, what types of rating scales to use, and how they will be analyzed.

  4. Collect/Analyze data – Once data is collected, it is edited and coded for easier analysis. Data is, then, cleansed to remove incomplete surveys or those with errors. Data is analyzed after it is scrubbed. It is important to use the right analytical tools to draw information. These tools must match the survey objectives and information needs of the designer.

  5. Make marketing decisions – This is the final step in the market research process. Once the data is turned into useful information, managers can make the necessary marketing decisions. From changing prices to introducing new products on the market, the survey results must answer the initial research problem and suggest appropriate solutions.

For too many companies, not following the market research process leads to inadequate or poorly analyzed data. A market research survey is only as good as the questions it contains and the tools used to analyze the results.

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