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Marketing research is important to the development of a marketing strategy because a strategy will not be successful without accurate information and statistics. Also, the point of marketing research is to determine what the marketing issue or opportunity is. Once the issue or opportunity is defined, a marketing team can then create an appropriate strategy to solve the issue or maximize on the opportunity. There are five steps involved with marketing research, and creating the strategy is the final step in the process. Given this, if the research wasn't performed and a marketing team jumped right to creating a strategy, the likelihood of success would be slim. The five steps are as follows:

 

1. Define problem/opportunity
2. Develop the research plan
3. Collect relevant information
4. Develop the findings
5. Take marketing action

 

When looking at the five steps, it's easy to see that the first four steps are designed to set a company on track to have a clear understanding of the issue/opportunity. First, a company must create a plan to establish what data they need and how they will collect the needed data. Then a company must gather relevant information and decipher the information collected, to create a plan that gives a company the best chance of success because it's based on sound information. Without following the five steps, a company is essentially taking a shot in the dark. With today's competitive environment, evolving consumer demands, and technology that is constantly changing, a company cannot afford to make plans that are not well thought out. The marketing research is a map for success (hopefully) and provides solid groundwork for a company to work from. 

 

An example of marketing research and its importance when developing a new strategy is a new product. When a company creates a new product and wants to introduce it to consumers, they cannot simply assume that the new product will be valued by consumers and purchased. First, marketing research must be done by ensure that there is a want/need (think opportunity!) for the new product. Then, researchers need to plan to collect relevant primary and secondary data. This information will help assess the want/need for the proposed product, price information, and which customers to target. Once this information is carefully analyzed, a plan may be constructed to take appropriate marketing action. These steps, while they don't promise success, certainly increase the chances of success!