Role Of Marketing Research In Marketing Management


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Role Of Marketing Research In Marketing Management:

(i) Close relationship between MR and Marketing Management: Marketing management covers different areas of marketing such as production, packaging, branding, pricing, distribution, advertising and sales promotion. Marketing research activity is closely integrated with all these key areas of marketing. It is an integral part of scientific marketing management. This is natural as marketing research deals with the different marketing problems of a company and offers guidelines to marketing managers in solving such problems. In brief, marketing research acts asone useful and reliable tool for framing marketing policies and decision-making in regard to different aspects of marketing.  It plays an important role in marketing management.

MR collects and provides information to marketing managers for decision-making. It studies certain marketing problems and offers suggestions for solving them. It also acts as theintelligence wing of marketing management.

 

Marketing management and marketing research are inter-related activities. In fact, marketing research cannot exist as a watertight compartment nor has it any existence independent of marketing management. It must be a part and parcel of the problem-solving process of marketing management. MR activities in any organization must be directly related to the marketing problems faced by that organization. This is natural as MR cannot be effective, if it is assigned some portions of a marketing problem for exploration in a piecemeal manner. It must be supplied with the full background required to study the whole problem in depth. This will enable the researcher to provide reasonably accurate solution to the problems faced by the marketing managers. Similarly, MR will be effective/purposeful, if the research activities are conducted in a regular and continuous manner and also as per the specific needs of the marketing management.

 

(ii) Need of effective integration between MR and Marketing Management: Marketing research needs to be treated as a part and parcel of total marketing management. It has to operate as a problem-solving tool of marketing management or as an intelligence wing/tool of marketing management. Similarly, MR should not be conducted merel1 as an academic activity but as a tool for decision making by the marketing managers. It should facilitate quick and reasonably correct decision-making by the top-level marketing managers. MR should act as anaid to decision-making in the marketing management.

 

This suggests that there should be effective integration in between marketing management and marketing research. Both these activities should be effectively co-ordinated. This will ensure efficient management of marketing activities of a company. There is no scope for any conflict in between the two as such conflict is undesirable to the company itself. However, on many occasions, differences of opinion and discord between research department and management are visible Keane, John G has spelt out the conflicting points of view of the to management and marketing researchers in the areas of research responsibility, research personnel, budget, assignments, problem definition, research reporting and use of research.

 

MR will be effective/purposeful only when there is close c ordination between research and actual management. Research activities must be necessarily relevant to the marketing problems. Both (researchers and top-level management) should have a clear understanding and appreciation of each other’s position and role. However, in practice, conflicts are noticed between the top-level management and the researchers. Such conflicts should be avoided.

 

(iii) Responsibility of top management for effective integration: The top management should accept honestly that the researchers have a capacity to study marketing problems and offer valuable suggestions for solving the marketing problems. In addition, adequate budget provision and all necessary facilities should be provided to the researcher to investigate marketing problems minutely and make suitable recommendations. The top management should keep meaningful communication with the marketing researchers in a continuous manner. The bias attitude towards them is certainly undesirable. Finally management should avoid too many layers of communication between top management and researchers. It is also desirable to discuss the recommendations of researchers with open mind. Such liberal outlook will make MR activities useful to the marketing management.

 

The researchers should also adopt open and constructive approach towards the top-level management. In the research project, attention should be given to the plans and priorities decided by the top-level management. The researchers should continuously improve the research methodology and see that their reports and recommendations are easily acceptable to the management. Delay in the research work should be avoided as top-level management can consider the recommendations if received in time as the nature of marketing problem changes in the course of time.

 

0n some occasions, the management is not convinced about the utility of marketing research. This may be due to past experience in regard to research activity undertaken. The other reasons for unfavorable opinions about marketing research include delay in the completion of research work, heavy expenditure involved, bulky and confusing report and finally recommendations made are not convincing and practical. The result is that the management forms negative impression about the very concept of marketing research. The company management fails to understand the practical utility of research work. It feels that MR is an unnecessary activity and funds should not be spent on the same. It is as good as waste of money as positive benefits may not available. Such negative opinion formation is the result of previous experience of the firm. It is a type of criticism of the researchers who failed to submit promising, result-oriented and practical research report. It need not be treated as the criticism of marketing research activity itself. The adverse opinions of companies on marketing research are undesirable and even dangerous to the future growth of MR activity. Here the responsibility lies on the researchers. They have to conduct research work honestly and also by taking keen interest in the proposed research project. As a result, the research report and recommendations 11 be promising and easily acceptable by the management. The marcher should prepare the outline of research project properly and place it before the management in a convincing manner. As a result, the management will be convinced about the utility of marketing research project and will be willing to spend money on the same. “Many a times, management is not convinced about the utility of marketing research and discards it as an unnecessary activity over which no funds should be spent.” is possible when the research project is not prepared and placed properly before the management for consideration and approval.

 

(iv) Responsibility of researchers for effective integration: The researchers should use their skills, experience and knowledge while conducting the research activities. Finally, they should maintain persuasive communication as inadequate/poor communication creates bias attitude on the part of top-level management. As a result, the recommendations are rejected or not used in actual practice. In addition, the superiority of the top-level management in the decision-making process should also be honored. The approach should be to help the management in all possible ways. Such positive/constructive approach on the part of researchers will enable them to make purposeful contribution in the field of marketing management.

 

(v) Present Position: MR is now given more creative roleascompared to the conventional role where it was used just for studying buyer behavior or for the feasibility studies for new products to be introduced in the market. MR until the mid-1980s, was considered a luxury, which only multinationals could afford. However, all companies now feel the need of MR due to growing competition and liberalization. Realizing the contribution that MR makes, more and more companies in India are now turning to MR.


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