Marketing research is a subject with wide scope. Broadly speaking, it is concerned with the marketing activities of an enterprise. All activities of a seller-to market his products to consumers are covered by such research. Marketing research is primarily concerned with “4 Ps” of marketing mix. These are: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The scope of marketing research is comprehensive and is actually widening in recent years. Products research, sales research, pricing research, brand and package research, promotion research and customer research arc the usual areas covered by MR. In addition, specialized research activities such as motivation research, consumer satisfaction research, etc. are also undertaken to meet the specific needs of a business unit. Additional areas and new methods of conducting research activities are regularly added within the scope of MR.
In 1973, the American Marketing Association noted that marketing research activities were undertaken on 36 different topics of 1322 companies interviewed. Even in India, large companies conduct research activities on many marketing problems. Finally, it may be pointed out that marketing research is essentially for solving the marketing problems of a business unit. Naturally, research activities will be adjusted accordingly. This suggests that there is no limit to the areas covered by marketing research. Everything connected with marketing comes within the scope of MR..
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