Boosting Company's Sales through Research - By: Allan Michael Taylor

According to Philip Kotler, a marketing professor, marketing is becoming a battle based more on information than on sales power. More information would reflect more effective strategies and techniques in marketing, better understanding of people's wants and needs and delivery of service as efficient as possible. knowing the flow and mechanics in the market, one is in a better position to provide goods and services, wither competition and crisis and pull ahead or stay on top.

Every company knows this. That's why they have a marketing information/intelligence system which consists of people, equipments, and process in acquiring and evaluating data and information for a decision to be made. The information that is needed is available and accessible in all forms of media- print, TV, radio, telecommunications and the web.

One method of generating data that is widely used and highly efficient is conducting a market research. Market research is a systematic way of gathering and analyzing data about a target market and their characteristics, the environment and competitors, and solutions to the marketing situation/challenge faced by a company. research enables companies to know a customer's perceived value of a particular product which is essential to their product mix decision.

The objective of research in this case is to recognize people's perspectives as crucial to decision-making in the company. Qualitative market research provides the answer to this objective.

Qualitative marketing research is a set of research process and approach used in marketing. It does not make use of statistical tools in evaluation. Conducting qualitative marketing research can be in the form of direct observations, comprehensive interviews and focus groups. Companies can use the information in its new product development process, improving existing products and track competitor's offerings and performance.

Qualitative marketing research is useful in a company's product decisions such as setting prices, identifying what kind of promotion tool should be employed, distinguishing what attributes does people look for in a product. Take for example the trend in today's generation. People are becoming health-conscious and environment-friendly advocacies fill up the market. People's buying behaviors are affected by social awareness and social relevance.

Research can be conducted by first defining the problem or the objectives to be achieved. Then, a research plan or tool must be chosen . Collecting the data, analyzing it and making the decision comes last . An advantage of qualitative marketing research is that it can consolidate a wide variety of information coming from different classes and segments of the society.

Marketing itself is about knowing what to sell, how to sell it and for whom to sell it.It sounds that simple but complete, relevant information is necessary Here's a simple anecdote: Sam saw that people craved for mangoes and they go buying mangoes so he decided to produce mangoes the next day, only to find out that people now crave for coconuts! It's a big loss right there.

tastes and preferences of people changes, that's why companies must also change towards the same direction or if not, find a way to make itself indispensable in the changing market.

About the Author

Amanda Tschoepe is the Director of Customer Experience for Focus Pointe Global. She has more than 10 years experience as a customer service expert, focusing on qualitative market research, and has spent the past 3 years applying that experience to respondent issues and concerns out of Focus Pointe Global.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Allan-Michael-Taylor/45501

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