Elements of Market Research

Marketing research involves the process of systematically gathering, recording, analyzing, and using data relating to the sale of goods and services. An alternative definition of marketing research is that it is a process of gathering and analyzing data pertaining to a company's market, customers, and competitors with the specific goal of improving marketing decisions. Marketing research also involves the decision-making process, particularly in an effort to increase sales revenue.

John Graham in American Salesman (2004) writes that marketers can play a critical role in the success of a product and the long-term success of a company. He notes

that sometimes the decisions of the marketing department are erroneous or misguided. Graham believes that the most serious problems a company can have is when the marketing department starts believing its own "baloney." Graham encourages companies to look at the information presented by its marketing department or ad agency with the same degree of skepticism as it would any other piece of subjective information submitted for its review.

Sometimes, market research will point in one direction, and senior management will reject the recommendations of the marketing department despite extensive marketing research. As a result, management may opt to launch a product over the objections of marketing, or senior management may instruct the marketing manager to take its marketing campaign in a direction that the marketing department fe

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