Summary: This article from our free marketing guide talks about the 7 Phases of a Market Research Plan
The market research plan can be split into 7 phases.
1) “Why?” Why exactly are we doing this?
- The ultimate research objective (what do we want to find out?)
- Main questions to be answered
- Problems to be solved
- Level and scope of analysis
- Decision alternatives (our options – what we can do at the end of our research)
At this point it’s absolutely vital you are very clear about what you want to do.
For example an airline set its main problem to be solved as – “Will offering an in flight internet service create enough incremental preference and profit to justify its costs against other possible enhancements we could make?”
Then the main questions to be asked were identified, e.g. “How many passengers will use it at different levels? What type of first class passenger is most likely to use it? How much goodwill will be added to the airline image?”
This is a very narrow focus, equally, as an airline manufacturer you may ask “What craft can we develop that does the job of long distant transportation better?” which is far broader.
2) “Who and What?” Who do we need to speak to? Who and what do we need to analyse?
This of course largely depends on the “Why?” part at Phase 1 which gives you the scope to work with.
- Who you will survey (for example, consumers, customers, employees, non users etc.)
- What you will survey (for example companies, trends, products, Value Lines, Performance 14 etc.)
- How many of them you will survey
- How you will find them
- How you will choose them
- How you will incentivise them
3) How? How are we going to get our information?
- How are you going to gather the information? Your approaches need to be set. Think about whether you need observational research, focus groups, surveys, behavioural data, or experimental research. Experimental research is the most scientifically valid of all – simply this is the experimenting with doing what you propose but on a small scale to test results.
- Secondly think about the research instruments to collect the primary data– questionnaires, qualitative measures and technological devices such as neurological scanners and think about the contact method and – mail questionnaire, telephone interview, personal interview, and online interviews all should be considered.
- Thirdly, you need a time line for all this to happen
4) Now at the fourth phase, it’s time to collect the data. This is where you design your data collection methods and then go to work. You have to focus on getting the right sort of data to avoid all sorts of complications.
5) During this time, and afterwards you’ll have to analyse the data – objectively. Avoid the trap of using the data to confirm what you thought or wanted!
6) Present the findings in a report format, usually within a Value Plan.
7) Make a decision.
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