What is Marketing Research?
According to the American Marketing Association:
Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information – information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process.
Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.
Marketing research is one of just a few means of two-way communication between an organization and its customers. In many cases market research is perceived by customers as a positive PR event.
Market research is an investment.
In a consumer-oriented society, a company succeeds by identifying customer needs and fulfilling them. When utilized properly, marketing research will influence knowledge-based decisions which will potentially save costs and increase profit.
A good marketing research organization will have the ability to gather relevant data and understand and analyze the information to produce knowledge. Knowledge gives organizations a competitive advantage.
At Portland Research Group, we’re here to provide clients’ with the straightforward information and analysis you need to understand and appeal to customers. We prefer to work in partnership with organizations seeking a solid foundation on which to grow and thrive. We are intent on tailoring our research approach to our clients’ goals and budgets, rather than selling frills that aren’t needed. Our goal is to provide our clients knowledge that can be acted upon.