He said with competition moving from pricing to non-pricing issues, the sellers turn to market research as they increase the use of branding, product differentiation, advertising and sales promotion and want to know how effective these marketing tools are.

Explaining the process of market research, Mr Raghavan said it consists of different aspects such as defining the problem and research objectivities, developing the research plan, collecting and analysing information and presenting the findings.

Market research played a key role in recognising the opportunities and threats and continuously monitoring changes in the environment and identifying and researching different aspects such as demographies, household patterns etc. that have an impact on the market.

Analysing consumer and business behaviour, industries and competitors’ strategies, objectives and strength and weaknesses was also an important area to be taken up. Identifying and profiling distinct buyer groups who might need different products/mixes, evaluating the potential of each segment and forecasting the product demand also fell within the domain of market research.

Outlining the crucial part played by market research, he said it had an important role in the development of new products and in identifying the reasons that might impact the consumer response to them. Since distribution played a key role in the products reaching the consumers, market research would help in the selection of proper marketing channels and assist the companies to design, evaluate and modify their channels in line with the current trends.

This tool was also important to the companies in deciding their marketing communication strategy and in pricing the product when they hit the market for the first time and in varying the pricing depending on the market dynamics.

It also was a valuable ally in assessing the success of advertisement or sales promotion activity in pushing the product in the market and in devising a strategy that would make the company’s products look different from what the competition was to offer and place it in such a way that it retained consumers’ attention always. Market research was an indispensable tool in evolving a comprehensive strategy for sales promotion.

Mr D. Rajkumar, Assistant Regional General Manager, The Hindu, Coimbatore was present at the meeting.

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