Market Research - a Practical Approach

Course Overview

The clear starting point for development of a marketing strategy must be an understanding of customers, markets and competitors. Sound marketing decisions relating to the marketing mix rely on the availability of market information. One of the key roles of marketing professionals should be to ensure the availability of relevant and up to date information on which decisions can be made with confidence. Market research offers a systematic way of understanding customer needs and identifying how best to align the organisation with the expectations of the target customer base.

The purpose of this course:

Many people today are given responsibility for market research without specific training and yet are expected to respond to a torrent of demands to 'see what you can find out' about a host of topics. This course will provide you with the confidence to assess what is realistic, what is not, and how best to deal with requests. You may be reviewing existing sources or undertaking primary research, either in-house or via external agencies.

Benefits for your organisation:

If past market research has not delivered on its objectives it may be because the original brief was not clear, the methodology adopted was inappropriate or the wrong questions were asked. This workshop will lead to successful application of market research techniques to assist in management decisions for the organisation. A planned and systematic approach to market research will contribute to the development of the overall organisation's strategy.

Benefits for you as an individual:

The workshop is intended to provide you with the confidence and understanding you need to undertake or to manage market research projects. There will be less time wasted in looking for information that is of limited use and more efficient delivery of information tailored to specific needs.

Audience

This workshop is primarily for those who wish to commission research or are expected to conduct research in-house. You may be a marketing manager but new to market research and needing to understand what market research is all about

Skills Gained

You will learn how to:

• Understand the 10 steps of a market research project
• Write an effective research brief
• Undertake desk research to uncover existing information
• Manage your relationship with external agencies
• Choose between alternative methodologies
• Select and evaluate an appropriate sample
• Construct an effective questionnaire
• Analyse the data outputs
• Draw conclusions and make recommendations

Course Outline

Key topics include :

• How to write a clearly defined research brief
• When to use an online survey, whether focus groups would be better suited, could telephone interviews help, are one-to-one interviews needed?
• How to search more efficiently for existing published data - what can be found for free - or nearly-free?
• How to critically evaluate a questionnaire someone else has designed or how to improve your own questionnaire
• How to use the data to support marketing decisions

Market Research - a Practical Approach / 0663