The need for information is normally derived from a decision-making problem: a company faces a problem and wants the help of market research to resolve it. The research can be seen as a structured process. This goes through many phases, with data collected in each.
The process of market research can be divided into six phases. The first phase decides what information is important for the company and what is not: from this, an object of investigation is defined. In the second phase, a method of use is decided upon. In the third, survey documents are drawn up to be used for further work. The fourth phase consists of the data being collected via surveys or tests.
During the fifth phase, data is processed and evaluated, before finally being presented by the market researchers in the sixth and final phase. Reasons for the results of the findings and ideas for changes to be made are then also worked out. Subsequently, any decision for further actions to be made by the company are based on the information obtained.
Overview of the phases of market research:
Phase 1 | Choose what information field to investigate |
Phase 2 | Determine the methods you will use |
Phase 3 | Create surveys |
Phase 4 | Collect data from surveys |
Phase 5 | Process and evaluate the data |
Phase 6 | Present your findings |