Market Research and Competitive Intelligence

To thoroughly understand what is happening in the industry in which you operate, it is invaluable to know what the trends in the industry are as well as what the firm’s competitors are doing to make money, to improve their businesses, and to improve their own market shares. Market research is necessary to make better firm wide decisions. With marketing being a philosophy where the resources and activities of the firm or company are focused on satisfying the wants and needs of the customer, marketing research is the way a firm with a marketing philosophy determines what those wants and needs may be, and further, how to communicate the associated benefits most effectively and efficiently. Additionally, market research is used to monitor and modify, if needed, the elements of the marketing strategy. Market research includes: defining the problem and research objectives, developing a re- search plan, presenting the plan, implementing the plan (collecting and analyzing data), and interpreting and reporting the findings. This is the area of marketing where we begin to see science as well as art. This chapter focuses in detail on how to research a market, how to know the competition, and how to leverage that knowledge to improve your business.